Abhi's Blog: Psychology

Psychology eBooks (Downloads)

Psychology e-Books

I) Introduction to Psychology :-

Download: Link - 01 | Link - 02 Download: Link - 01 | Link - 02

II) Social Psychology :-

Download: Link - 01 | Link - 02 Download: Link - 01 | Link - 02

III) Abnormal Psychology :-

Download: Link - 01 | Link - 02 Download: Link - 01 | Link - 02

IV) Research Psychology :-

Download: Link - 01 | Link - 02 Download: Link - 01 | Link - 02

V) Applied Psychology :-

Download: Link - 01 | Link - 02 Download: Link - 01 | Link - 02

“No psychologist should pretend to understand what he does not understand... Only fools and charlatans know everything and understand nothing.” - Anton Chekhov

Enjoy !! :)

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Statistical analysis of Psychology & Public Administration together for mains

Optional subjects: scoring, popularity and benefits. Here is my analysis of civil services examination 2009 final result.

v Analysis of Psychology & Public Administration: CSE-2009:

All India Rank	Psychology	Public Administration
AIR – 01	350	343
AIR – 05	381	318
AIR – 07	328	347
AIR – 08	373	374
AIR – 09	362	353
AIR – 16	344	324
AIR – 18	316	349

TABLE: 01

TABLE 01: shows “07 CANDIDATES” Marks who were in TOP 20 in CSE-2009 with Psychology & Public Administration together.

Ø Other Candidate’s Marks who were in TOP 50 with Psychology subject are:

All India Rank	Psychology
AIR – 02	360
AIR – 06	319
AIR – 13	341
AIR – 14	284
AIR – 21	348
AIR – 27	337
AIR – 28	357
AIR – 44	381

TABLE: 02

TABLE 02: shows “08 CANDIDATES” with Psychology subject who made to TOP 50 + TABLE 01: shows “07 CANDIDATES” who made to TOP 10, so altogether "15 CANDIDATES" made to TOP 50.

Ø Other Candidate’s Marks who were in TOP 50 with Public Administration subject are:

All India Rank	Public Administration
AIR – 10	356
AIR – 22	379
AIR – 25	293
AIR – 26	324
AIR – 39	350
AIR – 40	373
AIR – 41	322
AIR – 42	355
AIR – 43	339
AIR – 45	317
AIR – 46	364
AIR – 49	335

TABLE: 03

TABLE 03: shows “12 CANDIDATES” with Public Administration subject who made to TOP 50 + TABLE 01: shows “07 CANDIDATES” who made to TOP 10, so altogether "19 CANDIDATES" made to TOP 50..

CONCLUSION: you can choose both these subjects from scoring perspective without hesitation. So here comes Age old Wisdom: Psycho & Pub.ad are best for a newbie.

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Books List for Psychology Mains

List of reference books for Psychology Mains

1. MUKUL PATHAK SIR'S CLASS NOTES (FOR BOTH PAPERS) (2-3 READINGS FOR BASIC UNDERSTANDING).

2. MUKUL PATHAK SIR'S PRINTED MATERIAL (FOR PAPER II ONLY. READ VERY LESS FOR PAPER I AS IT IS TOO BULKY).

3. ANY ONE OF THE THREE. MORGAN KING or BARON or CICCARELLI. The last one is good. Read it 2-3 times and make personal note of each chapter. BARON IS RECOMMENDED FOR CSAT.

4. SYSTEMS AND THEORIES OF PSYCHOLOGY by KRAWIEC & CHAPLIN ( If u have less time then read Perception 2 chapters, Personality, Thinking and Language, Quantitative Psychology)(If you have enough time in your hand then read the whole book word by word and 2-3 times and make note of each chapter) EXCELLENT BOOK. READ IT WELL IF YOU WANT A SCORE OF 370-400.

5. THEORIES OF PERSONALITY by HALL & LINDZEY (Last chapter and Introduction & Current Status and Evaluation of each theorist).

6. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY by BARON & BYRNE (Attitude chapter, Summary of each chapter, all terminologies and definitions and all pictographic representations) (Write them down in note format). (It is helpful in Paper II if you can apply the concepts & terminologies).

7. ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY AND MODERN LIFE by CARSON & BUTCHER (Therapies chapter, Summary of each chapter and all pictographic representations) (Write them down in note format).

8. NCERT PSYCHOLOGY XI, XII (For Indian aspect) (More helpful in Paper II) (Optional)

9. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN PSYCHOLOGY & ANY PSYCHOLOGY RELATED NEWS FROM THE HINDU.

10. Jot down 200-300 TERMINOLOGIES from these TEXT BOOKS and apply them in MAINS wherever you think to be APPROPRIATE and RELEVANT.

11. APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY by SMARAK SWAIN (Optional).

COURTESY: Dr. Bijay Ketan Upadhyaya, (IAS, AIR-05) in CSE-2008 and All-India topper in Psychology with 381 marks.

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Psychology Mains Syllabus

Syllabus: Download

PSYCHOLOGY (MAIN EXAMINATION SYLLBAUS)

Paper-I

Foundations of Psychology

1. Introduction: Definition of Psychology; Historical antecedents of Psychology and trends in the 21st century; Psychology and scientific methods; Psychology in relation to other social sciences and natural sciences; Application of Psychology to societal problems.

2. Methods of Psychology: Types of research: Descriptive, evaluative, diagnostic and prognostic; Methods of Research: Survey, observation, case-study and experiments; Characteristics of experimental design and non-experimental design, Quasi-experimental designs; Focussed group discussions, brain storming, grounded theory approach.

3. Research Methods: Major steps in Psychological research (problem statement, hypothesis formulation, research designs, sampling, tools of data collection, analysis and interpretation and report writing) Fundamental versus applied research; Methods of data collection (interview, observation, questionnaire); Research designs (ex-post facto and experimental); Application of statistical technique (t - test, two way ANOVA correlation, regression and factor analysis); Item response theory.

4. Development of Human Behaviour: Growth and development; Principles of development, Role of genetic and environmental factors in determining human behaviour; Influence of cultural factors in socialization; Life span development - Characteristics, development tasks, promoting psychological well-being across major stages of the life span.

5. Sensation, Attention and Perception: Sensation: concepts of threshold, absolute and difference thresholds, signal-detection and vigilance; Factors influencing attention including set and characteristics of stimulus; 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; The plasticity of perception; Extrasensory perception; Culture and perception, Subliminal perception.

6. Learning: Concept and theories of learning (Behaviourists, Gestaltalist and Information processing models); The Processes of extinction, discrimination and generalization; Programmed learning, probability learning, self-instructional learning, concepts; Types and the schedules of reinforcement, escape, avoidance and punishment, modeling and social learning.

7. Memory: Encoding and remembering; Short term memory, Long term memory, Sensory memory, Iconic memory, Echoic memory: The Multistore model, levels of processing; Organization and Mnemonic techniques to improve memory; Theories of forgetting: decay, interference and retrieval failure: Metamemory; Amnesia: Anterograde and retrograde.

8. Thinking and Problem Solving: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; Concept formation processes; Information processing, Reasoning and problem solving, Facilitating and hindering factors in problem solving, Methods of problem solving: Creative thinking and fostering creativity; Factors influencing decision making and judgment; Recent trends.

9. Motivation and Emotion: Psychological and physiological basis of motivation and emotion; Measurement of motivation and emotion; Effects of motivation and emotion on behaviour; Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation; Factors influencing intrinsic motivation; Emotional competence

and the related issues.

10. Intelligence and Aptitude: Concept of intelligence and aptitude, Nature and theories of intelligence - Spearman, Thurstone, Gullford Vernon, Sternberg and J.P; Das; Emotional Intelligence, Social intelligence, measurement of intelligence and aptitudes, concept of IQ, deviation IQ, constancy of IQ; Measurement of multiple intelligence; Fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence.

