Amita enjoys reading. She becomes happy when someone gifts her a book and sad when she sees everyone bent over their mobile phone scrolling messages on their screen. Identify the affective component of Amita's attitude.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Feeling happy when someone gifts her a book
An attitude has three components: the thought component is the cognitive aspect, the emotional component is the affective aspect, and the tendency to act is the behavioural (or conative) aspect. Amita’s attitude object is reading books.
Option (1) Enjoy reading books — Incorrect. This describes Amita’s general liking for reading and her habit of reading, the activity she engages in. It sums up the attitude as a whole rather than naming the emotion itself.
Option (2) Receiving any kind of gift — Incorrect. The question is about her attitude towards books and reading; any kind of gift is not the attitude object, and receiving it is an event, not a feeling.
Option (3) Feeling happy when someone gifts her a book — Correct. Happiness is an emotion, and it is felt towards the attitude object, a book. This is the affective component of her attitude; her sadness on seeing people bent over their phones instead of reading is the same component.
Option (4) Watching mobile screen — Incorrect. Watching a mobile screen is what other people do in the question; it is an action, and it is not even Amita’s.
NCERT (2025-26): “Nature and Components of Attitudes … It is accompanied by an emotional component, and a tendency to act in a particular way with regard to the attitude object. The thought component is referred to as the cognitive aspect, the emotional component is known as the affective aspect, and the tendency to act is called the behavioural (or conative) aspect. Taken together, these three aspects have been referred to as the A-B-C components (Affective-Behavioural-Cognitive components) of attitude. Note that attitudes are themselves not behaviour, but they represent a tendency to behave or act in certain ways. They are part of cognition, along with an emotional component, and cannot be observed from outside.…” |