CBSE Class 12 Psychology Question Paper 2022

CBSE Class 12 Psychology 2022 Solved Paper

SECTION A (2 Marks)

1. (a) What is well-being? 

Ans: Well-being is not simply maintenance and survival but also includes growth and fulfilment, i.e., actualisation of potential. 

OR

(b) Differentiate between obsession and compulsion. 

Ans: Obsession is the inability to stop thinking about a particular idea or topic. The person involved often finds these thoughts to be unpleasant and shameful. Compulsion is the need to perform certain behaviours over and over again. Many compulsions deal with counting, ordering, checking, touching, and washing.

2. Explain the characteristics of an attitude in terms of complexity and centrality. 

Ans: Complexity (or multiplicity) refers to how many attitudes. They are within a broader attitude or any appropriate example

Centrality refers to the role of a particular attitude in the attitude system. Or any appropriate example, Relevant explanation of the above.

3. How does self-fulfilling prophecy help in strengthening prejudices? Give an example to support your answer. 

Ans: In some cases, the group that is the target of prejudice is itself responsible for continuing the prejudice. The target group may behave in ways that justify the prejudice, that is, confirm the negative expectations. For example, if the target group is described as ‘dependent’ and therefore unable to make progress, the members of this target group may behave in a way that proves this description to be true. In this way, they strengthen the existing prejudice.

SECTION B (3 Marks)

4. (a) Imran is a forty-year-old male who complains of difficulty in breathing and other body-related symptoms. On being examined, the doctors were unable to find any medical explanation for his reported symptoms. Explain this disorder and discuss its various types. 

Ans: It is a Somatic Symptom and related disorder. In this disorder, the individual has psychological difficulties and complaints of physical symptoms for which there is no biological cause.

Types

• Somatic symptom disorder:
  • (a) People with this disorder tend to be overly preoccupied with their symptoms, and they continually worry about their health and make frequent visits to doctors.
  • (b) They experience significant distress and disturbances in their daily life.
• Anxiety Disorder: People are overly concerned about an undiagnosed disease, negative diagnostic results, do not respond to assurance by doctors, and are easily alarmed about
• someone else’s ill health or some such news.
• Conversion disorder: Reporting loss of all or some basic body functions, e.g., paralysis, blindness, deafness, and difficulty in walking.

OR

(b) Richa is a young girl working as an officer in an organisation. One day, she just disappeared from the city, and after two years she was found on the banks of a river. Nobody there knew who she was and where she had come from. But one day ,she suddenly woke up and wanted to know how she had reached the banks of the river. Explain this disorder and list the other disorders in the same category. 

Ans: The disorder is dissociative fugue. It is a part of dissociative amnesia characterised by 

• The assumption of a new identity 
• Inability to recall previous identity 
• The individual travels away from home and workplace and suddenly wakes up with no memory of the events that occurred during the fugue.
• Often associated with overwhelming stress.

Types (list)

• Dissociative identity disorder
• Depersonalization/ derealisation disorder

5. Shyam believes that he should be loved by everybody, all the time. Most of his beliefs have a ‘must’ or ‘should’ component. When things don’t go his way, he feels distressed. Suggest a suitable therapy that will make Shyam think deeper into his irrational belief system and help him to feel better. 

Ans: RET by Albert Ellis /Cognitive therapy by Aaron Beck. The appropriate therapy is (RET) Rational Emotive Therapy. 

• In this therapy, the cause of psychological distress is that irrational thoughts and beliefs are located
• Antecedent – Belief – Consequence (ABC) analysis
  • a) Antecedent events that caused psychological distress are noted
  • The client is interviewed to find the irrational beliefs that distort the present reality
  • b) Irrational beliefs are characterised by beliefs in musts and should’s, which are not based on reality, such as –one should be loved by everybody, all the time.
  • c) Consequences – the distorted perception of the antecedent events due to the irrational beliefs leads to the consequences, i.e. negative emotion and behavior.
  • In the process of RET, the irrational beliefs are refuted by the therapist through the process of non–directive questioning.
  • The question makes the client think deeper, into their assumptions about life and problems.
  • Gradually, the client can change the irrational beliefs

OR

Beck’s cognitive therapy. 

• His theory states that childhood experiences provided by the family and society develop core schemas or systems, which include beliefs and action patterns in the individual. It creates cognitive distortions. 

