_____ is a group based way of expressing frustration resulting in neg…

Please read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

A popular Bollywood movie 'Lagan' portrays India before Independence. Indians were ruled by the Britishers for many years. They were denied basic rights. The common and the lower strata of the society were not provided the privilege of education as the Britishers felt that 'Indians are not good enough'. They deliberately gave Indians less qualified jobs and kept highly qualified jobs for themselves.

_____ is a group based way of expressing frustration resulting in negative attitudes or prejudice against the weaker group.

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → Scapegoating

Option (1) Ingroup bias — Incorrect. People with a strong social identity and a very positive attitude towards their own group boost this attitude by holding negative attitudes towards other groups. It favours one’s own group; it does not involve putting the blame for the group’s own problems on a weaker group.

Option (2) Kernel of truth — Incorrect. People keep a stereotype because they think there must be some truth in what everyone says about a group; even a few examples are enough to support the idea. It explains why stereotypes last, not how frustration is let out on a group.

Option (3) Scapegoating — Correct. In scapegoating the majority group places the blame on a minority outgroup for its own social, economic or political problems, and the minority is too weak or too small in number to defend itself. It is a group-based way of expressing frustration, and it often results in negative attitudes or prejudice against the weaker group.

Option (4) Self fulfilling prophecy — Incorrect. Here the group that is the target of prejudice behaves in a way that justifies the prejudice and so confirms the negative expectations. It is about the target group’s own behaviour, not about blame placed on it by the majority.

Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2025 on 22-05-2025 (Slot 1), and in CUET (UG) 2026 on 06-06-2026 (Slot 1).

NCERT (2025-26): “Prejudice and Discrimination … Social psychologists have shown that prejudice has one or more of the following sources :…

…A strong social identity and ingroup bias : Individuals who have a strong sense of social identity and have a very positive attitude towards their own group boost this attitude by holding negative attitudes towards other groups. These are shown as prejudices.
Scapegoating : This is a phenomenon by which the majority group places the blame on a minority outgroup for its own social, economic or political problems. The minority is too weak or too small in number to defend itself against such accusations. Scapegoating is a group-based way of expressing frustration, and it often results in negative attitudes or prejudice against the weaker group.
Kernel of truth concept : Sometimes people may continue to hold stereotypes because they think that, after all, there must be some truth, or ‘kernel of truth’ in what everyone says about the other group. Even a few examples are sufficient to support the ‘kernel of truth’ idea.
Self-fulfilling prophecy : In some cases, the group that is the target of prejudice is itself responsible for continuing the prejudice. The target group may behave in ways that justify the prejudice, that is, confirm the negative expectations. For example, if the target group is described as ‘dependent’ and therefore unable to make progress, the members of this target group may actually behave in a way that proves this description to be true. In this way, they strengthen the existing prejudice.”