Meera, a Class 11 student in Jaipur, found Psychology dull in the first term and rarely opened the textbook. In the second term, Mr Rao took over the class. He was kind, patient and fair, listened to every student, and explained ideas with examples from daily life. The students admired him a great deal. By the end of the year, Meera had started looking forward to Psychology periods, read the chapters on her own, and told her parents she wished to study the subject in college.
Meera's new attitude towards Psychology is best explained as an example of:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Learning attitudes by association
Option (1) Learning attitudes through modelling (observing others) — Incorrect. In modelling, a person learns an attitude by watching others being rewarded or punished for showing it. Meera does not watch anyone get rewarded for liking Psychology.
Option (2) Learning attitudes by being rewarded or punished — Incorrect. Here a person is praised or punished for showing an attitude, so it grows or fades. Nobody praises Meera for liking the subject; her liking comes from the teacher's qualities.
Option (3) Learning attitudes by association — Correct. Meera sees many good qualities in Mr Rao. These qualities get linked to the subject he teaches, and she starts liking Psychology. Learning an attitude through such a link is learning by association.
Option (4) Learning attitudes through group or cultural norms — Incorrect. Norms are unwritten rules of behaviour expected in a group or culture. Meera's change does not come from what her group or culture expects of her.
NCERT (2026-27): “Process of Attitude Formation “• Learning attitudes by association : You might have seen that students often develop a liking for a particular subject because of the teacher. This is because they see many positive qualities in that teacher; these positive qualities get linked to the subject that s/he teaches, and ultimately get expressed in the form of liking for the subject. In other words, a positive attitude towards the subject is learned through the positive association between a teacher and a student.” |