This is the second part of the three series Q&A.
Saraneshwar, Tamil Nadu - Sir, wat we have to do for few specific which I can't found anywhere even in internet properly?... And sir wat difference u make in ur paper 2 which makes u stands apart from others n how can we improve in paper 2 answers??
Ravi: There are only very few stuff which you could not find. Talk to your friends or ask in groups. But don’t waste too much time on it. I just tried to write answers in simple language, in bullets, giving sufficient examples & illustration, if possible linking it to any concept in Paper 1. You can read more here on https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology/ .
Anoop, Delhi - I am having difficulty in paper 2 of answer writing in psychology. Would really appreciate if you share all the paper 2 attempted tests of enserio. Congrats good to see fellow nsitian and ice get such a good rank.
Ravi: I will do it soon. But the problem is I wrote those test during the attempt where I got 145 in paper 2 and not this attempt. But nonetheless I will share it.
Sahil, Maharashtra - Sir, did you join Mukul Pathak sir's coaching or refered his material? Many people advised me to go to Delhi & join classes is it worth to do this? Also sir good test series for psychology optional ( online & offline)? And current affairs for psychology how to collect it? Do you have any notes, CA of psychology optional? Thank you.
Ravi: I joined the coaching by him and I certainly benefitted from the coaching. Taking coaching or not is your choice. I would only say that it can be done on your own too. There are two test series I joined during my preparation – Pathak Sir’s which is offline and https://www.enserioeducation.in/ which is online. I have psychology notes I will share some. I dint prepare anything from current affairs explicitly. I jotted down things whenever I came across in newspaper.
Rajan. Maharashtra - Hello Sir! Hearty Congratulations!!! My optional is Psychology so I wanted to know how you approached this subject and how did you go about answer writing. Also, it would be immensely helpful if you could kindly share your Entire Psychology notes of both Paper 1 and Paper 2 and also your mock test copies. What should be the structure of a good answer for Psychology? Please do explain, sir.
Apart from this, how did you prepare for Essay and GS Mains related topics?
Thank you.
Ravi: I have shared my whole journey here - https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology/. Rest I will share my notes and answers to the extent possible.
Regarding Essay and GS Mains, I will pen down something soon.
Naruto, Madhya Pradesh - Sir, based on uour experience can 350+ marks be scored in psychology? Can you please give a detailed strategy for psychology?
Ravi: I have not heard of anyone who has scored anyone who scored more than 350 but then records are meant to be broken. I have shared my whole journey here - https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology/.
Rohit, Jharkhand – Psychology Strategy.
Shubham, Uttar Pradesh - Starting from scratch? (psychology)
Harshwardhan, Maharashtra - Hello sir, thankyou for your initiative .please do discuss about how to prepare psy. With self preparation and also tell about resources. Thanks
Shweta, Haryana - Sir I want to know about how to start the psychology optional.. Detailed book list and from where you have taken coaching for psychology optional and if possible plss share some notes of yours with us.
Prachi, Maharashtra - Sir as I am beginner can you please tell how to prepare answer writing in detail without coaching and with which approach should tackle with questions and your strategy regarding it. (Psychology)
Sriram, Tamil Nadu - Strategy for psychology optional
Pulkit, Delhi - Detailed preparation strategy. Resources required. Time frame in which syllabus can be completed.
Sowmya, Karnataka - Hi, can you tell us more about your psychology materials that refered during your preparation. Also tell us about which institution test series helped you in answer writing for Psychology optional. Thank you.
Sital, Jharkhand - Sir for psychology optional how to prepare and what all things are needed ...which books.. research?... From where to practice answer writing
Ravi: Please refer https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology/.
Vanshika, Haryana - I had psychology as my graduation subject but I'm unable to find the correct strategy to start with my optional. And also I'm unable to relate to the answer writing format for option psychology. It would be really kind of you if you could help me in this a little. Regards.
Ravi: Since you had graduation in Psychology, I believe you will do great. Read https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology/ if this helps.
Ritika, Uttar Pradesh - Currently pursuing B.Ed and read detailed of child psychology. So, I developed interest in this subject, I would be thankful if you will share more about this subject and how to attempt question of psychology to fetch marks.
Ravi – Psychology is indeed very interesting and I have shared my experience here - https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology/.
Abdul, West Bengal - Congratulation sir ! Sir, my query is related to Psychology... I'm facing difficulties in answer writing basically in providing good examples, some times in writing good answers, there is always remaining a fear ...!! How to overcome these ...? And which coaching institute is good for joining answer writing improvement, seeking some guides ...