11. Personality: Definition and concept of personality; Theories of personality (psychoanalytical, socio-cultural, interpersonal, developmental, humanistic, behaviouristic, trait and type approaches); Measurement of personality (projective tests, pencil-paper test); The Indian approach to personality; Training for personality development; Latest approaches like big 5 factor theory; The notion of self in different traditions.

12. Attitudes, Values and Interests: Definition of attitudes, values and interests; Components of attitudes; Formation and maintenance of attitudes; Measurement of attitudes, values and interests; Theories of attitude change; Strategies for fostering values; Formation of stereotypes and prejudices; Changing others behaviour; Theories of attribution; Recent trends.

13. Language and Communication: Human language - Properties, structure and linguistic hierarchy, Language acquisition-predisposition, critical period hypothesis; Theories of language development - Skinner and Chomsky; Process and types of communication - effective communication training.

14. Issues and Perspectives in Modern Contemporary Psychology: 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-II

Psychology: Issues and Applications

1. Psychological Measurement of Individual Differences: 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. Psychological well-being and Mental Disorders: Concept of health-ill health; Positive health, well-being; Causal factors in mental disorders (Anxiety disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia and delusional disorders; personality disorders, substance abuse disorders); Factors influencing positive health, well-being, life style and quality of life; Happiness disposition.

3. Therapeutic Approaches: Psychodynamic therapies; Behaviour therapies; Client centered therapy; Cognitive therapies; Indigenous therapies (Yoga, Meditation); Bio- therapy; Prevention and rehabilitation of the mentally ill; Fostering mental health.

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 – Herzberg, Maslow, Adam Equity theory, Porter and Lawler, Vroom; Leadership and participatory management; Advertising and marketing; Stress and its management; Ergonomics; consumer psychology; Managerial effectiveness; Transformational leadership; Sensitivity training; Power and politics in organizations.

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; Effective strategies in guidance programmes.

6. Community Psychology: Definition and concept of community psychology; Use of small groups in social action; Arousing community consciousness and action for handling social problems; Group decision making and leadership for social change; Effective strategies 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 behaviour; Rehabilitation of victims of violence, Rehabilitation of HIV/AIDS victims, the role of social agencies.

8. Application of Psychology to disadvantaged groups: The concepts of disadvantaged, deprivation; Social, physical, cultural and economic consequences of disadvantaged and deprived groups; Educating and motivating the disadvantaged towards development; Relative and prolonged deprivation.

9. Psychological problems 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 in-group and out-group; Causal factors of social 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; Entrepreneurship 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. Psychology and Economic development: Achievement motivation and economic development; Characteristics of entrepreneurial behaviour; Motivating and training people for entrepreneurship and economic development; Consumer rights and consumer awareness, Government policies for promotion of entrepreneurship among youth including women entrepreneurs.

12. 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 norm; Impact of rapid scientific and technological growth on degradation of environment.

13. Application of psychology in other fields:

(a) Military Psychology: Devising psychological tests for defence personnel for use in selection, Training, counselling; training psychologists to work with defence personnel in promoting positive health; Human engineering in defence.

(b) Sports Psychology: Psychological interventions in improving performance of athletes and sports. Persons participating in Individual and Team Games.

(d) Psychology of terrorism.

14. Psychology of Gender: Issues of discrimination, Management of diversity; Glass ceiling effect, Self-fulfilling prophesy, Women and Indian society.

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Strategy for Psychology Mains

STRATEGY FOR PSYCHOLOGY (MAINS EXAMINATION)

“Winners do not do different things, they do things differently”. The knack is putting you in the shoes of the examiner. A little understanding of the psychology of the examiner, this can be done by putting yourself in the examiner's place. What you would like in any answer sheet? Clarity of thought, lucidity, good content, well expressed language. In short, good Communication Skill (Written Communication) so that the answer script speaks for itself. The reason why I began with writing skill is that it is the most important component in the preparation for the Mains Examination. There are many intelligent students, well versed with knowledge about their subject matter and yet they do not score in the Mains Examination. Why? Of course, luck and destiny is there. But another reason is faulty writing skill. Thus Civil Services Examination requires a two-pronged strategy to hit the target Content and Writing Skill. Now I will take up both these components in detail.

