Get the latest syllabus for UGC NET coaching in Delhi. UGC NET, or University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test, is a standardized test in India conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) to determine the eligibility of Indian nationals for the positions of Assistant Professor and/or Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) in Indian universities and colleges.

UGC NET Paper 1 Syllabus 2025

UGC NET Paper 1 syllabus 2025 comprises topics from General Paper on Teaching and Research Aptitude, which is common and mandatory for all candidates. Check the complete UGC NET Syllabus for Paper 1 below.

Unit-I: Teaching Aptitude

• Teaching: Concept, objectives, levels of teaching (memory, understanding, and reflective), characteristics, and basic requirements
• Learner’s characteristics: Characteristics of adolescent and adult learners (academic, social, emotional and cognitive), individual differences
• Factors affecting teaching related to Teacher, Learner, Support material, Instructional facilities, Learning environment, and Institution
• Methods of teaching in higher learning institutions: Teacher-centred vs learner-centered methods; offline vs online methods (Swayam, Swayamprabha, MOOCs, etc.).
• Teaching support system: Traditional, modern, and ICT based
• Evaluation systems: Elements and types of evaluation, evaluation in Choice Based Credit Systems in higher education, computer-based testing, innovations in evaluation systems

Unit-II: Research Aptitude

• Research: Meaning, types, and characteristics, positivism and post-positivistic approach to research
• Methods of research: Experimental, descriptive, historical, qualitative and quantitative methods
• Steps of research
• Thesis and article writing: Format and styles of referencing
• Application of ICT in research
• Research ethics

Unit-III: Comprehension

• A passage of text is given. Questions are asked from the passage which needs to be answered.

Unit-IV: Communication

• Communication: Meaning, types, and characteristics of communication
• Effective communication: Verbal and non-verbal, inter-cultural and group communications, classroom communication
• Barriers to effective communication
• Mass-media and society

Unit-V: Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude

• Types of reasoning
• Number series, letter series, codes, and relationships
• Mathematical aptitude (fraction, time & distance, ratio, proportion and percentage, profit and loss, interest and discounting, averages etc.)

Unit-VI: Logical Reasoning

• Understanding the structure of arguments: Argument forms, the structure of categorical propositions, mood and figure, formal and informal fallacies, uses of language, connotations, and denotations of terms, the classical square of opposition
• Evaluating and distinguishing deductive and inductive reasoning
• Analogies
• Venn diagram: Simple and multiple uses for establishing the validity of arguments
• Indian Logic: Means of knowledge
• Pramanas: Pratyaksha (Perception), Anumana (Inference), Upamana (Comparison), Shabda (Verbal testimony), Arthapatti (Implication) and Anupalabddhi (Non-apprehension)
• Structure and kinds of Anumana (inference), Vyapti (invariable relation), Hetvabhasas (fallacies of inference)

Unit-VII: Data Interpretation

• Sources, acquisition and classification of data
• Quantitative and qualitative data
• Graphical representation (bar-chart, histograms, pie-chart, table-chart and line-chart) and mapping of data
• Data interpretation
• Data and governance

Unit-VIII: Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

• ICT: General abbreviations and terminology
• Basics of Internet, Intranet, E-mail, Audio and Video-conferencing
• Digital initiatives in higher education
• ICT and Governance

Unit-IX: People, Development and Environment

• Development and environment: Millennium development and Sustainable development goals
• Human and environment interaction: Anthropogenic activities and their impacts on the environment
• Environmental issues: Local, regional and global; air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, noise pollution, waste (solid, liquid, biomedical, hazardous, electronic), climate change and its socio-economic and political dimensions
• Impacts of pollutants on human health
• Natural and energy resources: Solar, Wind, Soil, Hydro, Geothermal, Biomass, Nuclear and Forests
• Natural hazards and disasters: Mitigation strategies
• Environmental Protection Act (1986), National Action Plan on Climate Change, International agreements/efforts -Montreal Protocol, Rio Summit, Convention on Biodiversity, Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement, International Solar Alliance

Unit-X: Higher Education System

• Institutions of higher learning and education in ancient India
• Evolution of higher learning and research in post-independence India
• Oriental, conventional and non-conventional learning programmes in India
• Professional, technical and skill-based education.
• Value education and environmental education
• Policies, governance, and administration

Also Read:

• Basics of Sequence and Series
• Basics of Differential Equations
• Basics of Vector Algebra
• Basics of Determinants
• Basics of Mensuration
• Basics of Relations and Functions
• Basics of Inverse Trigonometric Functions
• Basics of Sets
• Basics of Probability 
• Basics of Game Theory

UGC NET coaching in Delhi – Subject: PSYCHOLOGY Code No. 04

1. Emergence of Psychology

Psychological thought in some major Eastern Systems: Bhagavad Gita,

Buddhism, Sufism and Integral Yoga. Academic psychology in India: Pre-

independence era; post-independence era; 1970s: The move to addressing social

issues; 1980s: Indigenization; 1990s: Paradigmatic concerns, disciplinary identity

crisis; 2000s: Emergence of Indian psychology in academia. Issues: The colonial

encounter; Post colonialism and psychology; Lack of distinct disciplinary identity.

