The state in which a person feels that she/he has lost something valuable, and is not getting something that she/he deserves is known as __________.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Deprivation
Option (1) Poverty — Incorrect. Poverty refers to an actual shortage of the resources necessary for living, so it can be defined fairly objectively. The question describes a feeling, not an actual shortage.
Option (2) Deprivation — Correct. Deprivation refers to the state in which a person feels that s/he has lost something valuable, and is not getting something what s/he deserves. It is a question of perceiving that one has got less than one should have got; a poor person may feel deprived, but poverty is not necessary for deprivation.
Option (3) Prejudice — Incorrect. Prejudice is a negative attitude towards a particular group, often based on a stereotype. It is a view held about others, not a feeling of having lost what one deserves.
Option (4) Self-Efficacy — Incorrect. Self-efficacy is the belief that one has the ability or behaviour required by a situation. It is a belief in one’s own effectiveness, the very opposite of feeling deprived.
Note 1: The meaning of deprivation, and how it differs from poverty, was there in the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2023 (chapter ‘Psychology and Life’), and is not there in the NCERT book (2025-26).
Note 2: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2023 on 29-05-2023 (Slot 1).
Note 3: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2022 on 05-08-2022 (Slot 2).
NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “Poverty and Discrimination … A distinction between deprivation and poverty is that deprivation refers to the state in which a person feels that s/he has lost something valuable, and is not getting something what s/he deserves. Poverty refers to an actual shortage of the resources necessary for living, and thus can be somewhat objectively defined. In deprivation, it is more a question of perceiving or thinking that one has got less than what one should have got. Thus, a poor person may experience deprivation, but poverty is not a necessary condition for experiencing deprivation.…” |