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IB DP Psychology — Technology | SL & HL | Paper 2
Learning Intentions By the end of this note, you will be able to:
- Define digital health interventions, teletherapy, and app-based mental health tools using IB-aligned terminology.
- Explain how technology-based prevention strategies differ from traditional approaches and the psychological mechanisms through which they operate.
- Describe the role of mobile applications, wearable devices, and online platforms in promoting health behaviour change.
- Evaluate research evidence for technology-based prevention and treatment using supporting and opposing studies in ACAS format.
- Apply concepts of technology in prevention and treatment to a real-world case study from cognitive and sociocultural perspectives.
- Discuss the extent to which technology provides an effective and equitable solution to health promotion and mental health treatment.
- Analyse technology-based health interventions using relevant concept areas: Bias, Causality, Change, Measurement, Perspective, and Responsibility.
Introduction & Context
Imagine waking up in the morning and, before you have even spoken to another person, your phone has already tracked your sleep quality, reminded you to take medication, nudged you toward a mindfulness exercise, and offered a brief mood check-in. For millions of people around the world, this is not a futuristic scenario — it is their daily reality. Technology has quietly embedded itself into the fabric of how people manage their health, and psychologists are increasingly asking whether this is genuinely beneficial or whether it introduces new complications.
The intersection of technology and health psychology is one of the most rapidly evolving areas in the discipline. Historically, health promotion relied on face-to-face consultations, printed pamphlets, and community programmes. These approaches, while valuable, were constrained by geography, cost, and availability. The rise of smartphones, wearable sensors, artificial intelligence, and internet-based platforms has fundamentally altered what is possible — and what is expected — in both the prevention of illness and the treatment of psychological and physical health conditions.
This note explores two broad domains: technology as a tool for prevention (stopping health problems before they develop) and technology as a vehicle for treatment (addressing conditions that already exist). These domains overlap considerably, and the same app or platform may serve both functions simultaneously. Understanding the psychological evidence behind these tools — what works, for whom, and under what conditions — is central to evaluating their place in modern healthcare.
🔧 Analogy — The Scaffolding on a Building Think of technology-based health interventions like scaffolding on a building under construction. The scaffolding does not build the building itself — it supports the workers who do. Similarly, a mental health app or a wearable fitness tracker does not produce health on its own. It provides structure, reminders, data, and access that support the individual in making changes. The quality of the scaffolding matters enormously: poorly designed scaffolding can be unstable or even dangerous, just as poorly designed health technology can mislead, disengage, or harm users.
Core Concepts
Before examining specific technologies, it is worth asking a foundational question: what does it mean to prevent a health problem using technology? Prevention in health psychology operates at three levels. Primary prevention aims to stop a condition from developing in the first place — for example, encouraging regular exercise through a fitness app before any illness is present. Secondary prevention involves early detection and intervention — for instance, a wearable device that flags irregular heart rhythms before a cardiac event occurs. Tertiary prevention focuses on managing an existing condition to prevent deterioration — such as a digital platform that helps someone with diabetes track blood glucose and adjust behaviour accordingly.
📖 Key Definition — Digital Health Intervention (DHI) A digital health intervention is any health-promoting activity delivered through a digital medium — including mobile applications,