KSLU Solved Question Papers
Sociology III: Social Psychology (Hons)
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 4
2022 Oct Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 4 Sociology III: Social Psychology (Hons) 2022 Oct Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 2 November 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2022 Oct examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2022 Oct examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 2½ hours · Total marks 70 · 12 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Define psychology. Explain the different methods of psychology.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the meaning and origin of the word psychology; a short definition; the subject matter (behaviour and mental processes); why psychology needs methods; the main methods (introspection, observation, experiment, case study, survey and interview, psychological tests, correlational and developmental methods), each with its merits and limits; and a conclusion on using several methods together.
Meaning and definition
The word psychology comes from two Greek words. Psyche means spirit or soul, and -logia means study or research. So psychology first meant the study of the soul.
Today psychology is defined as the scientific study of the mind and behaviour. "Behaviour" means everything a person does that others can observe, such as walking, speaking or crying. "Mind" or "mental processes" means what happens inside us, such as thinking, feeling, remembering and perceiving.
Psychology became a separate science in 1879. In that year Wilhelm Wundt set up the first formal laboratory for psychological research at the University of Leipzig in Germany. He is called the father of experimental psychology. In 1913, J. B. Watson argued that psychology should study only observable behaviour. That view is called behaviourism.
Why psychology needs methods
Psychology tries to describe, explain, predict and control behaviour. To do this, it cannot rely on guesswork or common sense. It must collect facts in an orderly way, so that another researcher can repeat the study and check the result. The ways of collecting and testing these facts are the methods of psychology.
1. Introspection
Introspection means "looking within". The person observes and reports his own thoughts and feelings. Wundt and his student Edward Titchener used trained observers who described their sensations in detail.
- Merits: it is the only direct way to know a person's inner experience, such as a feeling of fear.
- Limits: it is subjective. Two observers cannot check each other's report. It cannot be used with children, animals or people with mental illness. The act of observing a feeling can also change the feeling.
2. Observation
In observation, the psychologist watches behaviour and records it. In naturalistic observation, behaviour is watched in its natural setting, such as children playing in a school ground, without any interference. In controlled observation, the setting is arranged by the observer.
- Merits: it shows real behaviour. It can be used with children and animals.
- Limits: the observer may be biased. People may behave differently when they know they are watched. It shows what happens, but not always why it happens.
3. The experimental method
The experiment is the most scientific method. The researcher changes one factor, the independent variable, and measures its effect on another factor, the dependent variable. All other conditions are kept the same. The group that receives the change is the experimental group. The group that does not is the control group.
Example. To test whether noise affects memory, one group learns a list of words in a quiet room and another in a noisy room. The number of words each group remembers is then compared.
- Merits: it can show cause and effect. It can be repeated and checked.
- Limits: the laboratory is artificial. Many important questions, such as the effect of a death in the family, cannot be studied by experiment for ethical reasons.
4. The case study (clinical method)
A case study is a detailed study of one person or a small group. It uses interviews, records, tests and the life history of the person. Clinical psychologists use it to understand a patient's problem. Freud built his theory largely from case studies of his patients.
- Merits: it gives deep and rich information. It is useful for rare conditions.
- Limits: the findings about one person may not apply to others. The information may depend on the person's memory.
5. Survey, questionnaire and interview
In a survey, many people are asked the same questions. The questions may be written, in a questionnaire, or spoken, in an interview. Surveys are used to study opinions, attitudes and habits, such as voting intentions.
- Merits: a large amount of information is collected quickly.
- Limits: people may not answer honestly. The wording of a question can change the answer.
6. Psychological tests
Psychological tests are standard tools to measure abilities and traits, such as intelligence, aptitude, personality and interests. A good test is reliable (it gives the same result on repetition) and valid (it measures what it claims to measure).
7. The correlational method
This method measures two factors and finds whether they move together. For example, it may find that students who sleep more get better marks. It shows a relationship, but it does not prove that one factor causes the other.
8. Developmental methods
To study change with age, psychologists use two methods. The longitudinal method follows the same people for many years. The cross-sectional method compares people of different ages at one time.
Choosing a method
No single method is perfect. A psychologist chooses the method that suits the question. Often, several methods are combined. A case study may suggest an idea, an experiment may test it, and a survey may show how common it is.
Conclusion. Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour, a separate science since Wundt's laboratory of 1879. Its methods are introspection, observation, experiment, case study, survey and interview, psychological tests, and correlational and developmental methods. Each has merits and limits, so psychologists use them together to reach findings that others can check.
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