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CBSE · Class 11 · Psychology

What is Psychology?

Standard difficulty · 20 questions · 40 marks · Time: 36 minutes

Name: Date: Score: ____ / 40

Show your working for Sections B and C. Answers are on the last page — try every question first!

Section A — Choose the correct answer8 × 1 = 8 marks
1.
Psychology is formally defined as the science that studies:
  1. only the soul
  2. only animal behaviour
  3. only the structure of the brain
  4. mental processes, experiences and behaviour in different contexts
2.
Who is linked with functionalism?
  1. William James
  2. Ivan Pavlov
  3. Alfred Binet
  4. Jean Piaget
3.
What did behaviourism focus on?
  1. free will and the natural striving to grow
  2. people actively constructing their minds by exploring the world
  3. the building blocks of conscious experience, studied by introspection
  4. observable and measurable responses to stimuli
4.
Vikram studies how traffic noise and heat affect office workers. Which branch of psychology does this work belong to?
  1. environmental psychology
  2. health psychology
  3. social psychology
  4. cognitive psychology
5.
Psychology and architecture and engineering come together in the study of:
  1. counselling patients and helping them follow treatment
  2. socialisation and group behaviour
  3. music, emotions and work performance
  4. designing spaces and displays that suit human habits and safety
6.
William James published Principles of Psychology in 1890; G. Bose founded the Indian Psychoanalytical Association in 1922. How many years apart were these?
  1. 32 years
  2. 29 years
  3. 33 years
  4. 42 years
7.
Meera writes an answer in an exam. What kind of behaviour is this?
  1. an experience others can feel directly
  2. covert: others cannot see it
  3. a reflex with no stimulus behind it
  4. overt: others can see it
8.
In Durganand Sinha’s account, what marked the phase after the 1960s?
  1. problem-oriented research on Indian society
  2. the founding of the first laboratory at Leipzig
  3. research only on animal behaviour
  4. experimental, psychoanalytic and testing research that reflected the West
Section B — Short answer8 × 2 = 16 marks
9.
Define psychology in your own words.
10.
Name the psychologist linked with each (surname is enough): (a) structuralism (b) psychoanalysis
11.
What did each school focus on: (a) constructivism (b) behaviourism
12.
Name the branch of psychology in each case. (a) Ananya studies how stress affects the chance of falling ill. (b) Priya studies how culture shapes the way people show emotions.
13.
Type overt or covert for each behaviour. (a) Vikram works out a sum in their head. (b) Ananya waves to a friend across the road.
14.
Which came first, and by how many years? (a) Carl Rogers published Client-Centred Therapy (1951) (b) Freud developed psychoanalysis (1900)
15.
How does psychology connect with each discipline? (a) law and criminology (b) economics
16.
How many years ago was each, counting from 2026? (a) G. Bose founded the Indian Psychoanalytical Association (1922) (b) NIMHANS was set up at Bangalore (1955)
Section C — Word problems4 × 4 = 16 marks
17.
Explain the three terms in the definition of psychology: mental processes, experience and behaviour.
18.
Match each with its focus: (a) functionalism (b) humanistic psychology (c) psychoanalysis. Choose from: unconscious desires and conflicts; free will and the natural striving to grow; what the mind does and how behaviour helps people adapt.
19.
(a) Put these in order, earliest first: B.F. Skinner published Science and Human Behaviour (1953); Calcutta University started India’s first Department of Psychology (1916); NIMHANS was set up at Bangalore (1955). (b) How many years from the first to the last? (c) Name one school of psychology that grew as a reaction to structuralism, and say how it differed.
20.
For each school of psychology, name a psychologist linked with it, say what it focused on, and give one criticism or limit: (a) the humanistic perspective (b) behaviourism
AmbifulWorksheets
Practice that never repeats
CBSE · Class 11 · Psychology

Answer key

What is Psychology? · AW-11PY-WIP-2026-V1 · For parents — fold back or tear off before handing the sheet to your child.

QAnswerWorking
1(d) mental processes, experiences and behaviour in different contexts—
2(a) William James—
3(d) observable and measurable responses to stimuli—
4(a) environmental psychology—
5(d) designing spaces and displays that suit human habits and safety—
6(a) 32 years1922 − 1890 = 32
7(d) overt: others can see itovert behaviour can be seen by an observer; covert cannot
8(a) problem-oriented research on Indian society—
9The science that studies mental processes, experiences and behaviour of people in different contexts, using methods of the biological and social sciences.—
10(a) Wilhelm Wundt (b) Sigmund Freud—
11(a) people actively constructing their minds by exploring the world (b) observable and measurable responses to stimuli—
12(a) health psychology (b) cross-cultural psychology—
13(a) covert (b) overt—
14Freud developed psychoanalysis, by 51 years1951 − 1900
15(a) how well a witness remembers an event (b) consumer behaviour, saving and decision-making—
16(a) 104 years (b) 71 years2026 − 1922; 2026 − 1955
17Mental processes are activities like remembering, thinking and perceiving. Experiences are subjective and known only to the person having them. Behaviours are responses or activities, overt or covert, triggered by stimuli.—
18(a) what the mind does and how behaviour helps people adapt (b) free will and the natural striving to grow (c) unconscious desires and conflicts—
19(a) Calcutta University started India’s first Department of Psychology; B.F. Skinner published Science and Human Behaviour; NIMHANS was set up at Bangalore (b) 39 years (c) Answers will vary; see the chapter.—
20(a) Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow; free will and the natural striving to grow (b) John Watson; observable and measurable responses to stimuli; criticisms as in the chapter—