• Cognitive distortions are ways of thinking that are general but distort reality in a negative manner. These patterns of thought are called dysfunctional cognitive structures.
• The therapist uses questioning, which is a gentle, non-threatening disputation of the client’s beliefs and thoughts.
• The questions make the client think in a direction opposite to that of the negative automatic thoughts, and can alter her/his cognitive structures, known as cognitive restructuring. 

6. Mary found herself very lonely when she joined a new college, but soon felt at ease when she made friends and became a member of a hobby group too. With the help of this example, discuss the conditions that lead to group formation. 

Ans: Conditions of Group Foundation

• Proximity: A group living or working in proximity has repeated interactions, giving a chance to know better about common interests, attitudes, etc. 
• Similarity: When two people are similar, there is consistency, and they start liking each other. When people meet similar people, they reinforce and validate our opinions and values, we feel we are right, and thus we start liking them.
• Common motives and goals: When people have common motives or goals, they get together and form a group, which may facilitate their goal attainment.

SECTION C (4 Marks)

7. (a) Discuss the risk factors associated with suicide. What are the symptoms that help in identifying students in distress? Examine some ways to foster positive self-esteem in students. 

Ans: Risk factors associated with suicide

• A result of the complex interface of biological, genetic, psychological, sociological, cultural, and environmental factors
• Other risk factors are mental disorders (depression, alcohol use disorders)
• Going through natural disasters, experiencing violence, abuse, or loss, and isolation at any stage of life previous suicidal attempt.

Identifying students in distress –

• Any unexpected or striking change affecting the adolescent’s performance, attendance, or behavior should be taken seriously, such as
• Lack of interest in common activities
• Declining grades
• Decreasing effort
• Misbehavior in the classroom
• Mysterious or repeated absence
• Smoking or drinking, or drug misuse
• Ways to foster self–esteem
• Accentuating positive life experiences to develop a positive identity increases confidence in oneself
• Providing opportunities for the development of physical, social, and vocational skills
• Establishing a trustworthy communication
• Specific, measurable, achievable, and relevant goals to be completed within a relevant time frame. (Relevant explanation in your own words.)

OR

(b) What are the characteristics of neurodevelopmental disorders? Describe any three neurodevelopmental disorders. 

Ans: Characteristics of Neurodevelopmental Disorders –

• They manifest in the early stage of development (before the child enters school or the early stage of schooling)
• Deficits or excesses in a particular age-appropriate behavior.
• Various disorders under this category
  • ADHD:  The two main features of ADHD are inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity.
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder: It is characterised by widespread impairments in social interaction and communication skills, and stereotyped patterns of behaviours, interests, and activities.
  • Intellectual Disability:  It refers to below average intellectual functioning (with an IQ of approximately 70 or below), and deficits or impairments in adaptive behaviour (i.e. in the areas of communication, self-care, home living,  social/interpersonal skills, functional academic skills, work, etc.) which are manifested before the age of 18 years.
  • Specific learning Disorder: Here, the individual experiences difficulty in perceiving or processing information efficiently and accurately. 

(Description of any 3 of the above.)

8. (a) Describe the process of rehabilitation of the mentally ill in detail. 

Ans: Process of rehabilitation of the mentally ill

• Many patients with mental disorders suffer from negative symptoms like disinterest and lack of motivation to do work or interact with people
• Rehabilitation is required here to help such patients become self-sufficient.
• The aim is to empower the patient to become a productive member of society to the extent possible.
• Patients are given occupational therapy, social skills training, and vocational therapy
• Occupational therapy – patients are taught skills, like candle making, paper bag making and weaving, etc to help them form a work discipline.
• Social skills training helps patients develop interpersonal skills through role play, imitation, and instruction. The objective is to teach the patient to function in a social group.
• Cognitive retraining is given to improve the basic cognitive functions of attention, memory, and executive functions.
• After the patient improves sufficiently, vocational training is given wherein the patient is helped to gain skills necessary to undertake productive employment. (Any four points.)

OR

(b) Discuss the various techniques used in behaviour therapy to eliminate faulty behaviours. 

