Ravi grew up in a Bihar town where his elders often mocked people from a neighbouring district; he now shares their views. In college he cheers loudly for his district's student group and calls students from the other district careless and rude. He feels tense and hostile, and cannot settle down, when working with them. When a friend says most of them are hardworking, Ravi names two who once missed a deadline and says that is enough for him. Some of those students, told for years that they are lazy, have stopped trying in class. When the town's mill closed, many locals blamed the few families from that district, who were too few to answer back.
Some students from the other district, long called lazy, have stopped trying in class, and so they strengthen the view held about them. This is an example of:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Self-fulfilling prophecy
Option (1) Learning — Incorrect. Learning is how a person picks up prejudice from family, media or others. Here the behaviour described is that of the target group.
Option (2) Scapegoating — Incorrect. Scapegoating is a majority blaming a weak minority for its own problems. The students are not being blamed for any loss in this part.
Option (3) Self-fulfilling prophecy — Correct. In a self-fulfilling prophecy the target group itself behaves in ways that confirm the negative expectations. Students called lazy stop trying, and so strengthen the existing prejudice.
Option (4) Kernel of truth concept — Incorrect. The kernel of truth idea is the prejudiced person holding on to a stereotype because of a few examples. Here the students' own behaviour keeps the prejudice going.
NCERT (2026-27): “PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION … |