Discover the UPSC Psychology syllabus for the optional subject in the Civil Services Mains Exam. Gain insights into theoretical and applied psychology, and apply knowledge to real-world problems. Prepare effectively with the detailed syllabus provided. This subject tests candidates' ability to understand psychology as a science and apply it to societal challenges. It is recommended for practicing psychologists and those with a background in psychology. The optional subject comprises two papers, each worth 250 marks, totaling 500 marks in the UPSC exam.
UPSC Mains Psychology Paper 1 Syllabus
Phychology as a science - Origin of experimental psychology (Wundt and James). Methods of Psychology, Pure and applied aspects of Psychology)
Nervous system, Neurone and nerve impulses, Central and autonomic nervous system, Endocrine system.
Sensory Processes - Visual sense, Auditory sense, Other senses.
Perceptual process, Perceptual constancies, Organization and perception, colour and form perception, Depth and movement perception, Role of experience in perception.
States of consciousness, Varieties of waking States, Sleeping and dreaming, Hypnotic and drug induced States.
Conditioning and learning, Classical conditioning, Operate conditioning, Principles of reinforcement, Phenomena of extinction, discrimination and generalisation.
Multiple response learning, Cognitive learning, Learning by modelling.
Verbal learning and memory, Input term memory, Long term memory, Forgetting.
Nature of motivation, Basic motives and their correlates, Hunger, thrust and sex, psychological changes in emotion. Theories of emotion (James-Lenge, Cannon-Bard)
Thinking and problem solving, Cannon formation, Language and thinking, set as a factor in problem solving.
Frustration, Reactions to frustration, defence mechanisms. Defence mechanisms and adjustment.
Nature of attitudes, Development of attitudes. Attitude changes. Measurement of attitude.
UPSC Mains Psychology Paper 2 Syllabus
Basic concepts of phychophysics, Absolute and differential thresholds, Phychophysical methods of limit, constant stimuli, average error, equal appearing interval and paired comparison. Weber - Fachner law.
Nature of human intelligence, Individual and group difference in intelligence, Tests of intelligence and aptitudes identification of creativity.
Meaning of personality, Type and trait approaches, Personality assessment.
Theories of personality, Murray, Freud, Lewin and Pogers.
Growth and development through childhood and adolescence. Physical growth and motor development. Mental growth and development.
Behaviour disorder. Phychoneuroes. Psychoses. Psychosomatic and personality disorders, Phychotheraphy and mental hygiene.
Clinical psychology, Psychoanalytic, client - centered group and behaviour therapies.
Social perception, Nature of person perception, Social interaction. Power processed and structures. Norms and conformity.
Psychology in industry. Work environment. Industrial fatigue. Personnel selection. Organization Climate. Organizational Leadership. Job analysis and job evaluation.
Schools of psychology - Behaviourism. Psychoanalysis and Gestalt psychology.
Basic scales of measurement. Steps in test construction and standardisation. Item construction and analysis. Reliability, validity and norms.
Elementary statistics Frequency distribution and graphic representation. Measures of central tendency, measures of variability. Cumulative distributions and percentilies, Normal Probability curve.
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