Busting a Few Myths Regarding Psychology Optional in UPSC Civil Services Mains

Psychology is one of the optional subjects offered by the UPSC to candidates for the civil services Mains written exam. It is an interesting subject, one that borders the realms of both science and philosophy. In 2012, the All India rank 1 holder, Shena Aggarwal had Psychology as her optional subject. Now, there are many myths surrounding this subject for the IAS exam. Many candidates hesitate to take up this optional and they don’t jump into this subject as readily as history or public administration. This article aims at busting a few myths regarding Psychology optional in UPSC civil services mains exam.

Aspirants would find this article very helpful while preparing for the UPSC 2023.

Psychology Optional UPSC – Myth Busted

Myth #1

Psychology involves a lot of Biology

True, there is Biology in Psychology but it is limited. Both the subjects are related as the physical aspects of a human body, i.e., biology influences human thinking and behaviour. For instance, if a person is short tempered, it may be because he/she suffers from high blood pressure. So, it is important to have an understanding of biology to understand the inner workings of the mind as well as human behaviour and traits. However, you only need to focus primarily on the nervous system. Also, the knowledge level required is only up to the tenth standard level. It is that easy! So, don’t let your fear of biology keep you from taking up Psychology in the IAS mains exam.

Myth #2

Psychology has a lot of statistics

Statistical tools are used in Psychology because a lot of data is gathered especially of hundreds of patients to analyse and come to a conclusion by researchers. Again, you don’t need to acquire a doctorate in Statistics to study Psychology. Here, statistical/mathematical tools are enabling tools that help to understand the subject. You need to understand only the basic statistical concepts. This is because when you have a lot of data with you, you need to be able to figure out what the data says. This is also important from a civil servant’s point of view. As administrators, you will come across a variety of data and you should be able to interpret meaningful information from the raw data. So, don’t shy away from learning a bit of statistics!

Myth #3

There is a dearth of material for Psychology

In fact, the opposite is true as far as Paper I is concerned. There is a lot of excellent material for these topics, both of Indian and foreign authors. Maybe Paper II doesn’t have as many books as Paper I. But this is because this paper is mostly application-based. Here, your applying the theoretical aspects is more essential. For instance, what is the motivating factor for terrorists to indulge in heinous violent acts? If you understand the psychology of terrorism you will be able to answer this question. This paper deals with the implementation of psychology in all aspects of human and nation development. As you would be able to infer from the 2016 Psychology optional Paper II question paper (screenshot given below), psychology has applications in a wide variety of fields.

Myth #4

Psychology is not a scoring optional

This is a misconceived notion among IAS aspirants. If you see, there have been toppers who had Psychology as their optional subject. The scoring option for this subject is as good as any other subject provided you put in the effort.

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