UPHESC Assistant Professor Psychology Syllabus 2026

UPHESC Assistant Professor Psychology Syllabus

The written exam has two parts: General Knowledge (30 questions, the same for all subjects) and Psychology (90 questions). Both syllabi below are the official ones of the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission, Prayagraj.

Part 1: General Knowledge (30 questions, 90 marks)

Compulsory for all disciplines. Download PDF (0.3 MB)

Unit 1: Current Affairs

Major events and current affairs: national and international
Personalities in news
Sports news
Current research in the field of science

Unit 2: Teaching and Research Aptitude

Teaching: nature, objectives, need, methods, evaluation and factors affecting teaching
Research: meaning and methods
Data: source, collection and analysis
Role of UGC in qualitative development in higher education

Unit 3: Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

ICT: meaning, advantages and disadvantages
Basics of internet and e-mailing
General abbreviations and terminology

Unit 4: People and Environment

People and environment interaction
Environmental degradation: causes and solutions
National and international efforts for a better environment
Environmental control

Unit 5: Indian History and Geography

Salient features of Indian culture
Indian National Movement (1857–1950)
Origin of the universe and the solar system
Indian geography (general)

Unit 6: Indian Constitution and Economy

Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles
Indian political system: legislature, executive and judiciary
Election Commission and Public Service Commission
Population, poverty, unemployment; planning and development; income tax
Agriculture, industry, trade; money, currency, banking and capital market

Part 2: Psychology (subject code 37) – 90 questions, 270 marks

The Psychology paper is at post-graduate (Master's) level. The complete official syllabus is below. Download Psychology syllabus PDF (1.6 MB)

Unit 1: Foundations of Psychology

Historical roots of psychology: Schools of psychology-Structuralism, Functionalism, Psychoanalytic, Behaviouristic, Gestalt.
Approaches to Psychology: Behaviouristic, Psychodynamic, Gestalt, Cognitive, & Humanistic.
Western and Indian Paradigms and Perspectives: Positivism, Post positivism and Social Constructionism; Concept of Self and Personality in the UpaniSads, Sāṁkhya-Yoga, Bhagavad Gītā, Āyurveda and Buddhism.
Development of Modern Psychology in India: Pre independence and Post independence.

Unit 2: Research Methodology and Statistics

Research: Meaning, and Purpose; Quantitative, Qualitative, Mixed methods Research methodology
Methods of Research: Experimental, Correlational, Observation, Quasi-experimental
Research Problems, Variables, Hypothesis
Sampling: Concept and Types
Statistics in Psychology: Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion, Normal Probability Curve, Parametric [t-test] and Non-parametric tests [Sign Test, Wilcoxon Signed rank test, Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Friedman]
Correlation and Regression: Correlation [Product Moment, Rank Order], Partial correlation, Multiple Correlation. Special Correlation Methods: Biserial, Point biserial, Tetrachoric, Phi coefficient; Simple Linear Regression,
Multivariate Statistics: Multiple Regression: Assumptions, and interpretation of results. Factor analysis: Assumptions, Methods, Steps, Rotation, and Interpretation.
Experimental Designs: Randomized Group Design: ANOVA [One-way, Factorial], Randomized Block Designs, Repeated Measures Design, Single-subject designs.
Qualitative Research Methods: Theoretical foundations; Grounded theory, Narrative analysis, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Discursive method, Discourse analysis
Ethics in conducting and reporting research

Unit 3: Psychometrics & Psychological testing

Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory
Approaches of test construction: rationale, empirical and factor analytic.
Test construction: Item writing, Item analysis
Test standardization: Reliability, Validity and Norms
Types of psychological tests
Areas of testing: Intelligence, Aptitude, Creativity, Personality, Interest, Attitude.
Neuropsychological tests and batteries (Luria-Nebraska, AIIMS neuropsychological battery)
Projective techniques: nature and types
Applications of psychological testing in various settings: Clinical, Organizational, Education, Counselling, Military, Career guidance.

Unit 4: Biological bases of Behaviour, Attention, Perception

Sensory systems: General and specific sensations, receptors and processes;
Neurons: Structure, functions, types, neural impulse, synaptic transmission. Neurotransmitters.
The Central and Peripheral Nervous System: Structure and functions.
Neurophysiological methods: EEG, PET, MRI, & fMRI.
Endocrine system and human behaviour.
Attention: Concept, types of attention (selective, divided, and sustained). Attentional Automaticity, Theories of selective and sustained attention
Approaches to the Study of Perception: Gestalt approach (Figure and Ground, Law of perceptual Organization); Information processing approach to perception (Pattern recognition and its models)
Perception of Form, Depth and Movement
Role of motivation and learning in Perception
Subliminal Perception
Culture and Perception

Unit 5: Learning, Memory, Forgetting

Fundamental theories of learning: Thorndike, Guthrie, Hull, Tolman
Classical Conditioning: Procedure, phenomen, and related issues
Instrumental learning: Procedure, phenomena, and theoretical issues; Reinforcement and reinforcement schedules.
Cognitive approaches in learning: Latent learning, Observational learning.
Verbal learning and Discrimination learning
Memory processes: Encoding, Storage, Retrieval
Types of Memory: Sensory Memory, Short-term Memory (Working memory), Long-term Memory (Declarative – Episodic and Semantic; Procedural).
Models of Memory
Theories of Forgetting: Interference, Retrieval Failure, Decay, Motivated forgetting
Biological bases of Learning and Memory

