Amita is a student council member of her school who takes her commitment towards environmental preservation very seriously. She organises various plantation drives and also is in charge of the school recycle plant. She gets very upset and sad when she sees people wasting or misusing paper or cutting trees. Her parents are also famous environmentalists who campaigned for a ban of plastics in the hill areas. They always praised and motivated Amita to continue to be a pro-environment person.
When Amita's juniors copy her attitude towards environmental preservation what kind of learning would they be showing?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Learning attitudes through modelling
Option (1) Learning attitudes by being rewarded — Incorrect. Here a person is praised or rewarded for showing an attitude, and so develops it further. Nobody is said to reward the juniors; they are copying what they see.
Option (2) Learning attitudes through group norms — Incorrect. Norms are unwritten rules about behaviour that everyone in a group or culture is supposed to show, such as offering flowers at a place of worship. The juniors are copying one senior student, not following a rule that their whole group observes.
Option (3) Learning attitudes for getting selected in the council — Incorrect. A seat on the council would be a possible gain, not a way in which attitudes are learnt; nothing in the question says the juniors want to be selected.
Option (4) Learning attitudes through modelling — Correct. In modelling we learn attitudes by observing others who are rewarded or appreciated for showing a particular behaviour towards the attitude object. The juniors watch Amita, a respected council member, work for the environment and take on the same attitude.
NCERT (2025-26): “Process of Attitude Formation … Learning attitudes by being rewarded or punished : If an individual is praised for showing a particular attitude, chances are high that s/he will develop that attitude further.…” “Process of Attitude Formation … Learning attitudes through modelling (observing others) : Often it is not through association, or through reward and punishment, that we learn attitudes. Instead, we learn them by observing others being rewarded or punished for expressing thoughts, or showing behaviour of a particular kind towards the attitude object. For example, children may form a respectful attitude towards elders, by observing that their parents show respect for elders, and are appreciated for it.…” “Process of Attitude Formation … Learning attitudes through group or cultural norms : Very often, we learn attitudes through the norms of our group or culture. Norms are unwritten rules about behaviour that everyone is supposed to show under specific circumstances. Over time, these norms may become part of our social cognition, in the form of attitudes.…” |