Tanvi found a weekend workshop dull. For a small token of Rs. 20, she agreed to tell her juniors that the workshop was interesting. A week later she thought, "I would not have said that for such a small amount, so the workshop must really have been interesting," and she began to like it. Which idea about attitudes does this show?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Behaviour can sometimes decide the attitude.
Option (1) Attitudes are learned through association with a liked person. — Incorrect. Learning by association links the good qualities of a person to an object. Tanvi's liking does not come from any person she admires.
Option (2) Behaviour can sometimes decide the attitude. — Correct. Tanvi first acted by praising the workshop for a tiny reward. From that action she concluded her attitude was positive. This is behaviour deciding the attitude, as in the Festinger and Carlsmith experiment.
Option (3) Attitude and behaviour agree when the person is not watched by others. — Incorrect. Not being watched is one condition for consistency between attitude and behaviour.
Option (4) Attitudes change more when a message comes from a credible source. — Incorrect. Source credibility is a source characteristic in attitude change. No outside source tried to persuade Tanvi; her own behaviour changed her view.
NCERT (2026-27): “Attitude-Behaviour Relationship … |