Realms/08 Psychology

Pterion's Sanctum

Trust your instincts. Then question them.

Every decision has a reason. Every reaction has a trigger. Every person you meet carries a world of thoughts, patterns, biases and beliefs you cannot see. But what happens when the mind becomes the mystery? Here the obvious answer may not be the right one. A harmless decision could hide a cognitive bias. A group could change the way you think without you noticing. And somewhere beneath it all, your own mind could be quietly shaping how you read everything around you.

Category Head

Rameesha Rohail

Category Co-Head

Aatika Eamad

Rounds

Three rounds

Delegate cap

3 delegates per team

The rounds

  1. 01

    The Bias Battle

    • 3 delegates per team
    • Non-elimination

    This round asks delegates to uncover why people think, decide and behave the way they do. Teams are given five to eight short scenarios based on real situations. Each holds clues pointing to a psychological concept, though the answer is rarely sitting neatly on the surface. Think of every scenario as a small psychological mystery, and don't let your first impression fool you.

    • Identify: name the concept, bias or theory being demonstrated.
    • Prove: point to the specific detail or behaviour that led you there.
    • Explain: say how that concept is shaping the thoughts, decisions or behaviour in the scenario.
    • Naming it alone is not enough.
  2. 02

    Who's Behind the Mask?

    • 3 delegates per team
    • Elimination. The top 5 teams move to round 3

    An interactive psychological interrogation. Every delegate receives a character board before entering the room, holding a set of distinct personality traits, behaviours and mannerisms. Inside, delegates gather for a group conversation where everyone is secretly assigned one character to roleplay. A designated secret head has to join the discussion, read everyone's communication style and subtle cues, and work out which delegate is secretly playing the same character as them.

    • Decode the mind. Unmask the motive.
  3. 03

    The Mind Maze

    • 3 delegates per team
    • The top two teams take Winner and Runner-Up

    The final test of how well you can navigate the mind. Teams move through a series of physical stations, each presenting a psychological puzzle, scenario, question or challenge. Some ask you to identify concepts, others to apply theories, recognise patterns, or reason your way through a problem. Speed matters, and so does getting it right.

    • Teams begin with their first challenge.
    • Once solved, the Station Master verifies the answer and hands over the clue to the next station.
    • Each completed station gives the team one numerical digit.
    • Teams collect and arrange their digits to form the Master Code.
    • The first team to crack the code and unlock the final envelope finishes.

What to prepare

Study guide

The full brief for this realm, as a PDF.

Enter Pterion's Sanctum

Psychology. Add it to your delegation's realms when you register.

Register your delegation