Western: Greek heritage, medieval period and modern period. Structuralism,

Functionalism, Psychoanalytical, Gestalt, Behaviorism, Humanistic-

Existential, Transpersonal, Cognitive revolution, Multiculturalism. Four

founding paths of academic psychology – Wundt, Freud, James, Dilthey.

Issues: Crisis in psychology due to strict adherence to experimental-

analytical paradigm (logical empiricism). Indic influences on modern

psychology.

Essential aspects of knowledge paradigms: Ontology, epistemology, and

methodology. Paradigms of Western Psychology: Positivism, Post-Positivism,

Critical perspective, Social Constructionism, Existential Phenomenology, and

Co-operative Enquiry. Paradigmatic Controversies. Significant Indian

paradigms on psychological knowledge: Yoga, Bhagavad Gita, Buddhism,

Sufism, and Integral Yoga. Science and spirituality (avidya and vidya). The

primacy of self-knowledge in Indian psychology.

2. Research Methodology and Statistics

Research: Meaning, Purpose, and Dimensions.

Research problems, Variables and Operational Definitions, Hypothesis,

Sampling.

Ethics in conducting and reporting researchParadigms of research: Quantitative, Qualitative, Mixed methods approach

Methods of research: Observation, Survey [Interview, Questionnaires],

Experimental, Quasi-experimental, Field studies, Cross-Cultural Studies,

Phenomenology, Grounded theory, Focus groups, Narratives, Case studies,

Ethnography

Statistics in Psychology: Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion.

Normal Probability Curve. Parametric [t-test] and Non-parametric tests [Sign

Test, Wilcoxon Signed rank test, Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test,

Friedman]. Power analysis. Effect size.

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.

Experimental Designs: ANOVA [One-way, Factorial], Randomized Block

Designs, Repeated Measures Design, Latin Square, Cohort studies, Time

series, MANOVA, ANCOVA. Single-subject designs.

3. Psychological testing

Types of tests

Test construction: Item writing, item analysis

Test standardization: Reliability, validity and Norms

Areas of testing: Intelligence, creativity, neuropsychological tests, aptitude,

Personality assessment, interest inventories

Attitude scales – Semantic differential, Staples, Likert scale.

Computer-based psychological testing

Applications of psychological testing in various settings: Clinical,

Organizational and business, Education, Counseling, Military. Career

guidance.

4. Biological basis of behavior

Sensory systems: General and specific sensations, receptors and processes

Neurons: Structure, functions, types, neural impulse, synaptic transmission.

Neurotransmitters.The Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems – Structure and functions.

Neuroplasticity.

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: Types and functions

Biological basis of Motivation: Hunger, Thirst, Sleep and Sex.

Biological basis of emotion: The Limbic system, Hormonal regulation of

behavior.

Genetics and behavior: Chromosomal anomalies; Nature-Nurture

controversy [Twin studies and adoption studies]

5. Attention, Perception, Learning, Memory and Forgetting

Attention: Forms of attention, Models of attention

Perception with UGC NET coaching in Delhi:

Approaches to the Study of Perception: Gestalt and physiological approaches

Perceptual Organization: Gestalt, Figure and Ground, Law of Organization

Perceptual Constancy: Size, Shape, and Color; Illusions

Perception of Form, Depth and Movement

Role of motivation and learning in perception

Signal detection theory: Assumptions and applications

Subliminal perception and related factors, information processing approach

to perception, culture and perception, perceptual styles, Pattern recognition,

Ecological perspective on perception.

Learning Process:

Fundamental theories: Thorndike, Guthrie, Hull

Classical Conditioning: Procedure, phenomena and related issues

Instrumental learning: Phenomena, Paradigms and theoretical issues;

Reinforcement: Basic variables and schedules; Behaviour modification and

its applications

Cognitive approaches in learning: Latent learning, observational learning.

