The term _____ refers to those processes whereby our attitudes and be…

The correct answer is Option (2) → Social Influence

Option (1) Social Cognition — Incorrect. Social cognition refers to the mental processes by which we gather and process information about people and social situations, such as forming impressions and stereotypes. It is about how we think about others, not about how others change our attitudes and behaviour.

Option (2) Social Influence — Correct. The term ‘social influence’ refers to those processes whereby our attitudes and behaviours are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people. Parents, teachers, friends and even television commercials exert it; conformity, compliance and obedience are its forms.

Option (3) Social facilitation — Incorrect. Social facilitation is the improvement in performance in the presence of others, seen when a person performs a familiar task while others watch. It is one particular effect of others’ presence on performance, not the general term for all such influence on attitudes and behaviour.

Option (4) Social Inhibition — Incorrect. Social inhibition is the opposite effect: a decline in performance in the presence of others, usually on unfamiliar or new tasks. It too is only one effect on performance.

Note: The definition of social influence was there in the chapter ‘Social Influence and Group Processes’ of the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2023, and is not there in the NCERT book (2025-26).