Unit III of the CBSE Class 12 Psychology paper carries 9 marks out of 70. It is a shorter unit than the first two, but a dependable one: the types and sources of stress, Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome, the coping strategies and the stress-management techniques are all standard long answers, and the definitions in this chapter are easy 1- and 2-markers.
What is inside
- Chapter at a glance — a one-page mind map covering all eight syllabus topics
- Complete topic-by-topic notes, NCERT-aligned, in CBSE’s own topic order
- What stress actually is — from the Latin strictus, the stressor-versus-stress distinction, Lazarus’s primary and secondary appraisal, and eustress
- All three types of stress (physical and environmental, psychological, social) and all three sources (life events and the SRRS, hassles, traumatic events), separated clearly — the examiner’s favourite trap is asking you to tell types and sources apart
- Effects of stress: emotional, physiological, cognitive and behavioural, plus burnout
- Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome — alarm, resistance and exhaustion — with its criticisms, which is the part most notes leave out
- How stress reaches the immune system, and the lifestyle link
- Both sets of coping strategies: Endler and Parker’s three (task, emotion and avoidance oriented) beside Lazarus and Folkman’s two (problem and emotion focused)
- Six stress-management techniques, each with what it actually does — relaxation, meditation, biofeedback, creative visualisation, stress inoculation training and exercise
- Promoting positive health: the WHO definition, hardiness (commitment, control, challenge), life skills, and the three kinds of social support
- A 60-term glossary of every definition the paper can ask for
- 14 board-pattern questions with full model answers, written the way they should be written in the exam
- A revision tracker to tick off each topic as read, practised and revised
Written for the 2026-27 syllabus
Every topic in this file is on CBSE’s list for Chapter 3. Nothing more has been added to pad the page count. Psychology and Life and Developing Psychological Skills are not covered anywhere in these notes, because CBSE has removed both from the syllabus — you will not spend a minute on material the paper cannot ask.
Details
- Format: PDF, A4 — works on a phone and prints cleanly
- Length: 22 pages plus cover
- Delivery: instant download link after payment, plus a copy by email
- Free updates: if CBSE changes the syllabus or a correction goes in, the updated file is sent to you at no cost. You never pay twice for the same chapter.
By Aditi Ojha (Savvy Ma’am) — Founder and educator, The Savvy Humanities. Teaching Humanities on YouTube since 2023. These notes pair with the free chapter video; QR codes inside the file link to it.
