The Psychology specialization focuses on the study of diverse aspects of human behavioural patterns and functioning of the mind. It guides students through various empirical approaches to understand the complexities and processes of the human mind. This specialization prepares students for graduate study in any of the specialized fields of Psychology. It enables students to develop a critical understanding of the major concepts, themes, theoretical frameworks and methodology of the discipline.
The Psychology Major covers a wide range of topics that enable students to develop a critical understanding of basic concepts and theories of the subject, leading to the study of specialized areas such as Personality, Social, Clinical, Industrial, Developmental, Educational and Experimental Psychology. Students are trained in the Methods of Psychological Testing and Counselling; as well as experimental techniques and research methods.
The specialization specific courses in the Major introduce students to basic concepts and varied fields of Psychology, focusing on a few significant areas of the discipline such as Biological Basis of Behaviour, Social and Personality Psychology. The intermediate courses focus more closely on refining the student's critical abilities by providing training in synthesis and critical analysis. The courses at this level are geared towards in-depth study of specialized areas of the discipline focusing on aspects of gender, cognition, learning and role of cultural paradigms in human behaviour. The advanced courses train the students in methods of psychological testing and counselling that help them to analyze individual cases. The students are also trained in research methods that enable them to conduct research-oriented studies.
The Minor specialization in Psychology inculcates an understanding of the discipline through exposure to the breadth of the discipline. It also aims at imparting basic psychological skills like observational skills, communications skills, active listening skills and interpersonal skills. Finally, the Minor specialization prepares students to apply knowledge of psychological principles across various settings.
The Major specialization will prepare students to pursue graduate studies in any specialized field of Psychology. Moreover, the knowledge and skills acquired through the course of the specialization will equip them to work as part of a team in a variety of professions including but not limited to community health, support groups, NGOs, human resource management, recruitment etc. The Minor specialization prepares students to join the workforce as a competent team player in any job profile that requires understanding human behaviour such as human resources, NGOs and others.
SPECIALIZATION AIMS
MAJOR
The Psychology Major aims to:
- inculcate in students an in-depth understanding of the nature and processes of the human brain, mind and behaviour, and their interdependence
- inculcate an understanding of how the discipline of Psychology has evolved over time
- impart the set of skills required to observe, understand and generate critical interpretations of human behavioural patterns within different social contexts
- enable students to conceptualize and operationalize independent research projects and document the same
- train students to use statistical methods to interpret empirical data and draw inferences
- introduce students to practical applications of Psychology, e.g., counselling approaches, psychological testing, etc.
MINOR
The Psychology Minor aims to:
- inculcate in students an in-depth understanding of the nature and processes of the human brain, mind and behaviour, and their interdependence
- inculcate an understanding of how the discipline of Psychology has evolved over time
- impart the set of skills required to observe, understand and generate critical interpretations of human behavioural patterns within different social contexts
- enable students to conceptualize and operationalize independent research projects and document the same
- introduce students to practical applications of Psychology in different contexts
SPECIALIZATION OUTCOMES
MAJOR
On completion of the Major the student will:
- have a comprehensive understanding of psychological concepts and varied theoretical frameworks and their evolution over time
- be able to think, observe, assess and critically analyze various psychological processes and the manifested behaviour across contexts
- be able to understand the application of different theories across different fields of Psychology
- be able to conduct independent research studies, experiments, group projects and document the same
- be able to administer, analyze and interpret scores of different psychological tests and write reports
- be able to use basic skills in psychology like observational skills, communication skills, listening skills, interpersonal skills and counselling skills across multiple contexts
- be able to appreciate diversity and work effectively on diverse teams
MINOR
On completion of the Minor the student will:
- have an understanding of psychological concepts and varied theoretical frameworks and their evolution over time
- be able to think, observe, assess and critically analyze various psychological processes and the manifested behaviour across contexts
- be able to understand the application of different theories across different fields of Psychology
- be able to conduct basic independent research studies, group projects and document the same
- be able to use basic skills in psychology like observational skills, communication skills, listening skills and interpersonal skills across multiple contexts
- be able to appreciate diversity and work effectively on diverse teams
COURSES (CORE AND ELECTIVE) **
21 MAJOR COURSES
| 1. Introduction to Psychology | 7. Research Methods in Psychology | 13. Health Psychology |
| 2. Methods of Psychology | 8. Educational Psychology | 14. Cross-Cultural Psychology |
| 3. Personality Psychology | 9. Industrial Psychology | 15. Methods of Psychological Testing |
| 4. Social Psychology | 10. Abnormal Psychology | 16. Cognitive Psychology |
| 5. Biological Bases of Behavior | 11. Experimental Psychology | 17. Psychology of Gender |
| 6. Developmental Psychology | 12. Community Psychology | 18. Positive Psychology |
| 19. Advanced Research Methods* | 20. Psychology and Crime* | 21. Sport and Performance Psychology* |
| 22. Decision-making* | 23. Psychotherapies |
* 4th year undergraduate courses
1. Introduction to Psychology
This module will introduce the students to the subject of psychology as a popular discipline and elaborate the basic psychological processes. And elaborate the significance of the different fields of psychology and will introduce to the students the contribution of the established and upcoming fields.
