GATE Syllabus

GATE 2025 Psychology Syllabus (XH-C5)

GATE 2025 Psychology Syllabus (XH-C5) gives you details of the latest GATE syllabus for the subject released by the official gate organizing institute IIT Roorkee for the year 2025. We also created an easy-to-use ad-free mobile app for the GATE Psychology syllabus, previous year papers with keys, gate calculator, virtual calculator, and more. Download iStudy App for all GATE preparation needs.

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GATE 2025 Psychology Syllabus (XH-C5)

C5.1 Research Methods and Statistics:

C5.1.1 Approaches to research:
Philosophical worldviews & criteria involved in approach. Research design: quantitative & qualitative, mixed methods.

C5.1.2 Designing research:
Research problems, purpose statement, Variables and Operational Definitions, Hypothesis, Sampling.

C5.1.3 Nature of quantitative & qualitative research:
Structured, semi-structured interviewing, self-completion questionnaires (Survey), observation, Experimental, Quasi-experimental, Field studies, Focus groups discussions, Narratives, Case studies, Ethnography.

C5.1.4 Ethics in conducting and reporting research

C5.1.5 Statistics in Psychology:
Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion. Normal Probability Curve. Parametric and Non-parametric tests Effect size and Power analysis.

C5.1.6 Correlational Analysis:
Correlation [Product Moment, Rank Order], Partial correlation, multiple correlation. Special Correlation Methods: Biserial, Point biserial, tetrachoric, phi coefficient. Regression: Simple linear regression, Multiple regression. Factor analysis: Assumptions, Methods, Rotation and Interpretation.

C5.1.7 Experimental Designs:
ANOVA [One-way, Factorial], Randomized Block Designs, Repeated Measures Design, Latin Square, Cohort studies, Time series, MANOVA, ANCOVA. Single-subject designs.

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C5.2 Psychometrics:

Foundations of Psychological measurement; Basic components: scales and items’ Construction and analysis of items: Intelligence test items, performance tests, Ability & Aptitude test, Personality questionnaires. Method of test construction, Standardization of measures: Reliability, Validity, Norms, Application of assessment and measurements in Tests’ Applications of psychological testing in various settings-educations, counselling and guidance, clinical, organizational and developmental.

C5.3 Biological and evolutionary basis of behaviour:

Heredity and behaviour Evolution and natural selection, Nervous system, structures of the brain and their functions, Neurons: Structure, functions, types, neural impulse, synaptic transmission. Neurotransmitters. Hemispheric lateralization, The endocrine system types and functions, Biological basis of Motivation: Hunger, Thirst, Sleep and Sex. Biological basis of emotion: The Limbic system, Hormonal regulation of behaviour. Methods of Physiological Psychology: Invasive methods -Anatomical methods, degeneration techniques, lesion techniques, chemical methods, microelectrode studies, Non-invasive methods – EEG, Scanning methods, Muscular and Glandular system: Genetics and behaviour: Chromosomal anomalies; Nature-Nurture controversy [Twin studies and adoption studies]

C5.4 Perception, Learning, Memory and Forgetting:

What is sensation, sensory thresholds and sensory adaptations, Vision, hearing, touch and pain, smell and taste, kinesthesis and vestibular sense, Perception: role of attention; organizing principles of perception, gestalt perception, depth perception and illusions, Theories of learning: classical conditioning, operant conditioning, social learning theory, cognitive learning, Memory: encoding, storage, retrieval, Information processing theories of memory, Retrieval in Long term memory, reconstructive nature of long-term memory, Forgetting: encoding failure, interference theory, memory trace decay theory, the physical aspects of memory.

C5.5 Cognition:

Thinking, Intelligence and Language: Basic elements of though: Concepts, Propositions, Imagery. Current paradigms of cognitive psychology – Information processing approach, ecological approach, Problem solving: Methods of problem solving, Strategies and obstacles, Role of Metacognitive processing, decision-making: choosing among alternatives, Intelligence: Theories of intelligence (Spearman; Thurstone; Jensen; Cattell; Gardner; Stenberg) and Emotional Intelligence; Measuring intelligence, Individual differences in Intelligence; Role of heredity and environment, Difference between Intelligence, Aptitude and Creativity.

C5.6 Personality:

Theories of personality: Psychoanalytic, behaviourist, social cognitive view, humanism and trait and type theories, Biology of personality and Assessment of personality.

C5.7 Motivation, Emotion and Stress and Coping:

Approaches to understanding motivation: instinct, drive-reduction, arousal, incentive, humanistic, Achievement motivation, Intrinsic motivation, aggression, curiosity and exploration, Emotions: nature of emotions; biological basis of emotions, Theories of emotions: James-Lange, Canon-Bard, Schachter and Singer, Lazarus, Definition of stress; what are stressors; cognitive factors in stress, Factors in stress reaction: General adaptation syndrome; effect of stress, Coping with stress: problem-focused coping; emotion-focused coping, REBT and meditation

C5.8 Social psychology:

Social perception: Attribution; impression formation; social categorization, implicit personality theory, Social influence: conformity, compliance and obedience, Attitudes, beliefs and values: Evaluating the social world, attitude formation, attitude change and persuasion, cognitive dissonance, Prejudice, discrimination, Aggression, power and prosocial behaviour, Belief systems and value patterns. Group dynamics, leadership style and effectiveness, Theories of intergroup relations and conflicts.

C5.9 Development across the life span:

Nature versus nurture in human development, Prenatal development: Chromosomes, Genes and DNA. Physical, cognitive and psychosocial development in infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood, Theories of aging, Moral development.

C5.10 Applications of Psychology:

Psychological disorders: Conceptions of mental disorders; Assessment and diagnosis, DSM and Other tools, PTSD and Trauma; Psychotherapies: Psychodynamic, Phenomenological/Experiential therapy; Behaviour therapy; cognitive therapy; biological therapy, Applications of theories of motivation and learning in School: Factors in educational achievement; counselling & guidance in schools, Application of theories of motivation, learning, emotions, perceptions, group dynamics & leadership to organizational set up, Issues of Personal space, crowding, and territoriality.

If you are preparing for GATE, download iStudy Mobile App for all GATE Syllabus, Previous Question Papers and Keys, preparation guide, Exam updates, Gate Virtual calculator, Gate Score calculator, and IITs & NITs cutoffs. It is a lightweight, easy to use, no images, and no ads platform to make students’ lives easier.
Get it on Google Play.

GENERAL APTITUDE (Common for all branches)

Verbal Aptitude

Basic English Grammar
Tenses, articles, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, verb-noun agreement, and other parts of speech

Basic Vocabulary
Words, idioms, and phrases in context

Reading and Comprehension

Narrative Sequencing

Quantitative Aptitude

Data Interpretation
Data graphs (bar graphs, pie charts, and other graphs representing data), 2- and 3-dimensional plots, maps, and tables

Numerical Computation and Estimation
Ratios, percentages, powers, exponents and logarithms, permutations and combinations, and series

Mensuration and Geometry

Elementary Statistics and Probability

Analytical Aptitude

Logic
Deduction and Induction

Analogy

Numerical Relations and Reasoning

Spatial Aptitude

Transformation of Shapes
Translation, rotation, scaling, mirroring, assembling, and grouping

Paper folding, cutting, and patterns in 2 and 3 dimensions

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