Ravi grew up in a Bihar town where his elders often mocked people from a neighbouring district; he now shares their views. In college he cheers loudly for his district's student group and calls students from the other district careless and rude. He feels tense and hostile, and cannot settle down, when working with them. When a friend says most of them are hardworking, Ravi names two who once missed a deadline and says that is enough for him. Some of those students, told for years that they are lazy, have stopped trying in class. When the town's mill closed, many locals blamed the few families from that district, who were too few to answer back.
Ravi took on his elders' views over the years and now feels tense, hostile and unable to settle down with students from the other district. Which source of prejudice does this describe?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Learning
Option (1) Scapegoating — Incorrect. Scapegoating means a majority group blames a weak minority for its own problems. Ravi's tension comes from views he grew up with.
Option (2) Learning — Correct. Prejudice can be learned from the family and others, like any attitude. Ravi took on his elders' views, and his anxiety, hostility and low adjusting capacity are the signs of a prejudiced personality that such learning can produce.
Option (3) Kernel of truth concept — Incorrect. The kernel of truth idea is holding a stereotype because a few examples seem to prove it. This part of the passage is about where his views came from and how he feels.
Option (4) Self-fulfilling prophecy — Incorrect. In a self-fulfilling prophecy the target group itself behaves in a way that confirms the prejudice. Here the feelings described are Ravi's own.
NCERT (2026-27): “PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION … |