Raman rates the food services of a particular restaurant as 7 out of 10 (1 for poor quality and 10 for the best quality). Which feature of attitude is best explained by this?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Valence
Option (1) Centrality — Incorrect. Centrality is the role of an attitude in the attitude system: a central attitude influences the other attitudes much more than a peripheral one. A single rating of one restaurant says nothing about this.
Option (2) Extremeness — Incorrect. Extremeness shows how far towards positive or negative an attitude lies; ratings at either end of the scale are the most extreme. A rating of 7 out of 10 is neither end of the scale, so it is not an extreme attitude; what it shows plainly is its direction.
Option (3) Valence — Correct. The valence of an attitude tells us whether it is positive or negative towards the attitude object. On a rating scale, a rating above the neutral point is a positive attitude; Raman’s 7 on a scale from 1 (poor) to 10 (best) shows a positive attitude towards the restaurant’s food.
Option (4) Complexity — Incorrect. Simplicity or complexity refers to how many attitudes there are within a broader attitude, such as the many member-attitudes within one’s attitude towards health. One rating of one restaurant does not show it.
NCERT (2025-26): “Valence (positivity or negativity) : … The valence of an attitude tells us whether an attitude is positive or negative towards the attitude object. Suppose an attitude (say, towards nuclear research) has to be expressed on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (Very bad), 2 (Bad), 3 (Neutral — neither good nor bad), and 4 (Good), to 5 (Very good). If an individual rates her/his view towards nuclear research as 4 or 5, this is clearly a positive attitude. This means that the person likes the idea of nuclear research and thinks it is something good. On the other hand, if the rating is 1 or 2, the attitude is negative. This means that the person dislikes the idea of nuclear research, and thinks it is something bad.…” “…Extremeness : The extremeness of an attitude indicates how positive or negative an attitude is. T aking the nuclear research example given above, a rating of 1 is as extreme as a rating of 5 : they are only in the opposite directions (valence). Ratings of 2 and 4 are less extreme. A neutral attitude, of course, is lowest on extremeness.…” |