Unit 6: Thinking, Intelligence, Creativity

Problem solving: Types of problem, Problem solving strategies (Heuristics and Algorithms), Barriers in problem solving
Language and thought: Language comprehension; Fundamentals aspects and Speech Perception; Semantics and Syntax, Phrase structures; Universal Grammar (Contribution of Chomsky)
Decision-making: Types and models; Heuristics of Decision Making
Intelligence: Concept; Theories: Spearman, Thurstone, Guilford, Jensen, Cattell. Gardner, Stenberg, Das, Kar & Parrila
Emotional Intelligence: Concept and Models
Creativity: Concept; Theories: Torrance, Getzels & Jackson, Guilford, Wallach & Kogan
Relationship between Intelligence and Creativity

Unit 7: Personality, Motivation, Emotion

Personality: Concept; Approaches: Trait and Type; Determinants: Biological and Socio-cultural
Theories of Personality: Psychoanalytical, Neo-Freudian, Social learning, Cognitive, Humanistic, Existential.
Basic motivational concepts: Instincts, Needs, Drives, Arousal, Incentives, Motivational Cycle.
Approaches to the study of motivation: Psychoanalytical, Ethological, S-R, Cognitive, Humanistic
Social motives: Achievement, Affiliation and Power
Motivational Competence and Self-regulation
Biological bases of motivation
Emotions: Concept and components; Physiological correlates
Theories of Emotions: James-Lange, Canon-Bard, Schachter and Singer, Lazarus, Lindsley, Facial-feedback hypothesis of emotion; Emotion regulation
Biological bases of emotions.
Social nature of Emotion

Unit 8: Social Psychology

Theoretical perspectives: Field theory, Cognitive, Sociobiological, Psychodynamic, Evolutionary, Social neuroscience
Social cognition: Schema and Schematic processing
Person perception: Impression formation and its theories
Attribution and its theories.
Attitude: Nature and determinants; Theories of attitude formation and change; Implicit attitude
Group dynamics and Group Influence Processes (Social Facilitation; Social loafing; Group Think; Deindividuation)
Social Influence Processes: Conformity, Compliance, Obedience
Aggression: Concept and Theories
Intergroup relations: Minimal Group Experiment, Social Identity Theory, Relative Deprivation Theory, Realistic Conflict Theory, Balance Theories, Equity Theory, Social Exchange Theory
Helping Behaviour: Concept, Determinants and theories
Interpersonal Attraction: Determinants and theories

Unit 9: Life-span Human Development, Abnormal Psychology

Developmental processes: Nature, Principles, Factors in development, Life span and life course perspective, Ecological theory
Stages of Development: Pre-natal, Infancy and early childhood, Adolescence and Young Adulthood, Late adulthood, Old age
Theories of development: Psychoanalytical, Behaviouristic, and Cognitive
Various aspects of development: Sensory-motor, cognitive, language, emotional, social and moral.
Specific theories of development: Freud, Erikson, Piaget, Vygosky, Kohlberg, Bandura
Historical and contemporary views of abnormal behaviour
Risk factors and causes of abnormal behaviour
Classification system: DSM-5
Panic, Anxiety, Obsessions and their disorders
Mood disorders and Suicide
Dissociative Disorders
Schizophrenia: Types and Symptoms

Unit 10: Applications of Psychology

Health Psychology: Bio-psycho-social models of health; Theories of Health Behavior; Stress: Concept and Appraisal; Coping with Stress; Psychological Moderators of Stress; Health promoting and health compromising behaviours, Chronic diseases [Diabetes, Hypertension, Coronary Heart Disease], Psychoneuroimmunology [Cancer, HIV/AIDS]
Positive Psychology: Assumptions and Goals; Eastern and Western Perspectives on Positive Psychology; Concept of Mindfulness in Buddhism; Happiness: Eudemonics and Hedonistic View; Authentic Happiness; Psychological and Subjective Wellbeing: Concept, and Components; Character Strength
Clinical Psychology: Psychotherapies- Psychoanalytic; Person-cantered; Gestalt; Existential; Behaviour therapy; Cognitive therapy: REBT, CBT, MBCT; Play therapy; Transactional Analysis, Group and Family therapy.
Guidance and Counselling: Needs, organizational set up, and techniques of guidance and counselling; Counselling process and skills.
Organizational Behavior (OB): Historical developments; structural characteristics of organizations; organizational designs; Organizational Attitude: Job Satisfaction, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Organizational Commitment; Organizational culture; Organizational Change; Meaning and process of organizational communication and communication barriers.

How to prepare

Match the official Psychology syllabus unit by unit with your Master's notes and mark weak units first.
Solve previous UPHESC/UPESSC Assistant Professor Psychology papers (Advt 51 re-exam of April 2026 is the most recent).
Do not leave GK for the end: Teaching and Research Aptitude and ICT are scoring units of the GK paper.
Practise MCQs under time limits because of negative marking (-1 per wrong answer).

Syllabus PDFs of all 43 subjects are on UPHESC Assistant Professor.