Psychology (Optional) Syllabus for Preliminary Examination
1. Introduction to psychology :
Concept and definition of psychology. Nature and Scope. Branches of
psychology. Application of psychology to soceity and social problems. 2. Methods in Psychology :
Characteristics of psychological studies, Observation. Survey method,
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case study method. Experimental method. Application of the
method. 3. Quantities Analysis :
Measures of central tendency and dispersion. Correlation. Levels of
measurement. Reliability and validity. Application in test construction. 4. Physiological Psychology :
Structure of neuron, nerve impulses, synapse and neurotransmitters. Central
and peripheral nervous system-structure and neural control of behaviour.
Hemispheric specialisation. Endocrine system and hormonal control of
behaviour. Application of hemispheric knowledge to diagnostic purposes. 5. Development of human behaviour :
Individual Differences : Heredity and environment. Life span developent.
Role of early experience and mastering of developmental tasks. Sensitive or
critical periods of development in human life cycle and its application. 6. Perception :
Preceptual processes. Perceputal organsiation. Perception of form, colour,
depth and time. Perceptual readiness and constancy. Role of motivation,
social and cultural factors in perception. Application of knowledge of
perception to skill development (e.g. for certain jobs like that of driving,
airline pilots etc.) 7. Learning :
Classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Modeling and observational
learning. Transfer of training. Learing and motivation. Application of the
above to the improvement of academic performance in education. 8. Memory :
Physiological basis of memory. Memory and forgetting. Measurement of memory
(Recall, Recognition, Relearning). Short term and long term memory. Theories
of forgetting (Decay and Interference theories and Repressive forgetting).
Application of Mnemonic devices etc, to improving memory. 9. Cognition and Language :
Concept of formation. Nature and development of thinking. Language and
thought and acquisition of language. Problem solving. Creative thinking and
its applications. 10. Intelligence and Aptitude :
Definition and concept. Theories and models of Intelligence. Measurement of
intelligence and aptitude. Exceptional intelligence. Mental retardation.
Concepts of multiple, emotional and artificial intelligence and their
application. 11. Motivation and Emotion :
Definition and concept of instinct, needs, drives and motives. Theories of
motivation and their application (drive reduction theory, Maslows
motivational hierarchy). Social motivation: Achievement, power, affiliation
motives and influence of early experiences. Physiological basis of emotion.
Theories of emotion (James-Lange and Cannon-Brad theories, cognitive
physiological theory). 12. Personality :
Concepts and Definition of personality. Sutdy of personality (Trait, type
and eclectic approaches) Development of personality (Freud, Erikson,
Biological and socio-cultural determinants). Measurement of Personality
(Projective tests, pencil-paper tests). Application of personality profiles
in fitting a person to a job. 13. Adjustment and Stress :
Concept and definition. Factors affecting adjustment (frustration and
conflict). Sources of stress and reactions to stress. Coping with stress.
Application of stress management techniques. 14. Social Behaviour :
Socio-cultural factors and behaviour. Development of attitudes, stereotypes
and prejudice, Measurement of Attidutes (Thurstone, Likert attitude scale
and Bogardus Social Distance scale). Strategies for reducing prejudice and
changing atitude. Person perception, implicit personality theory and
integrating impressions. Application of person perception to impression
management. 15. Application of Psychology :
Health and mental health (yoga, meditation and relaxation therapies).
Education (Programmed learning,. self instructional learning and learning
styles). Community (self help through group cohesiveness and leadership).
Industry (Assessment centre approach in selection, recruitment and
training). Environment (man-nature interaction, personal space concept,
pollution reduction) Information technology (Application to commercial,
educational and health areas).
Psychology (Optional) Syllabus for Main Examination
Paper-I : Foundations of Psychology
1. Introduction : Psychology as a Science : Definitions and
perspective. Psychology in relation to other social and natural sciences.
Use of interdiciplinary approach. 2. Methods of Psychology : Characteristics and components of methods
in psychology (induction, deduction and introspection). Observation, Survey,
Laboratory and field experiments. Clinical and Case study. Experimental and
quasi experimental methods. 3. Research methods and quantitative analysis : Major steps in
psychological research (problem statement, hypothesis formulation, research
design, sampling, tools of data collection, analysis and interpretation and
report writing). Fundamental versus applied research. Methods of data
collection (interview, observation, questionnaire and case study). Research
Designs (Ex-post facto and experimental). Application of statistical
techniques (t-test, one-way ANOVA correlation and regression and chi-square
tests). 4. Development of Human Behaviour : The nature, origin and
development. Role of genetic and environmental factors in determining human
behaviour. Influence of cultural factors and socialisation. Life span
development-the critical periods and their handling, Mastery of the
developmental tasks. Influence of child rearing practices and its impact on
the growth and development of the individual, concept of national character. 5. Attention and perception : Attention - factors, influencing
attention including set and characteristics of stimulus. Sensation-concepts
of threshold, absolute and difference thresholds, signal detection and
vigilance. Definition and concept of perception, biological factors in
perception. Perceptual organization-influence of past experiences,
Perceptual defence-factors influencing. Space and depth perception, size
estimation and perceptual readiness. 6. Learning : Concepts and theories of learning (Pavlov, Skimer and
Piaget). The processes of extinction, discrimination and generalisation.
Programmed learning, probability learning, self instructional learning,
concepts, types and the schedules of reinforcement. Modelling and social
learning. 7. Memory : Concepts and definition of memory and forgetting, 7+/-2
concept and clumking Encoding, storage and retrieval. Factors influencing
retention and foregetting. Theories of forgetting (Repression, Decay and
Interference theories). The concept of reminiscence.