2. Methods of Psychology
This course focuses on the various methods of Psychology. The course enables students to understand several techniques for managing and interpreting Psychological Data. Students develop an understanding of scientific process and scientific enquiry for Psychological researches and information.
3. Personality Psychology
Personality is an important aspect of human beings, studied in psychology. Personality theories are a set of assumptions related to human behaviour. Theories of personality helps one understand how personality traits develop and can personality be changed and how can we bring about this change. An attempt will also be made to look at personality within the Indian context and to contrast it with western conceptualizations.
4. Social Psychology
Social psychology studies the influence of others on an individual's thoughts, emotions and behaviours. Because we spend a great deal of each day interacting with others in a variety of different situations, the topics of social psychology are myriad. This module will help students discover ways to apply social-psychological principles to their day-to-day experiences, and to better understand themselves and others.
5. Biological Bases of Behavior
This module is directed towards a study of the basic structure and function of the nervous system and their role in understanding behaviour. It emphasizes more on the component of nature than nurture to explore the functioning of the human mind and behaviour.
6. Developmental Psychology
This module will discuss the concept of life span and issues of development and help them understand various developmental theories and its implications.
7. Research Methods in Psychology
This unit is an introduction to principles of research in psychology and the various concepts and methods of research. This module will cover the entire process of conducting research which includes methods of data collection, techniques of data analysis and issues and problems in doing research.
8. Educational Psychology
This module explores the ‘teaching-learning’ paradigm with reference to the human relationship aspect as well as an understanding of the characteristics, behaviour, motives and cognitive abilities of the people involved.
9. Industrial Psychology
This module underlines the significance of the concept of work and the application of theoretical models in the discipline of industrial psychology to work.
10. Abnormal Psychology
This module focuses on analyzing the various perspectives for abnormal behaviour, understanding causes of such behaviour and examining the various contexts for them.
11. Experimental Psychology
This module will help discover the contribution of experimental psychology to building theories and testing various assumptions about cognitive processes and behaviour. The students will be appraised of the processes involved in experimentation and provide them with the opportunity of devising and evaluating their own experiments.
12. Community Psychology
This course focuses on applications of basic psychological knowledge and methods to community problems. This course aims at helping students understand the concept and process of community psychology and mental health. It aims at using psychological methods to solve real life problems in the community. The course also focuses on community mental health through research and social intervention programs such as prevention, citizen participation, environmental change, and influence of public policy. This course will the key concepts involved and, through the use of community case studies and activities, acquaint students with the methods community psychologists use. It seeks to understand the relationship between individual well-being and societal influences.
13. Health Psychology
This unit is an introduction to principles of research in psychology and the various concepts and methods of research. This module will cover the entire process of conducting research which includes methods of data collection, techniques of data analysis and issues and problems in doing research.
14. Cross-Cultural Psychology
This module debates the significance of the role of culture in defining behaviour and deconstructs certain assertions of culture.
