Read the passage and answer the following questions:
It is generally seen that important decisions are taken by groups and not by individuals alone. For example, a decision had to be taken regarding corruption charges against an employee. Johnson was an employee working as an Assistant Manager in a pharma company. He joined this company in 2020 and has proven his mettle by his performance and commitment. One day he was caught red-handed by a senior official of the company while he was taking bribes from a client for some favor. This news spread like fire in the company. A high level committee consisting of 5 members was set up to look into the matter. There had been precedence when demotion was awarded as a punishment in similar cases. Initially, when the inquiry was set up, every member was of the view of downgrading his current rank. But one member shared his/her view about his termination. Over the discussions, it was found that every member developed an opinion about Johnson's termination from the services. It is a general tendency that when one's view is favoured by others, the person feels like his view is validated by the public. In this matter, the committee finally announced his termination.
When you find people having similar views, you are likely to perceive them as:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Ingroup
Option (1) Outgroup — Incorrect. The outgroup is another group, the ‘they’, whose members are seen as different and often perceived negatively. People who share your views are seen the opposite way.
Option (2) Ingroup — Correct. The ingroup is one’s own group, the ‘we’; its members are supposed to be similar and are viewed favourably. When you find people having similar views, you are likely to perceive them as ingroup, start identifying with them and show conformity, so your views become stronger. This is the third reason for group polarisation.
Option (3) Formal group — Incorrect. A formal group is formed on specific rules or laws, with its functions stated explicitly and definite roles for members, as in an office or a university. Similar views have nothing to do with it.
Option (4) Informal group — Incorrect. An informal group is not formed on rules or laws, and its members have a close relationship. Whether a group is formal or informal depends on its structure, not on whether its members think alike.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2025 on 16-05-2025 (Slot 1).
NCERT (2025-26): “Group Polarisation … After this interaction, your views may become stronger. This firm conviction is because of the following three reasons:
“Ingroup and Outgroup … The term ‘ingroup’ refers to one’s own group, and ‘outgroup’ refers to another group. For ingroup members, we use the word ‘we’ while for outgroup members, the word ‘they’ is used. By using the words they and we, one is categorising people as similar or different. It has been found that persons in the ingroup are generally supposed to be similar, are viewed favourably, and have desirable traits.…” “Formal and Informal Groups … These groups differ in the degree to which the functions of the group are stated explicitly and formally. The functions of a formal group are explicitly stated as in the case of an office organisation. The roles to be performed by group members are stated in an explicit manner. The formal and informal groups differ on the basis of structure. The formation of formal groups is based on some specific rules or laws and members have definite roles. There are a set of norms which help in establishing order. A university is an example of a formal group. On the other hand, the formation of informal groups is not based on rules or laws and there is close relationship among members.…” |