Can I conduct my own experiment or survey for a Psychology EE?

A subject-focused Psychology EE should be planned as an analysis of published secondary research, not as a student-run experiment, survey, interview, observation, or case study. This differs from the Psychology internal assessment, where students undertake a practical investigation under specific rules. For the EE, you should compare theories, methods, findings, and interpretations from credible academic sources. Public datasets and published statistical findings may support the discussion, but you should confirm any proposed use with your supervisor. Always follow the guide that applies to your examination session, since your coordinator is responsible for confirming the current requirements.

How current does an IB Psychology EE topic need to be?

A Psychology EE does not need to address a new technology or a study published this year. Established questions can produce excellent essays when they contain theoretical debate, contradictory evidence, and meaningful methodological issues. Recent sources are useful for showing the current state of the discussion, but foundational theories and landmark studies may still be necessary. A sensible literature search combines influential older research with recent empirical studies and systematic reviews. Current relevance should strengthen your investigation rather than replace psychological depth.

Is social media too broad for a Psychology Extended Essay?

Social media is too broad as a final topic, but it can become feasible after you define the exposure, outcome, and population. For example, bedtime social media use, appearance-focused comparison, and problematic use represent different psychological variables. Sleep quality, depressive symptoms, body dissatisfaction, and attention should also be treated as separate outcomes. A focused question allows you to evaluate measurement methods, confounding variables, and possible mechanisms. Avoid claiming that social media causes an outcome when the available evidence is mainly correlational.

Can I write my Psychology EE about AI chatbots?

AI chatbots can support a Psychology EE if the question concerns behaviour, cognition, emotion, or a psychological intervention. You must distinguish generative AI from scripted or retrieval-based therapeutic chatbots because their functions and evidence bases differ. A feasible question could examine perceived empathy, trust, help-seeking, anxiety symptoms, or emotional dependence in a defined population. The literature is developing quickly, so check that enough peer-reviewed empirical studies exist before committing. Treat claims about effectiveness cautiously, particularly when studies have short follow-up periods or do not involve adolescents.

How many studies should I find before choosing my EE question?

The IB does not prescribe a universal minimum number of studies that guarantees a successful Psychology EE. During initial scoping, finding 8-12 relevant academic sources is a practical test rather than an official requirement. Your eventual bibliography may be larger, but source quality and analytical use matter more than raw quantity. Look for original empirical studies, recent reviews, competing findings, and research using different methods or populations. If nearly every source repeats one claim or only discusses the topic generally, the question may not support sustained evaluation.

What is the best way to narrow an IB Psychology EE research question?

Begin by identifying one proposed influence, one psychological outcome, and one clearly defined population. Then decide whether a mechanism or moderator, such as social comparison, self-efficacy, or peer presence, should be included. Check that every key term can be operationally defined using the research literature. Remove extra outcomes, age groups, platforms, or disorders that would divide the essay into disconnected sections. Finally, test whether you can state at least two defensible answers, since a question with only one obvious conclusion rarely supports strong evaluation.

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IB Psychology EE Topics Worth Researching Now

IB Psychology Extended Essay IB IB Extended Essay

• 11 Oct 2026•11

IB Psychology EE Topics Worth Researching Now

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IB Psychology EE Topics Worth Researching Now | RevisionDojo

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IB Psychology EE Topics Worth Researching Now

IB Psychology Extended Essay IB IB Extended Essay

• 11 Oct 2026•11

If you are choosing an Extended Essay this fall, the strongest IB Psychology EE topics are not simply the newest issues. They combine established psychological theory, multiple empirical studies, genuine disagreement, and a scope manageable within 4,000 words.

Promising areas for fall 2026 include social media and sleep, misinformation, climate anxiety, AI chatbots, digital body image, bilingual cognition, adolescent risk-taking, and psychological interventions. The questions below are starting points. Each should be refined after a preliminary literature search and discussion with your supervisor.

What makes a Psychology EE topic feasible?

The Extended Essay is an independent research project culminating in a 4,000-word paper. In Psychology, the investigation should focus on behaviour or mental processes while demonstrating understanding of psychological concepts, evidence, research methods, and ethics.

A subject-focused Psychology EE should use published secondary evidence, not an experiment or survey conducted on classmates. Your task is to compare and evaluate existing research, then develop a supported answer to a focused question. This differs from the Psychology internal assessment, which involves a practical investigation under separate requirements.

A workable topic normally has:

A defined construct, such as sleep quality, false memory, or self-efficacy
A bounded population, such as adolescents aged 13-18
At least one relevant psychological theory or model
Several peer-reviewed empirical studies
Conflicting findings, methodological limitations, or competing explanations
Enough evidence for evaluation rather than a general literature summary

Students submitting from May 2027 should note the updated IB Extended Essay assessment model. It separately rewards the framework, knowledge and understanding, analysis and line of argument, discussion and evaluation, and reflection. Confirm the guide for your examination session with your coordinator.

