Pratap lost his young son due to a pothole accident some years ago. He decided to turn his pain into a purpose and now social media users are calling him a hero without a cape. For the last three years. Pratap has been filling up potholes in the city to ensure that no one else suffers the same fate. Pratap also starts planting trees in the city as he believes that environment is not simply for use by human beings but needs to be respected and valued. For this, he takes inspiration from a very famous movement in the Uttarakhand region which aimed to conserve forests. He also starts helping the poor in the community and observes that these poor people believe that they will continue to remain poor. Such beliefs have been passed on from one generation to another. He decides to change these beliefs by developing an advertisement in which he shows a pressure cooker that saves fuel and hence can help save money.
What kind of appeal does Pratap use in the advertisement?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Rational appeal
Option (1) Emotional appeal — Incorrect. An emotional appeal works on the feelings of the audience. The same pressure cooker could be sold with an emotional appeal by saying that pressure-cooking preserves nutrition, and one who cares for the family will care about nutrition. Pratap’s advertisement does not speak to feelings; it speaks of saving fuel and money.
Option (2) Congruent appeal — Incorrect. ‘Congruent’ describes the direction of an attitude change, not a kind of appeal. In a congruent change the attitude moves further in the same direction, for example a positive attitude becomes more positive. The appeal of a message is either rational or emotional.
Option (3) Rational appeal — Correct. One of the message characteristics that bring about attitude change is whether the message carries a rational or an emotional appeal. A rational appeal gives facts and reasons that the audience can weigh. Pratap’s advertisement shows a pressure cooker that saves fuel and therefore money, which is a practical, economic reason to change the belief.
Option (4) Incongruent appeal — Incorrect. ‘Incongruent’ also describes the direction of an attitude change: the attitude moves opposite to the existing one, for example a positive attitude becomes less positive or negative. It is not a kind of appeal in a message.
Note: The case study is taken from the chapter ‘Psychology and Life’, but this question is based on the chapter ‘Attitudes and Social Cognition’. However, since it is a case-study based question, all the questions on this case study are tagged to the chapter the case study is taken from.
NCERT (2025-26): “Factors that Influence Attitude Change … The message is the information that is presented in order to bring about an attitude change. Attitudes will change when the amount of information that is given about the topic is just enough, neither too much nor too little. Whether the message contains a rational or an emotional appeal, also makes a difference. For example, an advertisement for cooking food in a pressure cooker may point out that this saves fuel such as cooking gas (LPG) and is economical (rational appeal). Alternatively, the advertisement may say that pressure-cooking preserves nutrition, and that if one cares for the family, nutrition would be a major concern (emotional appeal)…” “Factors that Influence Attitude Change … In addition, one must also consider the direction and extent of attitude change. An attitude change may be congruent — it may change in the same direction as the existing attitude (for example, a positive attitude may become more positive, or a negative attitude may become more negative). For instance, suppose a person has a somewhat positive attitude towards empowerment of women. Reading about a successful woman may make this attitude more positive. This would be a congruent change. On the other hand, an attitude change may be incongruent — it may change in a direction opposite to the existing attitude (for example, a positive attitude becomes less positive, or negative, or a negative attitude becomes less negative, or positive).…” |