· CONTENT INVOLVES THE FOLLOWING:

(a) Conceptual understanding.

(b) Facts.

(d) Something new, in terms of knowledge base or linkages or ingenuity or diagrams.

1. Conceptual understanding - of the subject matter is most important. Give a layman's interpretation to the concepts and relate it with mundane example for long term memory.

2. Facts - After conceptual understanding, the second step is memorizing the important facts. For example - some important theoretical aspects are to be memorized to attempt any question related to the spatial analysis of the subject matter.

3. Something New - new diagrams, new ideas, original ideas, new content, latest reports, linkages etc. However, one has to be cautious that a balance is maintained and the ideas are not too radical. Also it should be well integrated with the answer.

· WRITING SKILL:

1. Be short and precise.

2. Writing should be legible and neat.

3. Grammatical errors to be avoided.

4. Simple language.

5. Neat diagrams whenever it is required to give precision to your answer.

Writing skill does not mean a decorative language, having extra-ordinary vocabulary. It means that the ideas should be well expressed in a lucid manner. Simple language but a speaking Language is the demand i.e. the answer sheet should speak out everything for itself with requisite words, depends on.....

· Development of appropriate linkages (Transfer of Training so that better application in second paper)

· Updated material (To cope up with the growing advances ,which serve the purpose of cherry on your pudding)

· Application of Phemonia and other easy to remember techniques

· Individual attention to every student (Proper strength ,weakness, opportunities and threats analysis) Above are the few important points, rest you experience yourself here at Khan Study Group Institute and chalk your destiny. SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO PREPARE PYSCHOLOGY

· EIGHT STEPS OF SUCESS IN MAINS EXAMINATION:

1. Read the basic books first, rather than going for journals and foreign authors etc. whether ‘Preliminary Examination’ or ‘Mains’, what is required as a first step is the mastering of the BASICS (A, B, C) of the subject. So, first step requires mastering these.

2. While reading, focus has to be on CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING rather than simply memorizing the facts. The Facts are easier to memorize if the concepts are clear.

3. Memorizing the FACTS (even the conceptual words, books-authors etc. If one has the subject in the Preliminary Examination). Using Mnemonics or other interesting methods which suits your style, you can do this.

4. Make your flashcard or one register in which all your facts are intact and you can revise them anytime. Rather than simply collecting new fact every day, focus should be on revising what you have with you. Only when that is memorized thoroughly move on the new facts. Even when you are reading the new material, keep coming to the old materials in between. This is very important, else during the examination, you will remember that you have read something like this somewhere but "what was it exactly" might not come to you mind and the memory of it will remain only as a faint image. This has to be checked. The ultimate success depends on not ‘what all you have read’ but ‘how’ much you retain it’. How far you have practiced diagrams as well organizing the event in chronological manner. This is very crucial and should not be neglected.

5. Solve as many questions as possible. One should solve all the previous year’s questions of UPSC and solve them again and again. Many of the questions are repeated. Even if the same questions are not repeated in the same words, quite often the areas remain the same. Nature of the subject does matters. There should be no ambiguity in the answers. Writing skill comes through practice. Writing skill is also based on your knowledge base and conceptual understanding. This only can give flow and lucidity to your answers. The conceptual understanding will make your answer well organized and well integrated. Thus, writing skill and content both should complement and supplement each other. Writing skill has its base in content and content needs writing skill to be well expressed.

· EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION FIVE PRINCIPLES:

1. Underline the key words.

2. Underline the latest updates that you have incorporated in your answer.

3. Make some lucid diagrams to make your presentation effective. But remember that the diagrams need to be well integrated with your answer.