Ravi: Thanks. Even I faced difficulty in providing examples. Problem with us is we tend to find the perfect example whereas we need simple examples. These are mentioned in NCERT or any other standard text. Try to find out. May be list them down in your notes if you have any. Write them consciously when you practice answer writing. I have mentioned two and there are many others join any one that suits you.
Aparajita, Karnataka - What sources to refer to for psychology optional? Once I complete the sylaabus roughly, how to approach for answer writing? Also if you could suggest some value addition sources in psychology? While preparing for upsc, if I want to appear for state psc (bihar/jharkhand) what different approach I may need ?
Thanks for the forum though, since I haven't joined coaching your guidance would matter a lot! :)
Ravi: I have shared my whole journey here - https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology/.
You can start writing previous year questions even after completing a topic say Intelligence. You can self-evaluate as well as get it for peer evaluation. I have mentioned a few examples in the above post you can refer to it. I have also mentioned sources in the above posts.
For state PSC or any other exam, just stick to syllabus and the basic books and improvise.
Kazi, Karnataka - Sir please share your psychology notes ,solved answer ,test papers, inshort everything related to psychology. Not books but your notes, your personal content relates to psychology,please. Thank you sir
Ravi: I will do it soon. Maximum by the end of September if everything goes well.
Shrishti, Jharkhand - Which test series should I join and when? Also, plz provide guidance regarding answer writing (Psychology)
Ravi: I have mentioned two above and there would be more. You can join anyone that suits, if you want to join test series. The best time I think would be just before the mains after the prelims are over.
Vivek, Bihar – Hello sir. I want to know the answer writing strategy for Psychology. What was the improvement you did in successive attempts which gave the edge? Other than test series, did you wrote answers and evaluated by yourself (if yes, then any benchmark)?
Also, speed management in exam. I am taking around 3.5 hrs to complete tests.
And what was the strategy for 15 & 20 marker ( I mean, did you filled maximum pages or stopped when there was sufficient content even though 1 page is left?)
Thank you sir.
Ravi: I did write test in my first 3 attempts. In the 4th attempt I just answers and evaluated by myself. Time management can be achieved through practice. Write five questions in 35 minutes and practice it. For full length test, I used to set my countdown timer to 2:50 (2 hours and 50 minutes). I did same in exams too.
I tried to fill all the pages sometimes through space management or sometimes through content.
Vivek, Bihar - Another question I had. Did you took latest researches from Indian journals for paper 2 or managed with Smarak swain? How extensively you quoted researches in your answers? Thank you sir.
Ravi: I used to sometimes. Whenever I thought I didn’t have enough content I would search that topic and would read anything that is relevant. I quoted research extensively but only those I read in the books or class notes.
Jayanth, Andhra Pradesh: Sir,I have chosen Psychology option. I love the subject and it interested me a lot. However I am struggling with the sources and where to start with. Currently I am reading psychology Ncerts. Request you to please share detailed strategy pertaining to Psychology option. Thanks in Advance. Hearty congratulations for your success.
Ravi: Thanks for writing. I have already shared my experience here - https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology/.
kaido-sama, Delhi - How easy it is to score around 300 marks if someone takes psychology as an optional w.r.t the other popular optional like anthropology,public administration,sociology etc and pls tell us about the scaling factor in the various optional subject
Ravi: Honestly, not many people write Mains with psychology and not many people get more than 300. I guess you don’t need to worry about scaling and all. Your goals should be to work hard and score maximum in any optional you choose.
Jasleen, Punjab - Sir, I have secured AIR 729 in CSE 2019. I think Psychology pulled my scores down. So, would really like to know how you approached the answer writing. It would be really helpful if you can given detailed strategy that you followed for Psychology. Thank you.
Ravi – Congrats on your success and thank you for writing to me. I think let the score come before you can jump to conclusion. I have written a post about my journey https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology/. If you have further specific doubts you can contact me.
Vaibhav, Uttar Pradesh - PLease share your whole psych notes/ strgy possible. there is dearth of material/ topper advice here. plS sir!!
Ravi: It would not be possible to share everything but I will share as much as I can.
Parth, Uttar Pradesh - hello sir and congratulations on your success.i ve been reading both psychology and philosophy for some time now so as to come on a decesion for optional and i feel philosophy to be tinge more intriguing than psychology .In this regard i will be grateful if you let me know the time taken to cover psychology and your experience with it.And does UPSC favour or devalue one optional over other .your response will certainly land me to decide better one when it comes to scoring in final exam. THANK YOU
Ravi: if you found Philosophy more intriguing than Psychology, please go ahead with it. You should not consider any other parameter. Period.
