UPMSP Intermediate Psychology - Code 133 study plan

Define psychology in your own words and distinguish it from pseudoscience and common sense, listing at least three criteria that separate scientific claims from anecdotal ones.

Outline the historical evolution of psychology from structuralism and functionalism through behaviourism, Gestalt, psychoanalysis and cognitive psychology, naming one key figure and one core claim for each school.

Map the scope of psychology across biological, cognitive, developmental, social and clinical subfields, and match each to a realistic career or applied setting.

Compare observation, survey, experiment, case study and correlational design on control, ecological validity and type of conclusion each permits, then pick the right design for three short research scenarios.

State the core ethical principles of research with human participants (informed consent, confidentiality, deception and debriefing, right to withdraw) and apply them to a scenario involving student participants.

Sequence the stages of life-span development from prenatal through infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood, and describe one physical, cognitive and socio-emotional change at each stage.

Explain the heredity-environment interaction using at least two concrete examples, and distinguish genotype from phenotype in your own words.

Describe Piaget's sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational stages with one classic task or behaviour typical of each.

Trace the pathway of light through the eye and sound through the ear, naming the key structures and their functions in order.

Distinguish sensation from perception and explain attention as selective, divided and sustained, giving one everyday example of each.

Explain at least three perceptual organising principles (figure-ground, grouping, depth cues) and two common perceptual illusions with their causes.

Diagram the classical conditioning procedure with a worked example, correctly labelling unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus and conditioned response, and explain acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery and generalisation.

Compare operant conditioning with classical conditioning on what is learned, the role of consequences and the learner's activity, and apply reinforcement schedules (fixed and variable, ratio and interval) to three behaviour-change examples.

Explain observational learning through attention, retention, reproduction and motivation, and describe how modelling explains aggression or prosocial behaviour.

Distinguish reinforcement from punishment, including positive and negative forms, and identify the four consequences in five short classroom scenarios.

Describe the three memory stores (sensory, short-term, long-term) by capacity, duration and encoding, and explain working memory as an active system.

Compare the decay, interference and retrieval-failure explanations of forgetting, and apply at least four evidence-based memory-improvement strategies (chunking, spaced practice, elaborative rehearsal, retrieval practice, mnemonics) to your own study routine.

Define thinking and describe the components of a problem, then apply at least three problem-solving strategies (algorithms, heuristics, means-end analysis) to novel problems.

Identify obstacles to problem solving such as mental set, functional fixedness and confirmation bias, and describe one way to overcome each.

Distinguish deductive from inductive reasoning and evaluate the validity of short syllogisms, separating validity from truth of premises.

Explain how heuristics and framing bias decision making, and give one real-life example of each.

Describe the stages of creative thinking and distinguish convergent from divergent thinking, listing three techniques for generating original ideas.

Compare intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, outline Maslow's hierarchy with its levels in order, and state the main criticisms of the hierarchy.

Compare the James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter-Singer two-factor and cognitive-appraisal theories of emotion, and explain how the same bodily arousal can be labelled differently.

Define intelligence and compare at least three approaches to it (psychometric, multiple intelligences, triarchic), noting what each explains well and where it is criticised.

Distinguish intelligence, aptitude and achievement, and explain reliability and validity as criteria for any psychological test.

Summarise the trait, psychodynamic, humanistic and social-cognitive approaches to personality, naming one theorist and one assessment method for each.

Describe the purpose, format and limitations of at least two personality assessment tools (for example self-report inventories and projective tests), and state why clinical diagnosis should not rest on a single test score.

Distinguish normality from abnormality using the statistical, social, maladaptive and personal-distress criteria, and explain why no single criterion is sufficient.

Describe the key features of at least two common disorder categories such as anxiety disorders and mood disorders, using their defining symptoms rather than labels alone.

Outline the main therapeutic approaches (biological, psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive-behavioural, humanistic) and one coping strategy each for stress, anxiety and low mood.

Define attitude and explain its components (cognitive, affective, behavioural), then describe how attitudes form and change through persuasion, including source, message and audience factors.

Explain prejudice and discrimination, distinguish stereotyping from prejudice, and describe at least two strategies for reducing prejudice, such as intergroup contact and recategorisation.

Describe Asch's conformity findings and Milgram's obedience findings in terms of procedure, key result and interpretation, and identify two situational factors that increase or decrease conformity and obedience.

Explain group processes such as social facilitation, social loafing, group polarisation and groupthink, and give one everyday example of each.

Revisit observational, survey and experimental designs and identify which social-psychology finding in this week's study each design could test, noting one ethical safeguard for each.

Re-read condensed notes for domains 1, 3, 5 and 6 and produce a one-page concept map linking schools of psychology, developmental stages, learning types and memory stores.

Answer 40 mixed multiple-choice questions across the four domains under timed conditions, then classify every error as knowledge gap, misreading or careless slip.

Rewrite the ten weakest concepts in your own words without looking at notes, then check each against the source material.

Recite from memory the key terms, theorists and definitions for these four domains using flashcards or a self-quiz, aiming for at least 90 percent correct.

Explain aloud, in three minutes each, classical versus operant conditioning and the three memory stores, recording yourself to check accuracy and completeness.

Answer 50 mixed questions across domains 7 to 11 under exam timing, then review every wrong or guessed item and write the correct reasoning beside it.

Rehearse the highest-yield definitions, theories and theorists from all eleven domains using a one-page master sheet you build yourself from memory first, then fill gaps from notes.

Write full-length answers to two long-answer questions, one from domain 9 and one from domain 10, under timed conditions, then mark them against a checklist of required points.

Simulate one complete timed paper under exam conditions with no notes, and record your score, time per section and three specific weaknesses to fix before the exam.

Finalise a one-page exam-day strategy covering question order, time allocation, keyword underlining and how to attempt questions you are unsure about.