CUET Psychology Syllabus 2026: Important Topics, Pattern and Books to Prepare Psychology for CUET

Unit I: Variations in Psychological Attributes

The unit aims at studying how people differ with respect to their various psychological attributes.

1.       Individual differences in human functioning

2.       Assessment of psychological attributes

3.       Intelligence: Individual differences in intelligence

4.       Theories of intelligence

5.       Culture and Intelligence

6.       Special abilities: Aptitude — nature, and measurement

7.       Creativity

8.       Emotional Intelligence

Unit II: Self and Personality

This unit focuses on the study of self and personality in the context of different approaches in an effort to appraise the person along with the assessment of personality.

1. Self Esteem, Self-Efficacy, Self-Regulation

2. Culture and Self

3. Concept of Personality

4. Major approaches — Type and Trait, Psychodynamic, Humanistic, Behavioural, Cultural

5. Assessment of personality: Self report measures, behavioural analysis, and projective measures

Unit III: Meeting Life Challenges

This unit deals with the nature of stress and how responses to stress depend on an individual’s appraisal of stressors.

1. Nature
2. Types and Sources of Stress
3. Effects on Psychological Functioning and Health
4. Coping with stress
5. Promoting positive health and well-being

Unit IV: Psychological Disorders

This unit discusses the concepts of normality and abnormality and the major psychological disorders.

1. Concepts of abnormality and psychological disorders

2. Classification of disorders

3. Factors underlying abnormal behaviour

4. Major psychological disorders – Anxiety, Somatic, Dissociative, Mood, Schizophrenic, Developmental and Behavioural-Substance use related

Unit V: Therapeutic Approaches

The unit discusses the goals, techniques, and effectiveness of different approaches to treating psychological disorders.

1.  Nature and Process of Therapy: Therapeutic Relationship

2. Types of Therapies: Psychodynamic, Humanistic, Cognitive, Behaviour and Bio-medical

3. Alternative Therapies: Yoga, Meditation

4. Rehabilitation of Mentally Ill

Unit VI: Attitude and Social Cognition

This unit focuses on the formation and change of attitudes, cultural influences on attributional tendencies, and conditions influencing pro-social behaviour.

1. Explaining social behaviour: Impression formation and explaining the behaviour of others through attributions

2. Social cognition

3. Schemas and stereotypes

4. Nature and Components of Attitudes

5. Attitude Formation and Change

6. Behaviour in the presence of others

7. Pro-social behaviour

8. Prejudices and Discrimination

9. Strategies for Handling Prejudice

Unit VII: Social Influence and Group Processes

The unit deals with the concept of the group, its functions, and the dynamics of social influence on conformity, obedience, and compliance. Different conflict resolution strategies will also be discussed.

1. Conformity, Obedience, and Compliance

2. Cooperation and Competition

3. Nature and formation of groups

4. Types of Groups

5. Social Identity

6. Influence of the Group on Individual Behaviour

7. Inter-Group Conflicts

8. Conflict Resolution Strategies

Unit VIII: Psychology and Life

The unit focuses on the application of psychological understanding to some important social issues

1. Human-Environment Relationship

2.  Environmental Effects on Human Behaviour

3. Noise, Pollution, Crowding, Natural Disasters

4. Promoting Pro-Environmental Behaviour

5. Psychology and Social Concerns: Aggression, Violence and Peace, Discrimination and Poverty

6. Health

7. The Impact of Television on Behaviour

Unit IX: Developing Psychological Skills

The unit deals with some effective psychological and interpersonal skills for facilitating personal social development.

1. Effective Psychological Skills: Observational Skills, Interviewing Skills, Testing Skills

2. Counselling Skills: Empathy, Authenticity, Positive Regard

3. Communication Skills: Listening