Kumar Shivam, Jharkhand - Sir, what topics are there to study for social psychology and what would be the reference?
Ravi: You only need to study topics mentioned in the syllabus. For reference check - https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology/.
Nishant, Delhi - Please discuss about the complete sources other than the two books for paper 1 and paper 2.Any reasearch papers or books, youtube videos,test series etc and also that how to do with daunting tasks of reading a book personally NCERT psychology because i find it very boring.
Ravi: Already shared - https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology/. NCERT is just in total 400 pages. You gotta do what you gotta do.
Dharya, Delhi - Book recommendations for Statistics/Where to do statistics from?
Ravi: I dint read any book. I would just read notes and the wiki page. Also sometimes watch videos from https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCUr096WDp86n62CXBeHlQw on certain topics.
Bhagyashree, Maharashtra - I have started reading psychology but many times I got confused between baron and Ciccarelli because when I read in baron I an ok but if I check Ciccarelli I found something more sometimes things are same so my time is waste but sometimes actually there is something which is not in baron so how could I manage the things..I mean if I read every topic from both the it will not possible it will take to much time I want to attempt 2021 and I want to cover GS also..please help and regarding sources also is there any other thatn baron and Ciccarelli should I read like some says social psychology by baron some says mukul pathak notes please suggest
Ravi: The problem is that for Psychology there is no single book. And you will find something extra in all book. If you have not taken coaching, I would advise you to go topic wise and cover it from a book till you are able to answer all previous year questions if not then refer to other book. I think going topic wise you will know where the sufficient content is notes or books. The goal is to answer most questions. Rest I have wrote in detail about my experience with Psychology - https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology/.
Yuvraj, Sangli - Congratulations on this grand Success Sir !!
1) what should be the strategy for Psychology optional....please write detailed strategy sir because of dearth of materials/ strategy...I’m confused sir..please help in this regard as you have 3 interview experience, you are right person ...
2) Is it mandatory to join coaching for psychology optional ?? If yes which one ?.
3) Test series for Psychology optional...??
4) please share your “ Psychology optional evaluated answer copies “so that we can get insights on how to present/write answer...here also dearth of answer copies..no one is sharing answer copies of Psychology
5) please bust the myths about Psychology optional..as I have came across many such things that it is less scoring, UPSC selects very less people from psychology optional...etc..
6) I request you to please write / make video in detail ( why I’m saying in detail because very less toppers shared their strategy) on Psychology optional...how to study , what to study, booklist, answer writing strategy, how to score good marks in psychology etc
Sir, I searched a lot after 2019 result regarding Psychology optional but I couldn’t found single topper who is sharing/ talking about Psychology optional ...I don’t know why people are reluctant in sharing strategy specially Psychology... So sir , I hope you will make detailed strategy...waiting for your valuable guidance . Once again
Ravi: Thank you for writing to me. I have answered Q. 1) 2) 3) 5) here - https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology/. I would post my answer script soon. There are only a few people who write Psychology optional hence the low selection. IMHO the subject has been low scoring because everyone is getting average score as everyone is writing same content. So important thing is to write your own answer, provide enough examples etc.
I don’t think what you are saying is correct. Because successful candidates always share their experience. Some of them I will share here - https://jainanuraj.wordpress.com/psychology/ (he scored 333 last year), https://www.insightsonindia.com/2017/07/07/psychology-strategy-civil-services-strategy-booklist-resources-notes-mittali-sethi-air-56-302-marks/ . And there are many more.
Abhishek, Jharkhand - Hi Ravi Sir, First of all, a very hearty congratulations to you on seeing the results of your efforts. I have multiple questions to ask guidance upon, and I will try to ask them all in this one but if I miss something, I might request you again in a different response on this form for shedding some lights on those topics.
I have started my preparation for UPSC just 1-2 months back and I am currently not able to study properly because I have a fear regarding the psychology subject which I chose mostly out of interest.
