psychology sl or Economics sl

[pskou]

Hi,

I am starting ib this September. I am targeting Computer science for Uk. The lessons i have chosen are MaTHS hl, pHYSICS hL. Greek hl , computer science sl, English sl and one more i have to choose.

i am between economics or psychology. A friend has told me that Economics is easier to get a 7 and is more close to Maths, where i am pretty good.

But i want to study and be expert in video games design , so i think psychology might be more close to my interests , e.g creation of certain characters psychology, but the same friend keeps telling me that is a hard subject,,,with a lot to learn and remember.

what do you advice me?

thanks a lot

[kim luffy]

Hey.

Well, i did psychology SL and yes, you're friend is right. Psychology is A LOT to remember and it'll drive you crazy. The IA is easier to do compared to economics where you have to do like 4 essays. Also, the syllabus has changed and you do calculus in econ right now. So that may prove to be hard.

I'll advise you to take psychology. Since it's closer to your interest, i think you should choose it because you'll have more interest in it and psychology IS interesting only that there's so much to remember but it's worth it, believe me

Hope i helped

[Gaby]

If I were you, I'd take Psychology. Well, I actually DO take Psychology, but HL (which includes a dreadful qualitative research methods Paper 3, don't go there ). I agree, there's a lot to remember, but I find it all very logical. I kind of find connections between different topics, make diagrams and such things, I also always write studies that could be used to answer each of the questions in the syllabus, and trying to use as little of them as possible (use the same study for many questions), making it even more doable.

Personally, I find Psychology to be very interesting, and fun, subject, it's actually my favourite one. I'd say - do it. I have a friend who does Econ SL and she doesn't enjoy it nearly as much as I do Psychology.

[IBCONQUERER]

I did Econ, I would recommend it to anyone, its one of the most interesting courses there is! The syllabus has changed now, but if you do SL, you won't have the math based paper (which is I believe paper 3 in HL) you'll have pretty much the same stuff as the old syllabus, the only thing is now you'll have to study all sections thoroughly whereas with us I ignored development completely, and in the exam I didn't have much trouble! Econ is alot of logic, Psych is alot of remembering..like with psych I think if you haven't studied something it'll be hard to think about it and write something but in econ when you can't recall something you can always think about it in your head and reason with yourself and you'll almost always be right. The only tricky part about econ is the evaluation skill which is very important and that separates the 5's and 6's from the 7's! But it can be mastered, at the end of the 2 yrs you'll be good to go.I recommend econ, the IA is 4 commentaries, the only hard thing about them is sticking to the word count cause there's alot you can analyse!

Edited June 17, 2012 by Summer Glau
no text speak please

[pskou]

Thanks you and i wish you to have good results .

from what i understand if someone is theory oriented takes Psychology , if is more practical mind takes econ. is that right?

[Summer Glau]

I took economics SL. Concept-wise it's not a difficult subject. The most difficult part is knowing how to evaluate properly (think of advantages/disadvantages of certain policies, who would be affected by them, etc.). As far as interest level goes I didn't find it very interesting but the majority of my class enjoyed economics. Psych seems more interesting but I would take econ to lighten your course load a bit (you already have math/physics HL which are hard).

Not really sure what you mean by theory/practical oriented as both subjects would have theoretical and practical elements.

[ChocolateDrop]

The economics SL syllabus has changed this year. It's as follows:

IB Standard Level Assessment

External Assessment consists of two examinations worth 80%.

Paper 1 - 40% weighting – 1 hour 30 minutes

This paper consists of Section A and Section B written extended response questions, which will be in a Part A, Part B format.This will cover the Microeconomics and Macroeconomic sections of the syllabus.

Paper 2 - 40% weighting - 1 hour 30 minutes

A Section A and Section B data-response paper based on the International Trade and Development sections of the syllabus. Each section consists of two questions, of which students must chose one.

Internal Assessment consists of a portfolio of three commentaries worth 20%.

Students are now required to write only three commentaries and the assessment criteria have been changed.

Each commentary is assessed in its entirety using the new criteria giving 14 marks per commentary. There are an additional 3 marks given to students once the entire portfolio has been submitted and assessed. Teachers can now mark each final draft throughout the year and then pull the portfolio together at the end and make a judgement on the final holistic criteria.

Criteria A – Diagrams: (3 marks)

Criteria B – Terminology (2 marks)

Criteria C – Application of economic concepts and theories (2 marks)

Criteria D – Analysis of economic concepts and theories (3 marks)

Criteria E – Evaluation (4 marks)

Total: 14 marks per commentary (x3) plus Criteria F: (3 marks)

Criteria F: Rubric requirement – assessed across the portfolio, for word counts, sections of the syllabus, different and appropriate sources, date of publication and cover sheets included.

Again evaluation is the most important criteria and makes up 12/42 marks or 30% of final grade. Evaluation is now defined as “the extent to which the student synthesizes his or her analysis in order to make judgments supported by reasoned arguments”

Other criteria such as Criteria B – Terminology are importantly different than the previous syllabus. Students are now rewarded for the extent to which they use appropriate terminology in the commentary. Previously they were given marks for the precise definition of the term, and purely using definitions. This was up to 5 marks and is now only worth 2 marks out of 14 per commentary.

A rule of thumb should probably be two diagrams which are explained, used, coherent and integrated into the students analysis. This relates to Criteria A – Diagrams.

According to: http://ajmccarthynz....-to-assessment/

As a current economics student, I would have to say it is one of the more interesting, if not the most interesting subject I study. Why? Because a vast majority of what is studied in the classroom is directly applicable to daily life, especially in this fast-paced world where the economy affects us all directly and indirectly without us even knowing. It helped me be able to make sense of news that I otherwise would have had a lacking knowledge on like the whole Greece 'crisis' and French elections. Economics is a subject present in almost all degrees and professions, either discretely or indiscreetly. There are many opportunities for persons with a computer science degree and who are employed in industry to eventually advance into managerial or project leadership, both positions in which economics may be more useful. Psychology is a lot of memorization/ notes and might be more time consuming, whilst economics would give you more time to focus on your HLs and the subjects you need.

[pskou]

hi, as time approaches to start IB,

i still have not yet decided about psych or econ.

Can someone send me the syllabus of Psychology?

thanks

[Gaby]

hi, as time approaches to start IB,

i still have not yet decided about psych or econ.

Can someone send me the syllabus of Psychology?

thanks

It's in the files section, in General IB Downloads, free for any user to download.

But I personally recommend Psychology as it is a very interesting subject.

[cricketcrazynerd]

Economics- it's generally easier to get marks in eco... psychology is normally harder

[Brenda Wijaya]

I think economics sl is somehow more linked to computer science in a sense that economics will help you understand of what's happening in the society and how consumers' preference behave to current gadgets and computer related stuffs.