Priya is describing a hostel football final in which her own hostel l…

Priya is describing a hostel football final in which her own hostel lost. She uses four expressions while speaking. Identify the odd one out.

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → "our boys"

Option (1) "they" — Incorrect. 'They' is the word used for outgroup members, the members of another group.

Option (2) "the other hostel" — Incorrect. 'The other hostel' names the group Priya does not belong to, so it refers to her outgroup.

Option (3) "the rival players" — Incorrect. 'The rival players' are members of the other hostel's team. This too refers to her outgroup.

Option (4) "our boys" — Correct. 'Our boys' means members of Priya's own hostel. It refers to her ingroup, the group for which the word 'we' is used, while the other three refer to the outgroup.

NCERT (2026-27): “Ingroup and Outgroup
Just as individuals compare themselves with others in terms of similarities and differences with respect to what they have and what others have, individuals also compare the group they belong to with groups of which they are not a member. 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. Members of the outgroup are viewed”

“Box 7.2 differently and are often perceived negatively in comparison to the ingroup members. Perceptions of ingroup and outgroup affect our social lives. These differences can be easily understood by studying Tajfel’s experiments given in Box 7.2.”