Arjun, a 19-year-old in Lucknow, has to choose a college course. He loves dance but is also drawn to psychology, and he keeps changing his choice. He has made it his rule to score full marks in every mock test, and he sets targets far above what his teachers ask of him. His entrance results came out last week. Since then he replays every wrong answer late into the night and wonders what his relatives will say. A month before the results, his family moved to a new house across the city, and he now travels an hour to meet his old friends.
Arjun's rule of full marks in every test is a form of internal pressure. Which of the following is true of such expectations?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Such expectations can only lead to disappointment, as the standards set are unrealistically high.
Option (1) Such expectations cause stress only when they clash with the values that a person holds. — Incorrect. A clash with one's values is a conflict of values, which arises when we are pressurised to act against the values we hold. Internal pressure needs no such clash; the demand itself, set too high, does the harm.
Option (2) Such expectations can only lead to disappointment, as the standards set are unrealistically high. — Correct. Internal pressures come from what we expect of ourselves, such as 'I must do everything perfectly'. Such expectations can only lead to disappointment, because the standards are unrealistically high. Full marks in every test is that kind of standard.
Option (3) Such expectations cause even greater pressure when he has to work with his teachers. — Incorrect. Greater pressure when we work with the people concerned is true of social pressure, which comes from others who make excessive demands on us. Arjun's teachers ask less of him than he asks of himself.
Option (4) Such expectations cause stress mainly when someone blocks the goal he has set for himself. — Incorrect. Blocking of a goal by something or someone is frustration, caused for example by social discrimination or low grades. Internal pressure is stressful in itself and does not depend on anyone blocking the goal.
NCERT (2026-27): “Psychological Stress … |