Read the passage below and answer the questions
Sudhir is a 15-year-old boy, who has recently begun to experience persistent sadness and loss of interest in activities he once enjoyed. He is often found to be irritated without any specific reasons. Despite parental and school support, he feels worthless and thinks his future is doomed. His academic performance and social life has been severely affected. It has been found that his maternal uncle had also experienced such problems when he was young. However, timely identification and psychological aid helped in improving his condition. Psychologists have emphasized that these patterns are not merely emotional reactions and may indicate a mood disorder that is characterized by a disturbed emotional state which may include prolonged periods of sadness and thoughts of self-harm and suicide in serious cases.
The belief ‘that my future is doomed’ reflects which domain of psychological state?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Cognitive
Option (1) Behavioural — Incorrect. The behavioural domain covers what a person does, such as greatly slowed behaviour or social withdrawal. A belief is a thought, not an action.
Option (2) Mood — Incorrect. Mood is a lasting state of feeling, such as Sudhir’s persistent sadness. The belief about the future may come with a low mood, but it is a thought about what will happen.
Option (3) Affective — Incorrect. The affective domain is the emotional side, the feelings such as sadness or irritation. ‘My future is doomed’ is a judgement, not a feeling.
Option (4) Cognitive — Correct. Cognitive responses include beliefs about the harm or threat an event poses. Negative thoughts such as ‘I will not succeed’ are persistent irrational thoughts marked by cognitive distortions; Sudhir’s belief that his future is doomed is a thought of this kind.
NCERT (2025-26): “Nature of Stress … Cognitive responses include beliefs about the harm or threat an event poses and beliefs about its causes or controllability. These include responses such as inability to concentrate, and intrusive, repetitive or morbid thoughts.…” “Cognitive Therapy … Negative thoughts are persistent irrational thoughts such as ‘nobody loves me’, ‘I am ugly’, ‘I am stupid’, ‘I will not succeed’, etc. Such negative automatic thoughts are characterised by cognitive distortions.…” |