CBSE Class 11 Psychology Syllabus 2025-26: Check Course Structure and Subject-wise weightage, Download PDF

CBSE Class 11 Psychology Syllabus: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has published the Class 11 syllabus for the 2025-26 academic year. Students preparing for the 2026 Class 11 board exams can find the latest Psychology syllabus here, outlining the necessary topics. A free PDF download is available.

Jun 12, 2025, 14:06 IST
CBSE Class 11 Psychology Syllabus 2025-26 Download PDF Here
CBSE Class 11 Psychology Syllabus 2025-26 Download PDF Here

CBSE Syllabus 2025 Psychology for Class 11: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has published the updated Class 11 syllabus for the 2025-26 academic year. This syllabus, available as free PDFs on the official CBSE Academic website (cbseacademic.nic.in), provides a crucial framework for students and teachers. It details the course structure, content organization, and chapter-wise weightage for the upcoming 2026 board examinations. Access to the latest syllabus at the beginning of the academic session helps in effective preparation. The CBSE Class 11 Psychology syllabus for 2025-26 is readily available for download.

Check: CBSE Class 11 Syllabus 2025-26 Download subject-wise PDF

CBSE Class 11 Psychology Syllabus 2025-26: Course Structure

Units

Topics

Marks

I Understanding Psychology 11
II Methods of Enquiry in Psychology 13
III Human Development 11
IV Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual Processes 8
V Learning 9
VI Human Memory 8
VII Thinking 5
VIII Motivation and Emotion 5
  Total 70

CBSE Class 11 Psychology Syllabus 2025-26: Course Content

Name of the Units
Unit I Understanding Psychology
The topics in this unit are:
1. Introduction
2. Nature of Psychology:
● Psychology as a Discipline
● Psychology as a Natural Science
● Psychology as a Social Science
3. Understanding Mind and Behaviour
4. Popular Notions about the Discipline of Psychology
5. Evolution of Psychology
6. Development of Psychology in India
7. Branches of Psychology
8. Psychology and Other Disciplines
9. Psychology in Everyday Life
Unit II Methods of Enquiry in Psychology
The topics in this unit are:
1. Introduction
2. Goals of Psychological Enquiry
● Steps in Conducting Scientific Research
● Alternative Paradigms of Research
3. Nature of Psychological Data
4. Some Important Methods in Psychology
● Observational Method
● Experimental Method
● Correlational Research
● Survey Research
● Psychological Testing
● Case Study
5. Analysis of Data
● Quantitative Method
● Qualitative Method
6. Limitations of Psychological Enquiry
7. Ethical Issues
Unit III Human Development
The topics in this unit are:
1. Introduction
2. Meaning of Development
● Life-Span Perspective on Development
3. Factors Influencing Development
4. Context of Development
5. Overview of Developmental Stages
● Prenatal Stage
● Infancy
● Childhood
● Challenges of Adolescence
● Adulthood and Old Age
Unit IV Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual Processes
The topics in this unit are:
1. Introduction
2. Knowing the world
3. Nature and varieties of Stimulus
4. Sense Modalities
● Functional limitation of sense organs
5. Attentional Processes
● Selective Attention
● Sustained Attention
6. Perceptual Processes
● Processing Approaches in Perception
7. The Perceiver
8. Principles of Perceptual Organisation
9. Perception of Space, Depth and Distance
● Monocular Cues and Binocular Cues
10.Perceptual Constancies
11.Illusions
12.Socio-Cultural Influences on Perception
Unit V Learning
The topics in this unit are:
1. Introduction
2. Nature of Learning
3. Paradigms of Learning
4. Classical Conditioning
● Determinants of Classical Conditioning
5. Operant/Instrumental Conditioning
● Determinants of Operant Conditioning
● Key Learning Processes
6. Observational Learning
7. Cognitive Learning
8. Verbal Learning
9. Skill Learning
10.Factors Facilitating Learning
11.Learning Disabilities
Unit VI Human Memory
The topics in this unit are:
1. Introduction
2. Nature of memory
3. Information Processing Approach : The Stage Model
4. Memory Systems : Sensory, Short-term and Long-term Memories
5. Levels of Processing
6. Types of Long-term Memory
● Declarative and Procedural; Episodic and Semantic
7. Nature and Causes of Forgetting
● Forgetting due to Trace Decay, Interference and Retrieval Failure
8. Enhancing Memory
● Mnemonics using Images and Organisation
Unit VII Thinking
The topics in this unit are:
1. Introduction
2. Nature of Thinking
● Building Blocks of Thought
3. The Processes of Thinking
4. Problem Solving
5. Reasoning
6. Decision-making
7. Nature and Process of Creative Thinking
● Nature of Creative Thinking
● Process and strategies of Creative Thinking
8. Thought and Language
9. Development of Language and Language Use
Unit VIII Motivation and Emotion
The topics in this unit are:
1. Introduction
2. Nature of Motivation
3. Types of Motives
● Biological Motives
● Psychosocial Motives
4. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
5. Nature of Emotions
6. Expression of Emotions
● Culture and Emotional Expression
● Culture and Emotional Labeling
7. Managing Negative Emotions
8. Enhancing Positive Emotions

Practical (Projects/small study, experiments, etc.) 30 marks

The students shall be required to undertake one project /small study and conduct two
experiments. The project/small study would involve the use of different methods of enquiry like
observation, survey, interview, questionnaire related to the following topics:
● Bullying/Cyberbullying
● Mental health and wellbeing
● Impact of social media on the youth today
● Altruism and its impact on wellbeing
● Peer Pressure
● Anger management
● Sleep Hygiene
● Changing Gender roles and stereotypes
● Cooperation and Competition
● Compliance and Obedience
You may also choose to do a project on any topic covered in the course (e.g., Human
development, Learning, Memory, Motivation, Perception, Attention and Thinking). Experiments
could focus on cause-and-effect relationships.

Practical Examination Marks Distribution (Total: 30)

Item / Component Marks
Practical (Experiments) file 5
Project File 5
Viva Voce (Project and experiment) 5
One experiment:  
• Conduction of experiment 5
• Reporting (of experiment) 10
Total 30

To downoad complete Psychology class 11 syllabus for the academic yearf 2025-26. Studnts can click on the below mentioned link and download the full PDF for free.

CBSE Class 11 Psychology Syllabus 2025-26 Downlaod PDF

The CBSE Class 11 Psychology Syllabus for 2025-26 provides a clear roadmap for students preparing for their 2026 board exams. The detailed syllabus helps in understanding the course structure, subject-wise weightage, and chapter-wise breakdown, facilitating a well-organized study plan and successful academic outcomes.

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