Verbal learning and Discrimination learning

Recent trends in learning: Neurophysiology of learning

Memory and Forgetting

Memory processes: Encoding, Storage, Retrieval

Stages of memory: Sensory memory, Short-term memory (Working

memory), Long-term Memory (Declarative – Episodic and Semantic;

Procedural)Theories of Forgetting: Interference, Retrieval Failure, Decay, Motivated

forgetting

6. Thinking, Intelligence and Creativity

Theoretical perspectives on thought processes: Associationism, Gestalt,

Information processing, Feature integration model

Concept formation: Rules, Types, and Strategies; Role of concepts in thinking

Types of Reasoning

Language and thought

Problem solving: Type, Strategies, and Obstacles

Decision-making: Types and models

Metacognition: Metacognitive knowledge and Metacognitive regulation

Intelligence: Spearman; Thurstone; Jensen; Cattell; Gardner; Stenberg;

Goleman; Das, Kar & Parrila

Creativity: Torrance, Getzels & Jackson, Guilford, Wallach & Kogan

Relationship between Intelligence and Creativity

7. Personality, Motivation, emotion, stress and coping

Determinants of personality: Biological and socio-cultural

Approaches to the study of personality: Psychoanalytical, Neo-Freudian,

Social learning, Trait and Type, Cognitive, Humanistic, Existential,

Transpersonal psychology.

Other theories: Rotter’s Locus of Control, Seligman’s Explanatory styles,

Kohlberg’s theory of Moral development.

Basic motivational concepts: Instincts, Needs, Drives, Arousal, Incentives,

Motivational Cycle.

Approaches to the study of motivation: Psychoanalytical, Ethological, S-R

Cognitive, Humanistic

Exploratory behavior and curiosity

Zuckerman’s Sensation seeking

Achievement, Affiliation and Power

Motivational Competence

Self-regulation

Flow

Emotions: Physiological correlates

Theories of emotions: James-Lange, Canon-Bard, Schachter and Singer,

Lazarus, Lindsley.Emotion regulation

Conflicts: Sources and types

Stress and Coping: Concept, Models, Type A, B, C, D behaviors, Stress

management strategies [Biofeedback, Music therapy, Breathing exercises,

Progressive Muscular Relaxation, Guided Imagery, Mindfulness, Meditation,

Yogasana, Stress Inoculation Training].

8. Social Psychology

Nature, scope and history of social psychology

Traditional theoretical perspectives: Field theory, Cognitive Dissonance,

Sociobiology, Psychodynamic Approaches, Social Cognition.

Social perception [Communication, Attributions]; attitude and its change

within cultural context; prosocial behavior

Group and Social influence [Social Facilitation; Social loafing]; Social

influence [Conformity, Peer Pressure, Persuasion, Compliance, Obedience,

Social Power, Reactance]. Aggression. Group dynamics, leadership style and

effectiveness. Theories of intergroup relations [Minimal Group Experiment

and Social Identity Theory, Relative Deprivation Theory, Realistic Conflict

Theory, Balance Theories, Equity Theory, Social Exchange Theory]

Applied social psychology: Health, Environment and Law; Personal space,

crowding, and territoriality.

9. Human Development and Interventions

Developmental processes: Nature, Principles, Factors in development, Stages

of Development. Successful aging.

Theories of development: Psychoanalytical, Behavioristic, and Cognitive

Various aspects of development: Sensory-motor, cognitive, language,

emotional, social and moral.

Psychopathology: Concept, Mental Status Examination, Classification, Causes

Psychotherapies: Psychoanalysis, Person-centered, Gestalt, Existential,

Acceptance Commitment Therapy, Behavior therapy, REBT, CBT, MBCT, Play

therapy, Positive psychotherapy, Transactional Analysis, Dialectic behavior

therapy, Art therapy, Performing Art Therapy, Family therapy.Applications of theories of motivation and learning in School

Factors in educational achievement

Teacher effectiveness

Guidance in schools: Needs, organizational set up and techniques

Counselling: Process, skills, and techniques

10. Emerging Areas

Issues of Gender, Poverty, Disability, and Migration: Cultural bias and

discrimination. Stigma, Marginalization, and Social Suffering; Child Abuse

and Domestic violence.

Peace psychology: Violence, non-violence, conflict resolution at macro level,

role of media in conflict resolution.

Wellbeing and self-growth: Types of wellbeing [Hedonic and Eudemonic],

Character strengths, Resilience and Post-Traumatic Growth.

Health: Health promoting and health compromising behaviors, Life style and

Chronic diseases [Diabetes, Hypertension, Coronary Heart Disease],

Psychoneuroimmunology [Cancer, HIV/AIDS]

Psychology and technology interface: Digital learning; Digital etiquette:

Cyber bullying; Cyber pornography: Consumption, implications; Parental

mediation of Digital Usage.

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