Identify the strategy of handling prejudice in this scenario: "different communities celebrate festivals together in one place and exchange food and gift items".
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Increasing intergroup contact
Option (1) Highlighting individual identity rather than group identity — Incorrect. This strategy weakens the importance of the group as a basis for judging another person, so people are seen as individuals. In the scenario the communities meet as communities; nobody is asked to set group identity aside.
Option (2) Increasing intergroup contact — Correct. Intergroup contact allows direct communication, removal of mistrust and even discovery of positive qualities in the outgroup. It works when the groups meet in a cooperative rather than competitive context and have close interactions. Celebrating festivals together and exchanging food and gifts is such cooperative, close contact between communities.
Option (3) Education and information dissemination — Incorrect. This strategy corrects stereotypes about target groups and tackles strong ingroup bias by giving people correct information, for example through lessons or campaigns. Sharing a festival is meeting, not being informed.
Option (4) Discouraging tendency towards self-fulfilling prophecy — Incorrect. This aim concerns the victims of prejudice, who are helped not to behave in ways that confirm the negative expectations about them. The scenario is about different communities coming together, not about a target group’s own behaviour.
NCERT (2025-26): “Strategies for Handling Prejudice … These goals can be accomplished through :
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