I see/hear many people saying that :
a. Psychology is 'less scoring",
b. More "volatile" in terms of the variety and approaches of questions asked,
c. The answer given by us may be so subjectively different from what the faculty expects that getting to know the recipe/pattern for high score is quite daunting,
d. The subject has less exposure overall for UPSC preparation as an optional and therefore less availability of faculties and methodologies to efficiently prepare for the same in a holistic manner.
e. There is only one faculty known for Psychology, i.e. Mukul Pathak and if you are not in Delhi, good coaching and guidance on the subject matter is quite inaccessible and you are on your own.
f. There is no proper test series available for Psychology to actually test and improve how you put forth an answer in the mains paper, especially if you are not in Delhi.
g. The Study material(Baron/Cicarelli/King + NCERT Books 11 & 12 + Smarak Swain) covers only around 70% and still individual searches on topics + reading research papers needs to be read to expand upon the remaining syllabus.
h.We also need to cover Research Methodologies by A.K. Singh to cover another 10%.
i. There is so much current research going on and one needs to scourge through internet to make notes for recent statistics which can be added in the answers of Mains Paper.
j. Current Affairs is there, but not streamlined like that for other optional subjects.
k. Psychology adds a lot to the content of Essay and Ethics and can be seen as a preparation for all three in a way along with being able to manage one's own psyche.
l. Last but not the least, it is said by many that study of Psyche or Psychology can sometimes also disturb one's mental and inner balance due to a lot of introspection and hence should be avoided.
These are various recurring statements I have seen and heard when trying to understand more about the subject and how to approach it.
Therefore I have 3 requests:
1. Kindly share your own experience and journey in detail.
2. The statements mentioned above most probably have some truth to them, although some statements much more than other. Kindly elaborate on each of the statements where they stand correct and please debunk the ones where they are incorrect and please elaborate further in such cases with the honest truth and the way forward from your wisdom.
3. The above mentioned statements are generic and will help every aspirant with Psychology as their optional, but I cannot resist myself from asking the below specific questions:
a. Are the book sources mentioned good enough/too much? Kindly elaborate on this.
b. Do you think further guidance and/or coaching is needed to make the best use of Psychology as a "scoring" optional subject? Does Psychology have an alternate source for coaching and guidance available which I might be missing? Can you suggest some/any?
c. I am preparing from my hometown in Ranchi and will I be able to get the quality guidance here or should I plan to shift out to Delhi specifically taking in consideration Psychology as an optional subject?
d. Kindly elaborate upon Answer Writing for Psychology and how to approach it to make it as accurate as possible to the demand of question and satisfying enough to the expectations of the invigilator? Are there any good test series available for the same which can be utilized online without actually going to Delhi?
I would like to apologize for the long post, but these are very important for all the Psychology aspirants and I will be really indebted if you could guide us on these topics as a celebrated successful veteran. Thanks and Regards, Abhishek.
Ravi:
Now that you have started your preparation and have chosen Psychology don’t get bothered by what people are saying (“kuch toh log kahenge”). Regarding result, every year people get selected from Psychology. Rest all generic statements you mentioned, almost all relevant things I have answered in https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology .
Regarding moving out to Delhi (in this Covid situation), that would be your choice. But I can assure you with hard work and dedication you can cover everything on your own.
I think I have answered all your other questions here https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology . In case I have missed you may write to me again.
Arjun, Uttar Pradesh - Psychology: For paper-1 since there are multiple sources.. revision is taking too long. Sir, please tell in detail how you used to revise a paper 1 topic before attempting a Test.
Ravi: I made short notes of all 28 topics and used to revise from them before test and exam as well.
Shahina, Kerala - Hello sir, Congratulations for your Achievements. Iam appearing for the 2021 CSE. My optional is psychology.I did my post graduation in psychology itself.I have gone through NCERT,BARON and smarak swain.Now,starting to write answers on a daily basis. Sir,my doubt is regarding the figures, drawings and other value addition part.can you please help me in figuring out answers incorporating this.. Thankyou.
Ravi: It’s good that you are PG in Psychology. It will be relatively easier for you. The goal in answer writing is to get 0.5 – 1 marks extra from everyone. For that you need to have something extra and relevant. So figures, Examples, diagrams, flowcharts, etc. would definitely add value. Refer to this post https://ravijainupsc.wordpress.com/psychology and if you have doubts still, revert back to me.
Aryan, Uttar Pradesh - Sir I'm confused between psychology and sociology optional. I'm more interested in psychology but sociology is doing well consistently ,unlike psychology. I know i can handle both the subjects but for a given amount of efforts put in, wil it be safe to go with PSYCHOLOGY OPTIONAL so that i get atleast avg marks(275-290)? Plz email me ur valuable suggestions what should i do?
Ravi – According to me, one of the important criteria of optional selection is interest in the subject. But if you are comfortable with both Sociology and Psychology and you have no bias for or against both, then I would advise you go with Sociology. But whatever you choose, you will have to work hard honestly and consistently.
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