Which of the following would be least useful in locating an individual on a sociological "social map"?

Favourite colour

The correct answer is Option 3: Favourite colour.

A social map locates individuals within society by identifying their membership in various social groups such as age groups, linguistic communities, economic classes, religions, castes, and tribes. These social identities influence a person's position within a network of social relationships. Personal preferences such as favourite colours may be part of an individual's personality but do not help sociologists locate individuals within the social structure.

NCERT: "A comparable social map would tell you where you are located in society. For example, as a seventeen or eighteen year old, you belong to the social group called “young people”. People your age or younger account for about forty per cent of India’s population. You might belong to a particular regional or linguistic community, such as a Gujarati speaker from Gujarat or a Telugu speaker from Andhra Pradesh. Depending on your parent’s occupation and your family income, you would also be a member of an economic class, such as lower middle class or upper class. You could be a member of a particular religious community, a caste or tribe, or other such social group. Each of these identities would locate you on a social map, and among a web of social relationships. Sociology tells you about what kinds of groups or groupings there are in society, what their relationships are to each other, and what this might mean in terms of your own life."