15. Methods of Psychological Testing
This module focuses on psychological tests which are essential tools used in various aspects of psychological research and practice. Through this module the students will learn about the various measures of testing and will administer, score and interpret the test results.
16. Cognitive Psychology
This module focuses on the cognitive functions of the brain and information processing model. It will give an insight into various theories of cognition which will then help in organizing, integrating and applying the cognition research data.
17. Counselling Psychology
This course will provide students a deeper understanding of the different domains of counselling and various approaches through which various issues and problems faced by human beings can be addressed. The course also provides the opportunity to learn basic counselling skills, and competencies essential to initiating, and maintaining relationships with clients, regardless of specific theoretical orientation. By means of weekly structured practice assignments as well as transcript assessments of their own interviews, students will learn how to identify, and conduct competent counselling interviews
18. Positive Psychology
This course helps students to recognize the positive aspects of human life and how psychological health and happiness are not just absence of disease or infirmity. It helps also to conceptualize happiness, subjective well-being, resilience etc.
19. Advanced Research Methods
Through this course, students will learn advanced use of statistics. The will be trained in using statistical software to clean, code and analyse data. The course will cover a variety of procedures for both continuous and categorical variables, for parametric and non-parametric data. Students will learn to apply these in their own research, as well as use their understanding to critically evaluate published research.
20. Psychology and Crime
This course is aimed at introducing students to psychological factors underlying criminal behaviour and the applications of psychology in the criminal and legal system. Students will be exposed to various theories of crime, assessment in criminal psychology, and develop an understanding of research methods in criminal and forensic psychology.
21. Sport and Performance Psychology
This course focuses on using psychological knowledge and skills to address optimal performance and wellbeing of athletes. The course will also consider developmental and social aspects of sports participation, and systemic issues associated with sports settings and organizations.
22. Decision-making
The course will introduce students to the psychology of decision making. Discussions throughout the course will revolve around topics of Rationality, Uncertainty, Intertemporality, and Morality. The course will provide an insight into the process of decision making from psychological, behavioral and neural perspective. The aim is to allow students to understand self and other decisions and make effective decisions. Practical and research based teaching approaches will be employed so as to open both industrial and academic avenues in Behavioral Economics, Consumer Psychology, Neuromarketing and Neuroeconomics.
23. Psychotherapies
This course will provide students the opportunity to learn about the specific characteristics, techniques and actual skills involved in popular and contemporary therapeutic approaches in Psychology. Through structured workshops and frequent role-play and practice sessions, students will be able to understand and practice the hands-on skills needed to successfully deal with client issues based on the theoretical approaches covered. Besides the popular approaches like behavioural, cognitive behavioural, client-centred therapies, humanistic therapies, the course will also introduce students to more recent approaches in the field like art-based therapies, mindfulness techniques, animal-assisted therapy and online psychotherapy.
16 MINOR COURSES
| 1. Introduction to Psychology | 5. Counselling Psychology | 9. Health Psychology |
| 2. Fields of Psychology | 6. Community Psychology | 10. Cross-Cultural Psychology |
| 3. Social Psychology | 7. Industrial Psychology | 11. Positive Psychology |
| 4. Personality Psychology | 8. Education Psychology | 12. Advanced Research Methods* |
| 13. Psychology and Crime | 14. Sport and Performance Psychology | 15. Decision-making |
| 16. Psychotherapies |
* 4th year undergraduate courses
1. Introduction to Psychology
This module will introduce the students to the subject of psychology as a popular discipline and elaborate the basic psychological processes. And elaborate the significance of the different fields of psychology and will introduce to the students the contribution of the established and upcoming fields.
2. Methods of Psychology
This course focuses on the various methods of Psychology. The course enables students to understand several techniques for managing and interpreting Psychological Data. Students develop an understanding of scientific process and scientific enquiry for Psychological researches and information.
3. Social Psychology
Social psychology studies the influence of others on an individual's thoughts, emotions and behaviours. Because we spend a great deal of each day interacting with others in a variety of different situations, the topics of social psychology are myriad. This module will help students discover ways to apply social-psychological principles to their day-to-day experiences, and to better understand themselves and others.
