Read the passage and answer the question that follow :
Namita is studying in London. Being an Indian she faces a variety of discriminatory behavior on an everyday basis. For instance, Namita had an Economics examination in the morning. While she was revising her notes outside the exam hall one of her classmates, Jessica commented that, "You are from a country of snake charmers, I do not think advanced Economics concepts are your cup of tea". Namita felt bad and started to think it over. Although she was prepared well for her exam but due to nervousness, she was not able to perform well in the exam and failed. Seeing her result, other students started to call her "Know Nothing Namita". Some students started bullying other Indian students also without provocation. This instance led the students of other nationalities to believe that there must be some truth in what everyone says about Indians.
The belief that 'India is a country of snake charmers' is an example of :
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Stereotyping
Option (1) Incongruent attitude — Incorrect. ‘Incongruent’ describes an attitude change in a direction opposite to the existing attitude, as when a positive attitude becomes less positive or negative. The belief in the question is not a change of attitude at all.
Option (2) Discrimination — Incorrect. Discrimination is behaviour: treating a target group less positively than a favoured group. A belief that one holds in the mind is not yet discrimination.
Option (3) Scapegoating — Incorrect. Scapegoating is blaming a weak minority group for the majority’s own problems. The belief blames Indians for nothing; it only gives them a fixed label.
Option (4) Stereotyping — Correct. A stereotype is a cluster of ideas regarding the characteristics of a specific group, and all members of the group are assumed to possess these characteristics. ‘India is a country of snake charmers’ pins one image on every Indian; it is the cognitive component of Jessica’s prejudice.
NCERT (2025-26): “Prejudice and Discrimination … Prejudices are examples of attitudes towards a particular group. They are usually negative, and in many cases, may be based on stereotypes (the cognitive component) about the specific group. As will be discussed below in the section on social cognition, a stereotype is a cluster of ideas regarding the characteristics of a specific group. All members belonging to this group are assumed to possess these characteristics. Often, stereotypes consist of undesirable characteristics about the target group, and they lead to negative attitudes or prejudices towards members of specific groups.…” “Attitude 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).…” |