CBSE Class 11 Psychology

Unit I: Understanding Psychology (11 Marks)

• Introduction
• Nature of Psychology: Psychology as a Discipline, Psychology as a Natural Science, Psychology as a Social Science
• Understanding Mind and Behaviour
• Popular Notions about the Discipline of Psychology
• Evolution of Psychology
• Development of Psychology in India
• Branches of Psychology
• Psychology and Other Disciplines
• Psychology in Everyday Life

Note for Students: This foundational unit explores how psychology evolved as a multi-faceted discipline and its vital role in understanding human behavior across different contexts.

Unit II: Methods of Enquiry in Psychology (13 Marks)

• Introduction
• Goals of Psychological Enquiry: Steps in Conducting Scientific Research, Alternative Paradigms of Research
• Nature of Psychological Data
• Some Important Methods in Psychology: Observational Method, Experimental Method, Correlational Research, Survey Research, Psychological Testing, Case Study
• Analysis of Data: Quantitative Method, Qualitative Method
• Limitations of Psychological Enquiry
• Ethical Issues

Note for Students: This unit details the scientific tools and ethical considerations psychologists use to collect, analyze, and interpret data objectively.

Unit III: Human Development (11 Marks)

• Introduction
• Meaning of Development: Life-Span Perspective on Development
• Factors Influencing Development
• Context of Development
• Overview of Developmental Stages: Prenatal Stage, Infancy, Childhood, Challenges of Adolescence, Adulthood and Old Age

Note for Students: Focus on the biological and environmental factors that shape human growth and the unique challenges faced during different life stages from infancy to old age.

Unit IV: Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual Processes (8 Marks)

• Introduction
• Knowing the world
• Nature and varieties of Stimulus
• Sense Modalities: Functional limitation of sense organs
• Attentional Processes: Selective Attention, Sustained Attention
• Perceptual Processes: Processing Approaches in Perception
• The Perceiver
• Principles of Perceptual Organisation
• Perception of Space, Depth and Distance: Monocular Cues and Binocular Cues
• Perceptual Constancies
• Illusions
• Socio-Cultural Influences on Perception

Note for Students: Learn how we gather information through our senses and how our brain organizes and interprets that information to create a meaningful world.

Unit V: Learning (9 Marks)

• Introduction
• Nature of Learning
• Paradigms of Learning
• Classical Conditioning: Determinants of Classical Conditioning
• Operant/Instrumental Conditioning: Determinants of Operant Conditioning, Key Learning Processes
• Observational Learning
• Cognitive Learning
• Verbal Learning
• Skill Learning
• Factors Facilitating Learning
• Learning Disabilities

Note for Students: This unit covers the different ways individuals acquire new behaviors and skills, ranging from basic conditioning to complex cognitive and social learning.

Unit VI: Human Memory (8 Marks)

• Introduction
• Nature of memory
• Information Processing Approach: The Stage Model
• Memory Systems: Sensory, Short-term and Long-term Memories
• Levels of Processing
• Types of Long-term Memory: Declarative and Procedural; Episodic and Semantic
• Nature and Causes of Forgetting: Forgetting due to Trace Decay, Interference and Retrieval Failure
• Enhancing Memory: Mnemonics using Images and Organisation

Note for Students: Explore how information is encoded, stored, and retrieved in the human mind, and discover practical techniques to improve your memory performance.

Unit VII: Thinking (5 Marks)

• Introduction
• Nature of Thinking: Building Blocks of Thought
• The Processes of Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Reasoning
• Decision-making
• Nature and Process of Creative Thinking: Nature of Creative Thinking, Process and strategies of Creative Thinking
• Thought and Language
• Development of Language and Language Use

Note for Students: This chapter examines complex mental activities like reasoning and creative problem solving, as well as the intricate relationship between thought and language.

Unit VIII: Motivation and Emotion (5 Marks)

• Introduction
• Nature of Motivation
• Types of Motives: Biological Motives, Psychosocial Motives
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• Nature of Emotions
• Expression of Emotions: Culture and Emotional Expression, Culture and Emotional Labeling
• Managing Negative Emotions
• Enhancing Positive Emotions

Note for Students: Study the internal and external forces that drive behavior and the ways in which we experience, express, and manage our emotions in daily life.