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IAS Preparation (/free-ias-prep/) > UPSC Preparation Strategy (/free-ias-prep/upsc-exam-strategy/) > How To Prepare For Psychology Optional (/free-ias-prep/how-to-prepare-
for-psychology-optional/)
Psychology is one of the optional subjects offered by the UPSC for the civil services mains examination. Psychology is de ned as
the scienti c study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behaviour in a given context. The tricky thing
about psychology is that it is considered to be a natural science, a social science and also a life science subject. This makes the
study and writing answers for UPSC, a somewhat dicey affair. But, with focused study and the correct guidance, this optional can be
aced as many toppers in the past have proved.
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Before starting off with the paperwise optional strategy, let us rst look at the basics of studying psychology for the IAS exam.
There are four aspects which you should keep in mind while studying and also while writing answers. They are:
1. Basic concept – this includes the de nitions and the underlying concept.
2. Experimental studies – include these in your answers with names preferably. These studies are very important to the eld of
psychology and include them as a fundamental aspect of your preparation. Since psychology is not an exact science, there is a
thin dividing intuition and research-proven facts. So, be extra careful while preparing this aspect.
3. Real-life examples – these boost your score. They are also the applied part of psychology. Include examples from different
walks of life. More importantly, use examples from India itself more, because, at the end of the day, you want to be an Indian
civil servant!
4. Flowcharts – this helps you understand many concepts and also, of course, boosts score, not to mention saves times during
the exam.
Paper I Strategy
Paper I in psychology is more theoretical in nature. The portions can be divided into:
Foundations of Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Personality and Contemporary Psychology.
You must develop a strong foundation in Paper I because this is going to be your base on which to build answers in Paper II
(which is basically applying the concepts in Paper I into practice).
The chapter ‘Research Methods’ is increasingly becoming popular with the UPSC and many questions are being asked from it.
A few topics are repeatedly asked and you should be absolutely thorough with them so that these marks are assured. They are
working memory, intrinsic motivation, personality, attitude, values and interests, and issues in modern psychology.
The book to follow for paper I is Psychology by Robert Baron. Alternatively, you can use Psychology by Saundra Ciccarelli.
Example questions are given from 2018 and 2017 psychology papers (paper I) for illustration:
“Human memory is not like information stored in a tape recorder or compact disc.” Critically evaluate the statement. (10
marks, 2018)
Demonstrate the importance of the shallow and deep levels of processing in remembering. With the help of daily life
examples, explain how retrieval cues enable us to remember. (15 marks, 2018)
Why do we forget? Differentiate between anterograde and retrograde amnesia. (20 marks, 2017)
Explain the differences in information processing at various levels of memory. In what way is recall affected by initial
processing of information? (15 marks, 2017)
Why is the principle of random assignment of participants used in experimental method? How do experimenter effects
and demand characteristics in uence participants’ behaviour in experimentation? What procedures can be adopted to
minimize such pitfalls? (20 marks, 2018)
What are the assumptions underlying ANOVA? Discuss the conditions when two-way ANOVA is applied and how the
results are interpreted with a hypothetical example. (20 marks, 2018)
Which research design would you apply to prove that a particular method of teaching yields best results? (20 marks,
2017)
“Creativity refers to novel ideas that address some problems in a useful way.” Critically examine the statement and
discuss how creative insight can be explained. (15 marks, 2018)
Creative people usually have high IQ scores but those with highest IQ scores are not necessarily the most creative people.
Explain. (10 marks, 2017)
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Paper II Strategy
Paper II deals with applied psychology. This paper is more application oriented and requires extra effort and answer writing
practice.
Develop your answers rooted in the concepts of psychology that you learnt in Paper I.
Give a lot of examples to support your answers and make sure you quote a majority of Indian examples.
Sometimes, the UPSC asks unconventional questions in paper II.
For this, you have to be armed with a ready-made framework of answer writing because time is a scarce commodity in
your mains exam.
This framework can go like this – take the basic issue asked in the question (for instance, behavioural change needed for
Swachch Bharat, or the problem of teenage drug abuse).
Then, divide your answer into sections such as society, institutions, education/awareness, role-models, reinforcement,
and nally recent developments if applicable.
In this framework of answers, incorporate principles like operant conditioning, social psychology, modeling, persuasive
communication, etc.
For paper II, you should use Applied Psychology by Smarak Swain.
Example questions are given from 2018 and 2017 papers:
In what speci c ways can psychologists work for empowering the communities that have been marginalised by society?
(10 marks, 2018)
How is disadvantage related to a social structure of hierarchy and discrimination? What is its relationship with capability
deprivation and poverty? (15 marks, 2018)
Explain the psychological, socio-cultural and economic consequences of belonging to a disadvantaged group. Suggest
steps to educate and motivate disadvantaged groups towards development. (20 marks, 2017)
Explain how mass media contribute to acquisition and learning of aggressive and violent behaviour. Examine the
relationship between exposure to erotica and aggressiveness. (15 marks, 2018)
Explain the role of mass media in value development. How can the mass media and information technology be used for
promoting pro-social values? (15 marks, 2017)
Discuss the relationship between sex-role stereotyping, self-ful lling prophesy and glass ceiling effect in Indian society.
(15 marks, 2018)
Discuss the challenges and opportunities offered by multiculturalism and diversity in today’s organisations. (10 marks,
2017)
Busting a Few Myths Regarding Psychology Optional Important Books for Psychology Optional for UPSC IAS Mains
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psychology-optional/) optional-upsc-ias-mains/)
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