IB Psychology EE topics worth scoping

Topic area	Possible research angle	Main evaluation issue
Social media and sleep	To what extent is bedtime social media use associated with poorer sleep quality among adolescents?	Evidence is often correlational and based on self-report.
Misinformation	To what extent does psychological inoculation reduce adolescents' susceptibility to online misinformation?	Studies measure susceptibility through different outcomes.
Climate anxiety	To what extent does self-efficacy moderate climate anxiety and pro-environmental behaviour in adolescents?	Definitions and measurement scales remain inconsistent.
AI chatbots	To what extent can conversational chatbots reduce anxiety symptoms in older adolescents and young adults?	Structured therapeutic systems and generative AI are not equivalent.
Digital body image	To what extent does appearance-focused social comparison explain body dissatisfaction linked with image-based social media?	Platform, content, gender, and prior vulnerability may moderate results.
Bilingual cognition	To what extent does bilingualism influence inhibitory control in children?	Socioeconomic status, proficiency, immigration history, and publication bias complicate conclusions.
Adolescent risk-taking	To what extent does peer presence influence risky decision-making during adolescence?	Laboratory tasks may not predict consequential behaviour.
Mindfulness	To what extent do mindfulness-based interventions reduce test anxiety among secondary students?	Intervention length, controls, expectancy effects, and measures vary.

How to approach the most current topics

Social media needs a psychological mechanism

“Does social media harm teenagers?” is too broad and invites unsupported causal claims. A stronger essay isolates bedtime use, problematic use, social comparison, or fear of missing out, then examines one outcome.

A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis reported small associations between social media use, depression, anxiety, and sleep problems, alongside substantial heterogeneity. This creates room to evaluate measurement, directionality, moderators, and the distinction between correlation and causation.

AI requires precise definitions

“AI and mental health” is not an adequate research topic. Distinguish generative companions, general-purpose language models, and structured therapeutic chatbots because their mechanisms, safeguards, and evidence bases differ.

Current reviews describe promising findings for some chatbot interventions, but evidence specifically concerning generative systems and younger adolescents is less certain. AI therefore suits a cautious evaluative question, not a claim that chatbots can replace clinicians. Potential constructs include perceived empathy, trust, help-seeking, engagement, and symptom reduction.

Climate anxiety and misinformation support evaluation

Climate anxiety can be examined through coping, self-efficacy, identity, media exposure, or collective action. A productive question asks when concern encourages constructive behaviour and when it becomes impairing. Differences in definitions, populations, and scales provide important opportunities for methodological evaluation.

Misinformation research connects reconstructive memory, confirmation bias, source credibility, emotion, and social identity. You might examine prebunking, which prepares people to recognize manipulation, or compare it with corrective debunking. Do not combine belief, memory, sharing intention, and source evaluation as though they were one construct.

How to create a focused research question

Begin with a relationship rather than a broad social problem:

To what extent does X influence Y in population Z, and under what psychological or methodological conditions?

For example, change “social media and sleep” to “To what extent is bedtime social media use associated with sleep quality among adolescents aged 13-18?” The essay can then examine mechanisms, supporting and contradictory evidence, moderators, and methodological limitations.

Before committing, complete this feasibility check:

Find 8-12 credible academic sources, including original studies and recent reviews.
Identify at least one relevant theory or model.
Define the main constructs precisely.
Check for contrasting findings or interpretations.
Write two plausible answers to the question.
Explain why the question is psychological rather than primarily medical, technological, or sociological.
Confirm with your supervisor that the approach fits your examination session.

RevisionDojo's Psychology EE guide explains subject expectations. The Psychology EE exemplar library can help you examine question design and argument structure, although you should never copy an exemplar's question or organization.

Common topic-selection mistakes

Choosing novelty over evidence is risky. A topic may dominate public discussion but have too few peer-reviewed studies for balanced evaluation, particularly when it concerns a newly released platform or highly specific generative AI behaviour.

Avoid causal wording when most evidence is correlational. A cross-sectional association between screen use and anxiety does not prove that screen use caused anxiety. Reverse causation and third variables should form part of your evaluation.

Students can also drift into neighbouring disciplines. Neural evidence must be connected to behaviour, while discussion of platform regulation must remain psychological rather than becoming a politics or Digital Society essay.

Finally, do not organize the essay as a sequence of study summaries. Structure paragraphs around claims, compare studies directly, and explain how methodological differences affect your conclusion. RevisionDojo's guide to crafting an EE research question provides a useful test of scope and analytical potential.

A practical fall scoping plan

During the first week, select three areas and search PsycINFO, PubMed, Google Scholar, or your school library database. Record each study's population, method, measures, findings, and limitations in a source matrix.

In the second week, reduce the list to two candidate questions. Draft a short rationale and provisional argument map for each, then discuss both with your supervisor. A less fashionable topic with stronger and more varied evidence is usually safer.

In the third week, settle on a working question and begin an annotated bibliography. Record why you narrowed the population, rejected sources, changed terminology, or reconsidered assumptions. These decisions can later support meaningful reflection by showing intellectual development.

Conclusion

The strongest IB Psychology EE topics combine current relevance with a mature body of psychological research. Social media and sleep, misinformation, climate anxiety, digital body image, bilingual cognition, risk-taking, mindfulness, and carefully defined chatbot interventions all offer feasible directions.

Choose according to evidence and analytical potential, not novelty alone. RevisionDojo's EE Guides, Psychology exemplars, and Jojo AI can help test scope and identify counterarguments. Later, the Psychology EE Grader can diagnose gaps, but it should support rather than replace your judgment, official guidance, and supervisor feedback.

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