Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow:
Kavita is a happy-go-lucky girl, who loves her father, Mr. Pandey. Her dad loves his daughter and wants to give her all the happiness and opportunities to progress in life. Kavita wants to pursue a professional degree in a reputed college of another city but Mr. Pandey is not ready to let her go as he thinks that those who go there get spoilt and indulge in delinquent behaviour.
The concept of ‘balance’ in attitude change says that the attitude changes if.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → There is a state of imbalance in a situation
Option (1) There is a state of imbalance in a situation — Correct. The basic idea of the concept of balance is that an attitude changes if there is a state of imbalance between the P-O, O-X and P-X attitudes. Imbalance is logically uncomfortable, so the attitude changes in the direction of balance.
Option (2) There is state of balance in situation — Incorrect. Balance is the end point the change moves towards. When the triangle is already balanced, there is no pressure on any attitude to change.
Option (3) There is comfort in a situation — Incorrect. Comfort goes with a balanced triangle. It is the discomfort of imbalance that pushes the change, so comfort leaves the attitude where it is.
Option (4) There is stress in a situation — Incorrect. Stress in a situation, in general, is not what the concept speaks of. The concept names one particular condition, imbalance among the three attitudes of the triangle; stress from any other cause need not change an attitude.
NCERT (2025-26): “Process of Attitude Change … (a) The concept of balance, proposed by Fritz Heider is sometimes described in the form of the ‘P-O-X’ triangle, which represents the relationships between three aspects or components of the attitude. P is the person whose attitude is being studied, O is another person, and X is the topic towards which the attitude is being studied (attitude object). It is also possible that all three are persons. The basic idea is that an attitude changes if there is a state of imbalance between the P-O attitude, O-X attitude, and P-X attitude. This is because imbalance is logically uncomfortable. Therefore, the attitude changes in the direction of balance.…” |