Read the case study and answer the five questions that follow:

Nikita and Ritika are twins. Nikita is intelligent. Friendly and popular among her friends. Rikita is shy, withdrawn and feels inferior to her sister. As a child, she felt her parents neglected her and was deeply hurt when they made comparisons. As she grew, these feelings of rejection were reinforced when teachers made statements like. "Look how well Nikita is doing! Why can't you be like her?" Ritika's feelings of rejection only strengthened with time. With the passage of time, Ritika was convinced that she is not good enough and would always be a failure in life.

______ is the cause of Ritika's problem.

Dysfunctional cognitive structures

The correct answer is Option (2) → Dysfunctional cognitive structures

Ritika’s belief that she is “not good enough” and will “always be a failure” reflects negative automatic thoughts and core beliefs about herself. These are examples of dysfunctional cognitive structures, which are central to cognitive theory of psychological disorders.

• Faulty learning would relate more to behaviour therapy, where maladaptive behaviours are learned through conditioning.

• Lack of self-actualisation is associated with humanistic or existential therapy, focusing on personal growth and fulfillment.

• Unresolved unconscious desires are central to psychodynamic approaches.

Since Ritika’s problem centers on negative thought patterns formed by repeated comparisons and internalized criticism, the most appropriate explanation is dysfunctional cognitive structures.