Read the passage and answer the following question:
Manya, a class 7 student, stopped consuming artificially flavoured soft drinks and started to consume more and more fresh fruits and home cooked food. This change in her behaviour came when she came to know that supermodel Kirti has stated in an interview that she would neither consume artificially flavoured food nor endorse any such products. She even appealed to all of her fans to do so. Earlier Manya used to consume all unhealthy products because Kirti endorsed many such products. But now Kirti's change in choice has also led Manya to change her preferences.
The theory related to the case discussed here was proposed by -
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → S. M. Mohsin
The case is an example of the two-step concept of attitude change, proposed by the Indian psychologist S. M. Mohsin. In the first step, the target (Manya) identifies with the source (Kirti), that is, has liking and regard for her. In the second step, the source herself changes her behaviour towards the attitude object: Kirti gives up artificially flavoured food and stops endorsing it. Observing this, the target also changes: Manya stops consuming soft drinks and turns to fresh fruits and home-cooked food.
NCERT (2025-26): “Process of Attitude Change … (a) The concept of balance, proposed by Fritz Heider is sometimes described in the form of the ‘P-O-X’ triangle, which represents the relationships between three aspects or components of the attitude.…” “(b) The concept of cognitive dissonance was proposed by Leon Festinger. It emphasises the cognitive component.…” “(c) The two-step concept was proposed by S.M. Mohsin, an Indian psychologist. According to him, attitude change takes place in the form of two steps. In the first step, the target of change identifies with the source. The ‘target’ is the person whose attitude is to be changed. The ‘source’ is the person through whose influence the change is to take place. Identification means that the target has liking and regard for the source. S/he puts herself/ himself in the place of the target, and tries to feel like her/him. The source must also have a positive attitude towards the target, and the regard and attraction becomes mutual. In the second step, the source herself/himself shows an attitude change, by actually changing her/him behaviour towards the attitude object. Observing the source’s changed attitude and behaviour, the target also shows an attitude change through behaviour.…” |