4. Each topic has some key words and the examiner expects you to write them.

5. Another, crucial factor which many of us tend to overlook is the selection of the first answer. Remember “FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE LAST IMPRESSION”, hence your first answer should be your best answer, Len one in which you have command and also have SOMETHING NEW to give - in the form of linkages, recent reports, diagrams, maps etc.

· WHY PSYCHOLOGY AS AN OPTIONAL?

Psychology is the study of behaviour of human beings and animals and application of it for the benefit of mankind. It is equally favourite among all streams of students irrespective of their background to appear in the Civil Services Main Examination. Besides being interesting in nature its simplicity and more marks fetching character attracts the students. Civil Services preparation is not just a preparation but strategic preparation.

To be successful not only hard work, determination, dedication, etc. required but also wise selection of subjects. Psychology is the subject which provides limited course and adequate gap with other optionals thus enhancing the chances of selection.

The best approach is to go through all the available material for the better understanding but you are not doing a PhD course but want to be selected in the civil services. Coaching institutions share this burden from you and filter the relevant material so that you can better utilize your scarce resources of time, money and energy. But in this market of coaching institutions you need wisdom to choose the right one.

· Flow chart presentation (Easy to Remember and more marks fetching in character). Analyse the previous year UPSC question paper thoroughly and try to chalk out the areas of the question. Also write down these questions topic wise and keep going through them again and again.

· Mark the mistakes, which you commit while solving these questions. Do not overlook them and do not lie to yourself that “it was a careless mistake”. Even was a careless mistake like overlooking the word "not" in the question, be cautious that you should not repeat it in the examination hall. Also analyse your mistake thoroughly whether it was due to lack of conceptual understanding or it was forgetting the facts. Master you weakness after analysing them. NOTE OF CAUTION- Do not read the guide first and then the basic books. It has to be the other way round.

· Discuss with your friend. Discussion helps a lot provided it is honest discussion with the motive to help the other and in turn getting help. Else it can be disastrous also. These are broadly some tips, which can help you in the Mains as well as Preliminary Examination. However, what matters most is the mental calmness and cool, which you maintain in the examination hall. Do not panic if you do not know any question. Apply your mind. Though not always, but most of the times the questions can be rightly solved if one maintains his cool and analyses it logically. However, ultimately what matters is giving your best shot and leaving the rest on him.

· Try to integrate the statement of the question, somewhere in you answer. Either begin with it or end with it. This makes your answer FOCUSSED and well knit.

· Last, but not the least, just before your examination gives your precious three to four hours to those things which are the dynamic aspects of your preparation. This includes the latest updates, reports, diagrams etc. Even glancing over these things at the last moment makes they alive and fresh in your memory (provided you have read them earlier) and they can be reproduced more authentically in the examination. This will definitely make the Difference. These are the GOLDEN RULES for fetching marks in PSYCHOLOGY. These are not merely to be memorized and retold to others, but need to be applied in writing answers. So the thrust should be on writing answers and getting them evaluated. The more you practice the better answers you would be able to write. Next, I come to the question of reading list. But remember “It is not wide reading but useful reading that tends to excellence”.

· SECTION B:

· 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.

· 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 in-group and out-group. Casual factors of such conflicts and prejudices.

· Other applications of psychology: Sports psychology - improving performance of sports, personnel, psychology and understanding of political behaviour. Voting behaviours.

· WRITING IMPORTANT POINTS:

Don't exceed limit in short answer questions
Try to make the introduction catchy while answering short and long questions. Students should use real-life examples to make the answers lively.
Highlight the important points Short sentences should be order of the day. Conclusion should consist of entire discussion.
Make a framework of the answer like what would you write in the lead paragraph, body text and the conclusion before you proceed with writing the answer.
Time management is key and candidates should ensure that they have atleast 25 minutes on hand before they attempt the last question.

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Constitution of India

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Psychology eBooks (Downloads)

Statistical analysis of Psychology & Public Administration together for mains

Books List for Psychology Mains

Psychology Mains Syllabus

Strategy for Psychology Mains

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