I – Semester

Basic Psychological Processes - I
Number of Hours: 60
Number of Credits: 4

Course Objectives:
1. To introduce and initiate the students into the world of psychology with a brief historical sketch of the science of psychology and a glimpse into the methods used in the study of human behavior.
2. To understand the fundamental processes underlying human behavior.
3. To apply the principles of psychology in day-to-day life for a better understanding of themselves and others.

Unit – I: Introduction [12 Hours]
Definition; Goals of Psychology; Branches; Role of a psychologist in society; Schools of psychology – psychodynamic, behaviorism, gestalt, cognitive and humanistic; Methods in psychology – observation, introspection, experimentation, questionnaire, case study; A brief introduction to Indian psychology.

Unit – II: Learning [12 Hours]
Definition; Classical conditioning – concepts, principles, phenomenon & applications to human behavior; Operant conditioning – basic concepts, reinforcement – positive and negative reinforcement, schedules of reinforcement, rewards and punishment – pros and cons of punishment; Observational learning – phenomenon, four elements of modeling; Latent learning.

Unit – III: Personality [12 Hours]
Definition of personality; Nature of personality: Psychodynamic View: Freud; Behaviourist and Social Cognitive views: Bandura; Humanistic views: Maslow, Rogers; Trait Theories: Allport, Cattell, Rotter’s Locus of Control, Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman’s Type A and Type B, Costa and McCrae’s Big Five. Assessment of personality: self-report measures, interviews, projective tests, behavioural assessment. Indian perspective of personality.

Unit - IV: Motivation and Emotions [12 Hours]
Motivation - definition;
Approaches – instinct, drive reduction, arousal, incentive, cognitive, Maslow’s hierarchy;
Biological motives: hunger- physiological and social components, thirst - biological factors;
Sexual motives;
Social motives: achievement, affiliation, power, aggression.
Emotions – definition; Functions; Theories: James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter-Singer; Emotional intelligence.

Unit – V: Intelligence [10 Hours]
Definition; Factors influencing intelligence – heredity and environment;
Concept of IQ, levels of M.R (Giftedness to Profound); Theories of Intelligence–1) Classical theories: Spearman, Cattell, Guilford; 2). Modern theories - Information Processing Theory, Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Sternberg’s Tribrachic Theory;
Measurement of intelligence - characteristics of a good psychological test – reliability, validity, norms;
Types of tests – 1) Verbal, non-verbal and performance; 2) Individual and group tests; 3) Speed, power and breadth tests.

References:
1. Feldman, R. S. (2011). Understanding Psychology, 10th edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.
2. Robert A Baron, Psychology. (2013). 6th Edition. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India Pvt Ltd.
3. Ciccarelli & Meyer. Psychology. South Asian Edition. New Delhi: Pearson Longman.
4. Hilgard, Atkinson & Atkinson. (1999). Introduction to Psychology. Oxford: IBH Publishing Co. Pvt Ltd.
5. Wortman & Loftus. (1992), Psychology, 4th Edition. McGraw Hill International.
6. Morgan, King, Weiss & Schopler. Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi.
7. Santrock, John W. (2011). Educational Psychology. 4th edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Edition.

List of Practicals
1. Habit Interference.
2. Directed Observation.
3. A Group-test of General Mental Ability.
4. Moti Quiz.
5. NEO 5 Factor Inventory

Statistics: SPSS – Descriptive Statistics: Mean, Median and Standard Deviation