Which of the following are the sources of prejudice?A. Kernel of trut…

Human beings have a need to interact with and relate to others and to explain their own as well as others’ behaviour. Because of these social interactions, people form attitudes about other individuals and also about different issues in life. These attitudes have an evaluative feature, are accompanied by an emotional component and a tendency to act in a particular way with respect to the attitude object. Negative attitudes towards others, called prejudices may be based on stereotypes. These stereotypes often assumes that all members of a specific group possess certain undesirable characteristics which leads to the formation of negative attitudes towards members of that group. Prejudice has many other sources and often creates conflict within a society. Awareness about these sources would be the one of the steps in handling these prejudices.

Which of the following are the sources of prejudice?

A. Kernel of truth concept

B. Self-fulfilling prophecy

C. Scapegoating

D. Ingroup and outgroup bias

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → A, B, C and D

A. Kernel of truth concept Correct. People keep stereotypes because they think there must be some truth in what everyone says about the other group; even a few examples are enough to support this idea.

B. Self-fulfilling prophecy Correct. The target group itself behaves in ways that confirm the negative expectations, as a group called ‘dependent’ may act so and strengthen the prejudice.

C. Scapegoating Correct. The majority group blames a weak minority outgroup for its own social, economic or political problems, a group-based way of expressing frustration.

D. Ingroup and outgroup bias Correct. People with a strong social identity and a very positive attitude to their own group boost it by holding negative attitudes towards other groups; these are shown as prejudices.

NCERT (2025-26): “Prejudice and Discrimination … Social psychologists have shown that prejudice has one or more of the following sources :

Learning : Like other attitudes, prejudices can also be learned through association, reward and punishment, observing others, group or cultural norms and exposure to information that encourages prejudice. The family, reference groups, personal experiences and the media may play a role in the learning of prejudices (see section on ‘Attitude Formation and Change’). People who learn prejudiced attitudes may develop a ‘prejudiced personality’, and show low adjusting capacity, anxiety, and feelings of hostility against the outgroup.
A strong social identity and ingroup bias : Individuals who have a strong sense of social identity and have a very positive attitude towards their own group boost this attitude by holding negative attitudes towards other groups. These are shown as prejudices.
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 groupbased 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.”