Meera is fond of her colleague Anjali, and Anjali likes Meera too. Anjali strongly supports organic farming, but Meera thinks organic farming is a waste of money. Both of them know about this difference. Meera's cousin Suresh has read that smoking causes lung cancer, which is fatal. Yet he smokes every day. Holding both ideas together makes him feel uneasy, as if his thoughts about smoking do not fit with each other.
In terms of the P-O-X triangle, how is the situation of Meera (P), Anjali (O) and organic farming (X) best described?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → A state of imbalance, as two sides are positive and one side is negative
Option (1) A state of balance, as two sides are positive and one side is negative — Incorrect. The sides are read correctly, but the rule is reversed. Two positive sides with one negative side give imbalance.
Option (2) A state of imbalance, as two sides are positive and one side is negative — Correct. Meera likes Anjali (P-O positive) and Anjali likes organic farming (O-X positive), but Meera dislikes it (P-X negative). Two positives and one negative make the triangle imbalanced.
Option (3) A state of imbalance, as all three sides are negative — Incorrect. All three sides negative is a real form of imbalance. Here two sides are positive, because Meera and Anjali like each other and Anjali likes organic farming.
Option (4) A state of balance, as two sides are negative and one side is positive — Incorrect. Two negative sides with one positive side is a real form of balance. Here only one side, Meera's view of organic farming, is negative.
NCERT (2026-27): “Process of Attitude Change … “Imbalance is found when (i) all three sides of the P-O-X triangle are negative, or (ii) two sides are positive, and one side is negative. Balance is found when (i) all three sides are positive, or (ii) two sides are negative, and one side is positive.” |