Meera, a college student in Pune, enjoys spending quiet evenings at home with a book. Her friends often invite her to birthday parties and get-togethers, and on those evenings she feels tense, tired and eager to leave early. Her elder brother Kabir is just the opposite. He loves meeting people, and when he has to stay home for a few evenings in a row, he becomes restless and irritable. Their parents are surprised that the same kind of evening upsets one child and relaxes the other.
Which type of stress do Meera and Kabir experience, and what explains the difference between them?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Social stress, which results from interaction with others and varies widely from person to person
Option (1) Psychological stress, which we generate in our own minds and which is unique to each person — Incorrect. Psychological stresses are generated in our own minds; they are personal and unique to the person, but they are internal sources of stress. Meera's and Kabir's tension is set off from outside, by being with people or kept away from them, so it is social stress.
Option (2) Environmental stress, which comes from aspects of our surroundings that are often unavoidable — Incorrect. Environmental stresses come from surroundings such as air pollution, noise, heat, cold or disasters. Nothing in the surroundings changes for the two of them; what differs is their contact with people.
Option (3) Social stress, which results from interaction with others and varies widely from person to person — Correct. Social stress is induced externally and results from interaction with other people. Such stresses vary widely from person to person, so parties strain the quiet Meera while evenings at home strain the outgoing Kabir.
Option (4) Daily hassles, which are personal stresses due to the happenings in our daily life — Incorrect. Daily hassles are annoying everyday happenings like commuting, traffic snarls or water shortage. They do not explain why the same social evening upsets one person and relaxes another.
NCERT (2026-27): “Social Stress |