Ans: Behaviour therapy techniques

• Positive Reinforcement: Rewarding the child for appropriate behaviour, such as using kind words or following rules, to increase the chances of such behaviour recurring.
• Negative Reinforcement: Removing an unpleasant consequence when the child behaves well, for example, reducing extra tasks if the child sits quietly, encouraging good behaviour.
• Aversive Conditioning: Pairing the undesirable behaviour with an unpleasant consequence, such as removing a privilege when the child is aggressive, to reduce that behaviour.
• Token Economy: Giving tokens or points for good behaviour, which can later be exchanged for a reward, motivating the child to behave positively.
• Differential Reinforcement: Reinforcing only the desired behaviour while ignoring or not reinforcing the undesired ones, to gradually shape better behaviour.
• Modelling/Vicarious Learning: Encouraging the child to observe and imitate the calm and respectful behaviour of peers or adults.
• Systematic desensitisation: Here, the client is systematically desensitised to the fear through fear-provoking situations and creating a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking situations. 

List all and explain any three techniques with examples.

9. Quite often, we see people getting themselves photographed while helping others or even when they are offering donations to the needy. Can we identify the attitudes of these people through their behaviour? When would there be consistency between attitude and behaviour? Explain. 

Ans: People getting themselves photographed while helping others have the attitude of getting recognition/ attention; their attitude can be identified through their behavior.

• However, an individual’s attitude may not always be exhibited through his/her behavior.
• Consistency between attitude and behavior exists when the attitude is strong and occupies a central place in the attitude system.
• The person is aware of her/his attitude.
• There is very little or no external pressure for the person to behave in a particular way. For example, when there is no group pressure to follow a particular norm.
• The person’s behavior is not being watched or evaluated by others, and the person thinks that the behavior would have a positive consequence, and therefore, intends to engage in that behavior.

Explanation of any 3 points in their own words.

10. A teacher ‘X’ found that the project that she /he gave to a group of students, when submitted to her/him, lacked quality as compared to the ones submitted by individual students. What is the reason for this phenomenon, and how can it be reduced? Discuss. 

Ans: The phenomenon is social loafing.  Social loafing occurs because

• Group members feel less responsible for the overall task and do not put their maximum efforts
• The members of the group realize that their contributions are not evaluated on an individual basis and their motivation level decreases.
• The performance of the particular group is not compared with the other group.
• There may be a lack of coordination among the members of the group.
• Belonging to the same group is not important for members. It is only an aggregate of individual

Methods to reduce social loafing

• Making the efforts of each person identifiable 
• Increasing the pressure to work hard (making group members committed to successful task performance).
• Increasing the apparent importance or value of a task.
• Making people feel that their contribution is important.
• Strengthening group cohesiveness, which increases the motivation for a successful group outcome. ((Any 2 points from each part)

SECTION D

Read the following case study and answer the questions that follow: 

Sundar, a college-going 20-year-old male, has moved from his hometown to live in a big city. He has a continuous fear of insecurity and feels that the enemy soldiers are following him. He gets very tense when he spots anyone in a uniform and feels that they are coming to catch him. This intense anxiety is interfering with his work and relationship, and his friends are extremely concerned, as it does not make any sense to them. Sundar occasionally laughs abruptly and inappropriately, and sometimes stops speaking mid-sentence, scanning off in the distance as though he sees or hears something. He expresses concern about television and radio in the room potentially being monitored by the enemy. His beliefs are fixed, and if they are challenged, his tone becomes hostile.

11. Based on the symptoms being exhibited, identify the disorder. Explain the other symptoms that can be seen in this disorder. 2

Ans: The psychological disorder is schizophrenia. Symptoms are 

• Excessive thought, emotion, and behaviour
• Deficits of thought, emotion, and behaviour
• Psychomotor symptoms.

12. Define delusion and inappropriate affect. Support it with the symptoms given in the above case study. 2

Ans: Delusion is the false belief that is firmly held despite inadequate grounds.

Symptoms from the case study (any one)

• Fear of insecurity and feels that the enemy soldiers are following him.
• Expresses concern about television and radio in the room potentially being monitored by the enemy.
• Very tense when he spots anyone in uniform and feels that they are coming to catch him.
• Inappropriate effect – Emotions that are unsuited to the situation.

Symptoms from the case study (any one)

• Occasionally laughs abruptly and inappropriately
• Stop speaking mid-sentence
• If his fixed beliefs are challenged, his tone becomes hostile.

CBSE Class 12 Psychology 2022 Solved Paper PDF

Click here to download the CBSE Class 12 Psychology 2022 Solved Paper PDF.

Additional Study Materials

• Class 12 Psychology Syllabus 2025-26
• CBSE Class 12 Psychology PYQ 2025 Solved
• CBSE Class 12 Psychology 2024 Solved Paper
• CBSE Class 12 Psychology 2023 Solved Paper