Psychology UPSC PYQ 2018

According to Bandura, human beings often demonstrate impressive capacity for the self-regulation of their own behaviour. Evaluate.

What role do cultural factors play in rehabilitation of senior citizens with possible memory and cognitive decline ? Comment on the significance of family and social support in such rehabilitation in India.

Discuss the relationship between sex-role stereotyping, self-fulfilling prophesy and glass ceiling effect in Indian society.

"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.

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.

Discuss some major factors of educational failure among tribal communities in India. Why must education of the disadvantaged emphasise development of self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation ?

Explain how mass media contribute to acquisition and learning of aggressive and violent behaviour. Examine the relation to erotica and aggressiveness.

Critically describe the role of cultural assimilation in facilitating/hindering social integration in India. Illustrate with suitable example.

Discuss signal detection theory and explain its applications.

Explain, using psychological framework, the impact of IT and mass media on the work-life in India.

Discuss the different steps in the construction and standardization of psychological tests. Illustrate your answer with suitable example.

What role can psychologist play in promoting psychological well being of defence personnel in the context of prolonged deprivational and stressful condition ?

Compare the trait perspective and humanistic perspective on personality.

With some examples show how can indigenous knowledge systems be used in management of biodiversity and cultural diversity ?

Differentiate between positive and negative types of reinforcement and punishment. Describe how these could be applied to enforce putting on the seat belts while driving.

In what specific ways can psychologists work for empowering the communities that have been marginalized by the society ?

Is sleep a passive process? Justify your answer with proper scientific support.

Explain the nature of sensitivity training. Comment on its utility as an organizational development technique.

Differentiate between various developmental stages of voting men and women in India.

Explain Herzberg's theory of work-motivation. Critically comment on its relevance in Indian context.

Discuss the role of social and environmental intervention in rehabilitation of the mentally challenged. Why are such interventions crucial in Indian settings ?

How is disadvantage related to a social structure of hierarchy and discrimination ? What is its relationship with capability deprivation and poverty ?

Discuss the most commonly used techniques or skills psychologists teach to athletes for improving their performance.

Explain the psychosocial consequences of crowding and high population density. Suggest appropriate policies to deal with the related problems in Indian context.

Describe how J. P. Das' theory is distinct from other theories of intelligence

In the context of positive social change differentiate between first-order and second-order change. Why is the second-order change often the focus of community psychology ?

Why is the principle of random assignment of participants used in experimental method? How do experimenter effects and demand characteristics influence participants' behaviour in experimentation? What procedures can be adopted to minimize such pitfalls?

Explain the interrelationship among achievement motivation, entrepreneurial behaviour and economic development. Discuss critically as to whether achievement motivation can be enhanced through training. Cite relevant Indian studies.

Perception is plastic. However, it may also be affected by innate tendencies. Critically evaluate.

Do you think being in a good mood reduces your capacity to process incoming information? Examine in the light of research studies

Are emotionally competent people internally controlled? Explain. What are the ways to enhance intrinsic motivation of young adults?

Explain the concepts of self-serving bias and fundamental attribution error. How do they affect problem solving?

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.

Discuss the significance and correlates of values. Comment on the impact of social media on values.

How can different methods of sampling and data collection be useful in impact evaluation of government social schemes? Describe with a suitable example.

Can effective teaching-learning be viewed as a process of collaborative construction of knowledge ? What are the implications of such a view on classroom structure and management in Indian conditions ?

"Human memory is not like information stored in a tape recorder or compact disc." Critically evaluate the statement.

According to Piaget, the egocentric preschooler is not intentionally 'inconsiderate' but rather has difficulty taking another's viewpoint. Explain.

Describe the structure and features of language focussing on what makes human language unique in comparison to communication in animals.

Explain and critically evaluate the phenomenon of perceptual defence.

Bring out the similarities and differences between intelligence, aptitude, and achievement tests.

In what way can dissonance be an effective means for changing attitudes and behaviour?

Explain the etiology of manic-depressive disorder. Evaluate the suitability of therapeutic methods for the treatment of manic-depressive disorder.

Explain the psychosocial factors demotivating people from small family norms.

Examine how probability learning is different from other types of learning. Give examples.

Discuss the efficacy of systematic desensitization in reducing clients' phobic reactions. Illustrate your answer with suitable example.

Explain the use of availability heuristic and representativeness heuristic in problem solving with the help of research studies

How have neuroscientists and evolutionary scientists contributed to modern psychology?

Discuss the relevance of frustration aggression hypothesis in the context of caste prejudice in India.

How does stress contribute to the causation of physical illness ? Discuss the role of optimism as factor moderating the impact of stress.

Discuss how psychology can be applied in solving the problem of global climate change

Explain various limitations of verbal communication

Discuss contemporary researches on simulating human intelligence using machines and their implications for understanding human behaviour.

What psychological factors act as barriers in the context of women's entrepreneurship ? How can they be overcome ?

How is giftedness identified and what are the issues in such identification in Indian context ? How is giftedness related to IQ and creativity ?

Discuss the distinctive aspects of modern psychodynamic therapy. How can it be helpful in the treatment of diverse array of disorders ?