Match List-I (situation) with List-II (technique or principle):
| List-I | List-II |
|---|---|
| (A) Meena, who is afraid of dogs, ranks dog scenes from least to most frightening and, while relaxed, first imagines the mildest one | (I) Modelling |
| (B) A therapist explains that the calm state built up first wins over the mild fear of an imagined scene, as the weaker of two opposing states is held back | (II) Differential reinforcement |
| (C) Arjun, a shy boy, watches his therapist greet strangers with confidence and is praised for every small step he takes to do the same | (III) Systematic desensitisation |
| (D) A teacher praises Ravi whenever he raises his hand to answer and ignores him whenever he shouts out answers | (IV) Reciprocal inhibition |
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → A-III, B-IV, C-I, D-II
| List-I | List-II | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| (A) Meena, who is afraid of dogs, ranks dog scenes from least to most frightening and, while relaxed, first imagines the mildest one | (III) Systematic desensitisation | Ranking feared scenes from mildest to worst and imagining them in a relaxed state is systematic desensitisation. Wolpe gave this technique for treating phobias. |
| (B) A therapist explains that the calm state built up first wins over the mild fear of an imagined scene, as the weaker of two opposing states is held back | (IV) Reciprocal inhibition | The relaxed state is built first, and it overcomes the weaker, mild fear. This is the principle of reciprocal inhibition, the reason desensitisation works. |
| (C) Arjun, a shy boy, watches his therapist greet strangers with confidence and is praised for every small step he takes to do the same | (I) Modelling | Arjun learns by watching a role model, and his small changes are rewarded. This is modelling, which uses vicarious learning (learning by observing others). |
| (D) A teacher praises Ravi whenever he raises his hand to answer and ignores him whenever he shouts out answers | (II) Differential reinforcement | The wanted behaviour is rewarded and the unwanted one is ignored at the same time. This is differential reinforcement, so hand-raising rises and shouting falls. |
Note: Systematic desensitisation is the technique; reciprocal inhibition is the principle that makes it work.
NCERT (2026-27): “Behavioural Techniques … “The principle of reciprocal inhibition operates here. This principle states that the presence of two mutually opposing forces at the same time, inhibits the weaker force. Thus, the relaxation response is first built up and mildly anxiety-provoking scene is imagined, and the anxiety is overcome by the relaxation. The client is able to tolerate progressively greater levels of anxiety because of her/ his relaxed state. Modelling is the procedure wherein the client learns to behave in a certain way by observing the behaviour of a role model or the therapist who initially acts as the role model. Vicarious learning, i.e. learning by observing others, is used and through a process of rewarding small changes in the behaviour, the client gradually learns to acquire the behaviour of the model. …” “Box 5.2 Unwanted behaviour can be reduced and wanted behaviour can be increased simultaneously through differential reinforcement. Positive reinforcement for the wanted behaviour and negative reinforcement for the unwanted behaviour attempted together may be one such method. The other method is to positively reinforce the wanted behaviour and ignore the unwanted behaviour. The latter method is less painful and equally effective. …” |