8. Thinking and Problem Solving : Concept formation processes.
Reasoning and problem solving. Creative thinking and fostering creativity.
Information processing. Decision making and judgment.
9. Intelligence and Aptitude : Concept and definition of Intelligence and
aptitude, Nature and theories of intelligence. Measurement of Intelligence
and aptitude Concepts and measurement of emotional and multiple
10. Motivation and Emotion : Definition and concepts. Theories and
physiological basis of motivation and emotion. Measurement of motivation and
emotion Motivation and emotion-their effects on behaviour.
11. Personality : Concept and definition of personality. Theories of
personality (psychoanalytical, socio-cultural, interpersonal and
developmental, humanistic, behaviouristic, trait and type approaches).
Measurement of personality (projective tests, pencil-paper test). The Indian
approach to Personality. Training for personality development.
12. Language and Communication : Human language-properties, structure and
linguistic hierarchy, Language acquisition-predisposition, critical period
hypothesis. Theories of language development (Skinner, Chomsky), Process and
types of communication. Effective communication and training.
13. Attitudes, Values and Interests : Definitions, concepts of attitudes,
values and interests. Components ofattitudes, values and interests.
Formation and maintenance of attitudes. Measurement of attitudes, values and
interests. Theories of attitudes, and attitudes changes, strategies for
14. Recent Trends : Computer application in the Psychological laboratory and
psychological testing. Artificial Intelligence. Psychocybernetics. Study of
consciousness-sleep-wake schedules; dreams, stimulus deprivation,
meditation, hypnotic/drug induced states. Extrasensory perception.
Intersensory perception Simulation studies.
Paper-IIPsychology : Issues and Applications
Section-A 1. Psychological Measurement of Individual Diference : The nature of
individual differences. Characteristics and construction of standardized
psychological tests. Types of psychological tests. Use, misuse and
limitation of psychological tests. Ethical issues in the use of
psychological tests. 2. Well being and Mental Disorders : Concept of health, positive
health, well being and ill health. Mental disorders (Anxiety disorders, mood
disorders, schizophernia and delusional disorders; personality disorders,
substance abuse disorders). Causal factors in mental disorders. Factors
influencing positive health, well being, life style and quality of life. 3. Therapeutic Approaches : Psychody-namic therapies. Behaviour
therapies. Client centered therapy. Cognitive therapies. Indigenous
therapies (Yoga, Reiki, Meditation) Biofeedback therapy. Prevention and
rehabilitation of the mentally ill. 4. Work Psychology and Organisational Behaviour : Personnel selection
and training. Use of Psychological tests in the industry. Training and human
resource development. Theories of work motivation. Leadership and
participatory management. Advertising and marketing. 5. Application of Psychology to Educational Field : Psychological
principles underlying effective teaching-learning process.Learning styles
Gifted, retarded, learning disabled and their training. Training for
improving memory and better academic achievement. Personality development
and value education, Educational, vocational guidance and Career
counselling. Use of Psychological tests in educational institutions. 6. Communty Psychology : Definition and concept of Community
Psychology. Role of community psychologists in social change. Use of small
groups in social action. Arousing community consciousness and action for
handling social problems. Group decision making and leadership for social
change. 7. Rehabilitation Psychology : Primary, secondary and tertiary
prevention programmes-role of psychologists. Organising of services for
rehabilitation of physically, mentally and socially challenged persons
including old persons. Rehabilitation of persons suffering from substance
abuse, juvenile delinquency, criminal behaviours. Rehabilitation of victims
of violence. Rehabiliation of HIV/.AIDS victims.
Section-B 8. Application of Psychology to disadvantaged groups : The concepts
of disadvantaged, deprivation and socially deprived. Social, physical,
cultural and economic consequences of disadvantaged and deprived groups.
Educating and motivating the disadvantaged towards development. 9. Psychological and the problem of social integration : The concept
of social integration. The problem of caste, class, religion and language
conflicts and prejudice. Nature and manifestation of prejudice between the
ingroup and outgroup. Casual factors of such conflicts and prejudices.
Psychological strategies for handling the conflicts and prejudices. Measures
to achieve social integration.
10. Application of psychology in Information Technology and Mass media : The
present scenario of information technology and the mass media boom and the
role of psychologists. Selection and training of psychology professionals to
work in the field of IT and mass media. Distance learning through IT and
mass media. Entrepre neurship through e-commerce. Multilevel marketing.
Impact of TV and fostering value through IT and mass media. Psychological
consequences of recent developments in Information Technology. 11. Application of Psychology in the field of Defence : The concept
of Military psychology, Aviation psychology and Psychological warfare Role
of Military psychologists in the defence. Selection, recruitment and
training of personnel. Facilitating the process of adjustment of personnel
to military life-Role of Counselling. Devising Psychological tests for
defence personnel. Psychological disorders due to war. Human engineering in
Defence. 12. Psychology and Economic development : Achievement motivation and
economic development. Characteristics of entrepreneurial behavior.
Motivating and Training people for entrepreneurship and economic
development. Women Entrepreneurs. Consumer rights and consumer courts. 13. Application of psychology to environment and related fields :
Environmental psychology-effects of noise, pollution and crowding.
Population psychology-psychological consequences of population explosion and
high population density. Motivating for small family norms. Impact of rapid
scientific and technological growth on degradation of environment. 14. Other applications of psychology : Sports psychology-improving
performance of sports, personnel, psychology and understanding of political
behaviour. Voting behaviours. Psychology of corruption and strategies to
deal with Psychology of terrorism.