Psychology- sample notes

I am uploading some of the notes I prepared for psychology from June 2009 to September 2009. Kindly go through the Psychology mains post for the strategy and sources I referred.

I will explain how I prepared the notes. But I repeat- this is the strategy I followed in 2009 for psychology. If what you are doing is very different, don’t worry. There are n number of ways to score. Just chalk out a plan and try your best to implement it.

MK: Morgan and King/ MP: Mukul Pathak sir’s notes/CK: Chaplin- Krawiec

Paper 1- Chapter 2: Observation

Since I prepared every topic as a 60 marker, for observation I collected 15-20 points which I could later expand in the exam. An easy way to do that is to compare the given topic with other related topics. So if observation alone comes as a 60 marker (most likely it will be in conjunction with some other topic), just link it with case studies, experimental research, interview, etc.

Paper 1- Chapter 3: IRT

Since IRT can be asked as a 60 marker, I prepared the basics in detail. There is no point in collecting 20 pages on it. Sometimes questions asked are very difficult to predict and attempt even when the topic has been prepared. In that case, I attempted some other question. But I didn’t go much beyond the basics. Every thing has to be balanced in the limited amount of time available for preparation.

Paper 1- Chapter 4: Growth and development

It is a topic which has been very well covered in the books. So I didn’t refer any other source. I just noted each and every thing I could find in one place so as to make revision easier. A lot of time can be saved this way.

Paper 1- Chapter 5: Attention

It is well covered in Mukul Pathak sir’s notes and the models are explained very nicely in Morgan and King and other books. So I wrote everything in one place point-wise.

Paper 1- Chapter 12: Stereotypes and prejudices

It is an important topic not only for the psychology paper but even for other optionals such as Sociology, Essay and for GS. Since examples can be included very easily, I concentrated on collecting the keywords and theories that explain the two. This topic should be linked to other topics in both paper 1 and paper 2.

Paper 2- Chapter 7: Rehabilitation of HIV/AIDS victims

I am posting this topic because it is a classic example of those topics where a lot of material is available on the net, yet the time which might be invested in collecting data which is relevant might be much more than what you would invest if you think about the points on your own. I just collected some facts from the net.

Paper 2- Chapter 11: Government policies for promotion of entrepreneurship among youth including women entrepreneurs

Again a topic where we need to use our GS knowledge. I noted some of the schemes and institutes which I could find on the net. I added all the schemes and various bodies which are working in this field that I had come across in the India Yearbook.

I have uploaded only the 1^st page. Details can easily be found on the net.

Paper 2- Chapter 13: Psychology of terrorism

I concentrated on collecting as many theories, key words and points as I could. Enough is available on the net.