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The blogspot where psychology brews, ideas stick, and conversations flow...
"Psychology grows when you add your voice—share your insights here and make this learning space pulse with idea beats , because learning becomes richer when it’s shared."
The blog as a concept is generally credited to Jorn Barger, who in 1997 used the term “weblog” to describe logging links and commentary on the web.
Later, in 1999, Peter Merholz playfully shortened weblog to “blog,” which is the term that stuck and became mainstream as a regularly updated online space where ideas, insights, or reflections are shared in a personal, conversational way
Like an apple coated with a gummy caterpillar, the psychology blogs don’t just sit beside students—they stick with them, making complex real life ideas feel approachable, memorable, and hard to shake off.
When Your Brain Learns Under Pressure, It Changes forever. Most students believe that the brain freezes during exams.
That stress causes blackout. Read more...
Why knowing Psychology isn’t enough-Because real success comes from meta-inquiry and metacognitive control
Most IB Psychology students work hard.
They read. They highlight. They memorise studies. They revise theories. And yet, many walk out of the exam hall thinking, “I knew this… why couldn’t I use it properly?” This gap is not about intelligence. Read more...
Why exam blackouts happen even when you’re well prepared
“I knew this. But!!!!
Biting the finger nails often start with, “I revised everything. My mind just went blank!”
Almost every IB student has said this after an exam. A blackout feels like betrayal — as if the brain suddenly refused to cooperate. But psychology tells us something more precise, and far more empowering: blackouts are not caused by lack of knowledge, but by how stress hijacks access to knowledge. Read more...
Group study before exam: Learning through collaborative and experience the power of shared thinking
Many students believe that serious exam preparation is a solitary act. Headphones on. Notes open. Silence. Focus. And while individual study is important, psychology itself tells us something counter-intuitive: some of the deepest learning happens when thinking is shared. When students explain a concept to a peer, challenge an argument, or debate which study fits an ERQ better, the brain engages in a process far richer than memorisation. This is not “revision talk.” This is cognitive restructuring. Read more...
Why planning your answer is a cognitive skill (Not a waste of time)
Many students believe that planning during an exam is a luxury they can’t afford. “I don’t have time to plan.”
“I’ll think while I write.”
“Planning slows me down.” Psychology tells us the opposite. Planning is not a delay in thinking—it is how to think what to think. When an IB Psychology question appears, the brain is immediately faced with multiple competing demands: understanding the command term, selecting relevant concepts, choosing appropriate studies, managing time, and avoiding irrelevant detail. Writing without planning forces the brain to juggle all of this at once, overwhelming working memory. This is where performance quietly collapses. Read more...
How confidence is built neurologically (And why it’s Not just a Mindset)
Confidence is often mistaken for personality.
Some people “have it.” Others don’t. Neuroscience tells a very different story. Confidence is not a trait—it is a neurological outcome of repeated successful regulation. When students feel confident walking into an exam, it’s not because they told themselves positive affirmations. It’s because their brains have learned, through experience, “I know how to handle this situation.” Read more...
Learn deep first, then practise 'Smart' (Why repeating weak answers trains the wrong brain)
Most students believe that practice alone makes answers better. So they practise.
And practise.
And practise again. But here’s the uncomfortable truth psychology reveals: repeating weak answers does not improve performance—it reinforces weakness. The brain does not magically “fix” what it repeats.
It automates what it repeats. In the first phase of preparation, the brain needs depth, not speed. This is the phase where concepts must be understood slowly, connections must be built deliberately, and confusion must be resolved—not bypassed. Read more...
Why speed without structure collapses under pressure
Many students chase speed as the final goal of exam preparation. They write faster.
They finish papers early.
They pride themselves on “getting everything down.” And yet, under real exam pressure, something strange happens. Speed disappears.
Structure collapses.
Thinking fragments. Psychology explains why. Read more...
The fantasy of brain parts (And Why the brain doesn’t work in pieces)
We love neat stories about the brain. “This part controls emotions.”
“That part handles logic.”
“The left brain is analytical, the right brain is creative.” These ideas are comforting. They make the brain feel organised, predictable, almost mechanical. But psychology and neuroscience tell a far more interesting—and far less tidy—story. The truth is this: the brain does not work in isolated parts. Read more...
Why emotions are not “irrational”
“Don’t be emotional.”
“Think logically.”
“Emotion clouds judgment.” Somewhere along the way, emotions were framed as the enemy of reason—unpredictable, messy, and irrational. Psychology, however, tells a far more nuanced and fascinating story. Emotions are not irrational. They are informational. From an evolutionary perspective, emotions exist because they work. Fear alerts us to danger. Anger signals boundary violation. Sadness slows us down for reflection and recovery. Joy reinforces behaviours worth repeating. These responses are not random reactions—they are adaptive signals shaped by survival needs. Read more...
Why anxiety can improve performance (When it’s working with your brain)
Anxiety has a terrible reputation. Students are told to eliminate it.
To calm down.
To “stop stressing.” But psychology tells a more interesting—and more honest—story. Anxiety is not automatically harmful. In the right range, it is performance-enhancing. From a biological perspective, anxiety is the brain’s way of preparing the body for challenge. When a student feels anxious before an exam, the brain releases adrenaline and noradrenaline, increasing alertness, reaction speed, and focus. At the same time, dopamine supports motivation and goal-directed behaviour. This state sharpens attention. It helps the brain prioritise what matters now. The Yerkes–Dodson law captures this perfectly: performance improves with physiological arousal up to an optimal point. Below this level, students feel bored or disengaged. Read more...
Why calm is not the same as control
Students are often told the same thing before exams: “Just stay calm.”
It sounds helpful. It sounds wise.
But psychology draws an important distinction that is often missed. Calm is a state. Control is a skill. Calm refers to low emotional arousal. Control refers to the brain’s ability to regulate attention, behaviour, and decision-making, even when arousal is present. Exams rarely reward calmness alone—they reward regulated engagement under pressure. Read more...
How stress becomes a skill
Stress is usually treated as something to eliminate.
Psychology treats it differently. Stress can be trained. When students encounter stress repeatedly in a predictable, manageable form, the brain adapts. This process is known as stress inoculation. The nervous system learns that stress does not automatically signal danger—it can signal demand. Biologically, this training recalibrates the stress response. Cortisol is still released, but in smaller, shorter bursts. Read more...
Why the brain loves shortcuts
The human brain did not evolve to be slow and exhaustive.
It evolved to be efficient. To manage overwhelming information, the brain relies on cognitive shortcuts, known as heuristics. These shortcuts allow rapid judgments with minimal effort. Most of the time, they work remarkably well. But efficiency comes at a cost. Heuristics trade accuracy for speed. In everyday life, this is adaptive. In exams, however, these shortcuts can quietly sabotage performance. For example, when a familiar study name appears in a question, the brain immediately reaches for it—even if it’s only partially relevant. This is the availability heuristic in action. Read more...
At the heart of effective learning lies a simple but powerful truth: the brain is not fixed. Modern neuroscience shows that the brain continuously reshapes itself in response to experience, effort, and challenge—a property known as neuroplasticity. Long before this science entered popular discourse, the philosophy of the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile quietly reflected this understanding. Attributes such as Risk-taker, Reflective, Inquirer, and Open-minded are not just educational ideals; they are deeply aligned with how the brain actually grows. Read more...
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