Read the passage and answer the question that follow :
Namita is studying in London. Being an Indian she faces a variety of discriminatory behavior on an everyday basis. For instance, Namita had an Economics examination in the morning. While she was revising her notes outside the exam hall one of her classmates, Jessica commented that, "You are from a country of snake charmers, I do not think advanced Economics concepts are your cup of tea". Namita felt bad and started to think it over. Although she was prepared well for her exam but due to nervousness, she was not able to perform well in the exam and failed. Seeing her result, other students started to call her "Know Nothing Namita". Some students started bullying other Indian students also without provocation. This instance led the students of other nationalities to believe that there must be some truth in what everyone says about Indians.
When people continue to hold stereotypes because they think that there must be some truth in what everyone says about the other group, this is called __________.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Kernel of truth
Option (1) Scapegoating — Incorrect. In scapegoating the majority group places the blame on a minority outgroup for its own social, economic or political problems. It is a way of expressing frustration on a weaker group, not a reason for believing a stereotype to be true.
Option (2) Self-fulfilling prophecy — Incorrect. Here the target group itself behaves in ways that confirm the negative expectations about it, and so keeps the prejudice going. It describes what the target group does, not why other people hold on to a stereotype.
Option (3) Kernel of truth — Correct. Sometimes people continue to hold stereotypes because they think that, after all, there must be some truth, or a ‘kernel of truth’, in what everyone says about the other group. Even a few examples are enough to support this idea. The question gives the very description.
Option (4) Social cognition — Incorrect. Social cognition is the whole set of mental processes by which we gather and process information about social objects and understand, explain and interpret social behaviour. Stereotypes are formed within social cognition, but the term names the general process, not the particular reason for keeping a stereotype.
Note 1: The concept in Option (4), ‘social cognition’, was explained in the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2023, as the mental activities of gathering and interpreting information about the social world; the NCERT book (2025-26) only names it. It is explained here for the benefit of the students.
Note 2: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2023 on 29-05-2023 (Slot 1).
NCERT (2025-26): “Prejudice and Discrimination … Scapegoating : This is a phenomenon by which the majority group places the blame on a minority outgroup for its own social, economic or political problems. The minority is too weak or too small in number to defend itself against such accusations. Scapegoating is a group-based way of expressing frustration, and it often results in negative attitudes or prejudice against the weaker group. Kernel of truth concept : Sometimes people may continue to hold stereotypes because they think that, after all, there must be some truth, or ‘kernel of truth’ in what everyone says about the other group. Even a few examples are sufficient to support the ‘kernel of truth’ idea. Self-fulfilling prophecy : 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 actually behave in a way that proves this description to be true. In this way, they strengthen the existing prejudice.” |