Read the case mentioned below and answer the question :
Rahman is a successful boy, who lives in Mumbai. He is very fond of junk food but he realised that eating junk food has many ill-effects on his health. He read in a newspaper that one can control his/her eating habits in order to reach long term goals in life. After reading this article on "Healthify Life" in the newspaper, he adopted a few effective mechanisms in his own lifestyle.
He selected all necessary information about the ideal weight and body mass index and found out his extra weight that is required to be shed off with immediate effect.
He started self introspection and instructed himself about the changed diet plan and work out schedule.
He kept a self reward policy wherein he could reward his own efforts towards weight loss journey and got extra happiness with each pleasant outcome.
After applying these changes in his life, Rahman reduced his body weight and gained some extra confidence, esteem and happiness in life.
With reference to case study, even when Rahman has all means to eat junk food but he behaved the way he wanted to. Through which technique could this be made possible in this case study?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Self instruction
Option (1) Making small goals — Incorrect. Breaking a target into small steps can help anyone, but it is not one of the three techniques of self-control (observation of own behaviour, self-instruction and self-reinforcement), and the passage does not show Rahman setting small goals.
Option (2) Relevant information — Incorrect. Gathering information about his ideal weight belongs to the first technique, observation of own behaviour. Information tells him what has to change; it does not make him behave that way.
Option (3) Self instruction — Correct. We often instruct ourselves to do something and behave the way we want to, and such instructions are quite effective in self-regulation. Rahman ‘instructed himself about the changed diet plan and work out schedule’, so he stayed away from junk food even though it was within his reach.
Option (4) Distraction — Incorrect. Distraction means turning one’s attention to something else so that the urge is not felt. The passage says nothing of Rahman keeping himself busy; he told himself what to do.
Note: The ideas in Options (1) and (4), ‘making small goals’ and ‘distraction’, are not described as techniques of self-control in the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2023, or in the NCERT book (2025-26); they are explained here for the benefit of the students.
NCERT (2025-26): “Self-regulation … A number of psychological techniques of self-control have also been suggested. Observation of own behaviour is one of them. This provides us with necessary information that may be used to change, modify, or strengthen certain aspects of self. Self-instruction is another important technique. We often instruct ourselves to do something and behave the way we want to. Such instructions are quite effective in self-regulation. Self-reinforcement is the third technique. This involves rewarding behaviours that have pleasant outcomes. For example, you may go to see a movie with friends, if you have done well in an examination. These techniques have been tried out and found quite effective with respect to self-regulation and self-control.” |