Practice 4.2 Motivation with authentic IB Psychology (First Exam 2027) exam questions for both SL and HL students. This question bank mirrors Paper 1, 2, 3 structure, covering key topics like cognitive processes, biological bases of behavior, and research methods. Get instant solutions, detailed explanations, and build exam confidence with questions in the style of IB examiners.
Paper
Level
Question 1
HLPaper 3
Source 1:
Researchers at an institute studying youth conducted a large-scale survey of 400 adolescents. The participants came from a variety of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, and were all between the ages of 15-17. Participants were assured that the data would be anonymised and not shared with anyone outside the team of researchers. Using data and findings from previous studies on adolescents and risk-taking, the researchers generated a list of activities qualified as risk-taking or unsafe. This included, but is not limited to: speeding on a bicycle, car or similar vehicle; climbing or playing in unsafe places; engaging in the consumption of alcohol or recreational drugs; engaging in violent fights or altercations; and skipping school. The researchers administered this list, asking adolescents to mark the activities they had engaged in and to what frequency within the last 6 months. The researchers also asked participants to self-report sensation-seeking motivation (measured on a 1-7 scale).
Source 2:
A qualitative study sought to explore what motivated adolescents, aged 16 to 18, to take risks. The sample consisted of 20 individuals, who took part in semi-structured interviews wherein they were questioned about what encouraged them to partake in “risky” behaviour. Researchers recorded and transcribed the interviews, before analysing the transcripts thematically.
Source 3:
An undergraduate student studying psychology conducted a survey, using their own classmates as the sample. They wanted to understand why older adolescents (age 18 to 19) would engage in risky behaviour and why. The final sample included 50 classmates. The student researcher asked two open-ended questions: “Why do you engage in risky behaviours (if at all)?” and “Do you see these behaviours as harmful or helpful?”. The researcher then coded responses into three categories:
Source 4: An experiment tested how motivational framing influenced risk-taking in a simulated driving task. Ninety adolescents (ages 15 to 16) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions:
Competition framing: “Try to beat others’ scores on the driving task.”
Curiosity framing: “See how far you can push your driving skills.”
Control: No framing.
The researchers then recorded the average number of risky decisions (e.g., speeding through yellow lights) made:
1.[3]
Explain one issue that limits the interpretation of the data in Source 1.
2.[6]
Analyse the findings from Source 2 and state a conclusion linked to the claim that motivation influences the development of risk-taking behaviour in adolescence.
3.[6]
Discuss how the researcher could avoid bias in the study described in Source 3.
4.[6]
To what extent are the findings of Source 3 transferable to other populations or contexts?
5.[6]
Discuss how the researcher could improve the credibility of the findings in Source 3.
6.[15]
Using at least three of the sources above, and your own knowledge, answer the following question: To what extent can we conclude that motivation influences the development of risk-taking behaviour in adolescence?
Question 2
HLPaper 3
Source 1: A team of researchers who were interested in prosocial behaviour wanted to investigate whether intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation influenced helping behaviour. They recruited 180 participants from an ad in the newspaper, the adults were randomly assigned to three conditions (N = 60 per group):
Intrinsic prime: Participants wrote about values that made them feel connected to others.
Extrinsic prime: Participants wrote about rewards they hoped to earn in the future.
Control: Participants began the experiment with an unrelated writing task.
The participants were not informed about the actual aim of the study, they believed the writing task was the extent of the experiment. As the participants left the room, they observed a staged event in which a confederate “accidentally” dropped a stack of books. The key measure was whether participants helped pick them up.
Source 2:
Psychologists at a certain research institute were interested in exploring what motivates long-term caregiving in familial relationships. The researching team reached out to a local medical center to create a sample of adults who were either: a) parents of disabled children, or b) adult children caring for elderly children. The sample was comprised of 20 participants. Researchers carried out semi-structured interviews with each participant, recording and transcribing the interactions. The transcripts underwent thematic analysis.
Source 3: An undergraduate student studying psychology conducted a survey as part of an assignment. They wanted to examine why students help their fellow peers. The researcher chose to survey students outside their own psychology class. The final sample included 60 classmates, aged between 18-20. The student researcher administered a survey asking students the open-ended question: “Why do you help your friends?” The researcher then coded the responses into three categories of motivation:
Intrinsic motivation: Responses that suggest individuals help because they want to.
Reciprocity: Responses that suggest individuals help expecting help in return.
Emotional reward: Responses that suggest individuals help because it feels good.
Source 4: Researchers in a university psychology department were in the process of putting together a book about altruism and prosocial behaviour. As part of their publication, they included a study wherein they tested whether intrinsic motivation predicted real-world social behaviour. The sample of the study included 250 university students, spread across years and ranging from 17 to 23 years old. The researchers determined the intrinsic motivation of individuals by administering a standardised test that quantified the level of intrinsic motivation on a scale (1-7). Researchers also asked individuals to report the average number of hours they spent volunteering per month.
r(248) = 0.623, p < 0.05
Source 5: Researchers wanted to conduct an experiment to test whether extrinsic social recognition influenced charitable giving. Unfortunately, the sample chosen by the researchers consisted of second-year psychology students, as these were the only individuals who had time to participate in the study. The participants were randomly assigned two one of two conditions:
Public condition: Participants told that names of donors displayed on a visible donor list.
Private condition: Participants told that donations were made anonymously.
On tablet screens, participants in each condition were asked if they would donate money to the cause, and how much (scale of £1 to £10)
1.[3]
Explain one issue that limits the interpretation of the data in Source 1.
2.[6]
Analyse the findings from Source 2 and state a conclusion linked to the claim that motivation plays a role in prosocial behaviour within human relationships.
3.[6]
Discuss how the researcher could avoid bias in the study described in Source 3.
4.[6]
To what extent are the findings of Source 3 transferable to other populations or contexts?
5.[6]
Discuss how the researcher could improve the credibility of the findings in Source 3.
6.[15]
Using at least three of the sources in the resource booklet (sources 1-5), and your own knowledge, answer the following question: To what extent can we conclude that motivation plays a role in prosocial behaviour within human relationships?
Question 3
SL & HLPaper 3
Source 1:
A study investigated the relationship between different types of motivation and academic performance. The participants included over 200 secondary school students, all aged between 15 and 16. Each student was given a standardized motivation questionnaire and a standardized mathematics test (0–100 scale) to complete. Based on questionnaire scores, students were categorized into three groups:
Source 2:
Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 students at an international school to gain information on what motivated students to study. Of these 20 students, 10 had been identified as teachers as “high-achieving” in academics. The other 10 had been identified as “struggling students.” Researchers audio-recorded and transcribed the interviews. They use thematic analysis to identify recurring themes in how students described their motivation.
Source 3: A student in a secondary school psychology class was interested in carrying out a study to research the connection between engagement in class and performance on assessments. The student observed their own psychology class (N = 25, students aged 17 to 18) over the course of one semester. Every week, all the students would complete weekly quizzes covering content taught during the class; the student collected scores from their peers. In addition, the student researcher maintained a classroom diary which they used to record student behaviours like asking questions or participating in discussions. Upon analysis of the observations and comparisons with quiz scores, the student discovered that, in general, those individuals who asked more questions and engaged more often with lectures and discussions consistently scored higher on the weekly quizzes.
Source 4:
A group of researchers were curious as to whether a student’s mindset (beliefs about intelligence) was associated with academic achievement. The sample included 250 secondary school students. Each student completed a standardized growth mindset scale (1–10, where higher scores indicated more of a growth mindset), and the student’s end-of-year Grade Point Average (0-4.0, where a higher value indicated better academic performance) was recorded from school records.
r(248) = 0.68, p < 0.001
Source 5: Researchers at a university were interested in conducting an experiment to test how motivational framing influenced persistence on a challenging task. The sample was made up of 120 university students who signed up to take part in the study; researchers paid students $5 to participate. The participants were randomly assigned to three groups (N = 40 per group). Researchers gave the students an unsolvable puzzle task. Each group was told different things beforehand:
Reward framing: “Top scores get prizes.”
Mastery framing: “Focus on learning and improving your skills.”
Control: No motivational statement.
The researchers then timed the duration, in minutes, that students spent on the puzzle before giving up.
1.[3]
Explain one issue that limits the interpretation of the data in Source 1.
2.[6]
Analyse the findings from Source 2 and state a conclusion linked to the claim that motivation plays a role in academic development.
3.[6]
Discuss how the researcher could avoid bias in the study described in Source 3.
4.[6]
To what extent are the findings of Source 3 transferable to other populations or contexts?
5.[6]
Discuss how the researcher could improve the credibility of the findings in Source 3.
6.[15]
Using at least three of the sources above (sources 1-5), and your own knowledge, answer the following question: To what extent can we conclude that motivation plays a role in academic development?