4. Personality Psychology
Personality is an important aspect of human beings, studied in psychology. Personality theories are a set of assumptions related to human behaviour. Theories of personality helps one understand how personality traits develop and can personality be changed and how can we bring about this change. An attempt will also be made to look at personality within the Indian context and to contrast it with western conceptualizations.
5. Counselling Psychology
This course will provide students a deeper understanding of the different domains of counselling and various approaches through which various issues and problems faced by human beings can be addressed. The course also provides the opportunity to learn basic counselling skills, and competencies essential to initiating, and maintaining relationships with clients, regardless of specific theoretical orientation. By means of weekly structured practice assignments as well as transcript assessments of their own interviews, students will learn how to identify, and conduct competent counselling interviews
6. Community Psychology
This course focuses on applications of basic psychological knowledge and methods to community problems. This course aims at helping students understand the concept and process of community psychology and mental health. It aims at using psychological methods to solve real life problems in the community. The course also focuses on community mental health through research and social intervention programs such as prevention, citizen participation, environmental change, and influence of public policy. This course will the key concepts involved and, through the use of community case studies and activities, acquaint students with the methods community psychologists use. It seeks to understand the relationship between individual well-being and societal influences.
7. Industrial Psychology
This module underlines the significance of the concept of work and the application of theoretical models in the discipline of industrial psychology to work.
8. Education Psychology
This module explores the ‘teaching-learning’ paradigm with reference to the human relationship aspect as well as an understanding of the characteristics, behaviour, motives and cognitive abilities of the people involved.
9. Health Psychology
This unit is an introduction to principles of research in psychology and the various concepts and methods of research. This module will cover the entire process of conducting research which includes methods of data collection, techniques of data analysis and issues and problems in doing research.
10. Cross-Cultural Psychology
This module debates the significance of the role of culture in defining behaviour and deconstructs certain assertions of culture.
11. Positive Psychology
This course helps students to recognize the positive aspects of human life and how psychological health and happiness are not just absence of disease or infirmity. It helps also to conceptualize happiness, subjective well-being, resilience etc.
12. Advanced Research Methods
Through this course, students will learn advanced use of statistics. The will be trained in using statistical software to clean, code and analyse data. The course will cover a variety of procedures for both continuous and categorical variables, for parametric and non-parametric data. Students will learn to apply these in their own research, as well as use their understanding to critically evaluate published research.
13. Psychology and Crime
This course is aimed at introducing students to psychological factors underlying criminal behaviour and the applications of psychology in the criminal and legal system. Students will be exposed to various theories of crime, assessment in criminal psychology, and develop an understanding of research methods in criminal and forensic psychology.
14. Sport and Performance Psychology
This course focuses on using psychological knowledge and skills to address optimal performance and wellbeing of athletes. The course will also consider developmental and social aspects of sports participation, and systemic issues associated with sports settings and organizations.
15. Decision-making
The course will introduce students to the psychology of decision making. Discussions throughout the course will revolve around topics of Rationality, Uncertainty, Intertemporality, and Morality. The course will provide an insight into the process of decision making from psychological, behavioral and neural perspective. The aim is to allow students to understand self and other decisions and make effective decisions. Practical and research based teaching approaches will be employed so as to open both industrial and academic avenues in Behavioral Economics, Consumer Psychology, Neuromarketing and Neuroeconomics.
16. Psychotherapies
This course will provide students the opportunity to learn about the specific characteristics, techniques and actual skills involved in popular and contemporary therapeutic approaches in Psychology. Through structured workshops and frequent role-play and practice sessions, students will be able to understand and practice the hands-on skills needed to successfully deal with client issues based on the theoretical approaches covered. Besides the popular approaches like behavioural, cognitive behavioural, client-centred therapies, humanistic therapies, the course will also introduce students to more recent approaches in the field like art-based therapies, mindfulness techniques, animal-assisted therapy and online psychotherapy.