'Women are bad drivers'. This is an example of
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Stereotype
Option (1) Prejudice — Incorrect. A prejudice is a usually negative attitude towards a particular group, with dislike or hatred as its affective component. ‘Women are bad drivers’ is a belief about the group; it may lead to prejudice, but in itself it is the cognitive part.
Option (2) Stereotype — Correct. A stereotype is a cluster of ideas regarding the characteristics of a specific group, and all members of the group are assumed to possess these characteristics. The statement credits all women with one trait, bad driving.
Option (3) Discrimination — Incorrect. Discrimination is the behavioural component: people behave less positively towards a target group, for example by refusing to hire women as drivers. The statement is a belief, not an action.
Option (4) Social cognition — Incorrect. Social cognition is the broad name for the mental activities of gathering and interpreting information about the social world, such as forming impressions and attributions. Stereotypes are one product of it, so the term is too wide to name this example.
NCERT (2025-26): “Prejudice and Discrimination … Prejudices are examples of attitudes towards a particular group. They are usually negative, and in many cases, may be based on stereotypes (the cognitive component) about the specific group. As will be discussed below in the section on social cognition, a stereotype is a cluster of ideas regarding the characteristics of a specific group. All members belonging to this group are assumed to possess these characteristics. Often, stereotypes consist of undesirable characteristics about the target group, and they lead to negative attitudes or prejudices towards members of specific groups. The cognitive component of prejudice is frequently accompanied by dislike or hatred, the affective component. Prejudice may also get translated into discrimination, the behavioural component, whereby people behave in a less positive way towards a particular target group compared to another group which they favour.…” |