UPSC Mains 2022 Psychology Optional Paper I questions

28 questions from the Civil Services (Main) Examination 2022. Official UPSC paper (PDF) · All Psychology Optional PYQs

1. Describe the applications of psychological principles in managing drug abuse in adolescents.

2. What are values? What strategies can be used in fostering value of equality in early childhood? Discuss.

3. Discuss the role of artificial intelligence in dealing with mental health problems.

4. How can parents use reinforcement contingencies to manage their children's aggressive behaviour?

5. Illustrate the role of hypothesis in psychological research.

6. State the assumptions and merits of two-way ANOVA. Explain the applications of the same in psychological research with an appropriate example.

   20 marks

7. Discuss language acquisition at different stages of development in the light of the theories of Skinner and Chomsky.

   15 marks

8. What do you understand by physical indicators of emotion? How are they relevant in polygraph test?

   15 marks

9. Is problem solving a psychological process? Illustrate your answer with the steps and methods involved in problem solving. Differentiate between human and computerized problem solving.

   20 marks

10. Discuss the contribution of structuralism and functionalism in shaping psychology as a discipline.

    15 marks

11. Is sleep a conscious phenomenon? Illustrate different states of sleep and explain the functions and role it serves in human life.

    15 marks

12. Can human beings be fully functioning and self-actualized? Evaluate it from humanistic and psychoanalytic perspectives of personality.

    20 marks

13. Compare and contrast naturalistic observation and laboratory-based observation as methods of psychological research. Can they be reconciled? Discuss.

    15 marks

14. Discuss the levels of processing model and highlight its relevance for explaining individual differences in memory.

    15 marks

15. Discuss the significance of single blind-double blind procedures for establishing soundness of an experiment.

16. How do psychologists conceptualize creativity? Explain the confluence approach to creativity.

17. Do we need 16 factors to describe human personality? Illustrate your answer in the light of big five-factor theory of personality.

18. Discuss the techniques to assess patients with memory disorders.

19. "Emotional competency is more important than intellectual competency." Discuss in the context of schoolchildren.

20. Explain the nature of human attitudes. How is the knowledge of attitude change process helpful in bringing religious harmony in the Indian context? Discuss.

    20 marks

21. Nurturing social intelligence at early developmental stages can play a critical role in conflict resolution at later stages. Explain with the help of examples.

    15 marks

22. Is there perception without sensation? Evaluate critically in the light of empirical evidences.

    15 marks

23. Is intelligence a univariate or multivariate concept? Discuss in the light of Spearman's and J. P. Das's theories of intelligence.

24. What principles of perceptual organization are useful for air traffic controllers? Also, indicate how they use each of them.

    15 marks

25. Evaluate the developmental challenges faced during midlife transitions across gender in the Indian context.

    15 marks

26. "Learning occurs not only through conditioning but also from our observations of others." Discuss this statement from children's point of view. What are the pros and cons of observational learning for children?

    20 marks

27. Discuss the factors involved in ethnolinguistic vitality in the Indian context.

    15 marks

28. Compare and contrast the concepts of intelligence, emotional intelligence and social intelligence. How can they contribute in the making of an effective civil servant? Discuss.

    15 marks