Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow:
Kavita is a happy-go-lucky girl, who loves her father, Mr. Pandey. Her dad loves his daughter and wants to give her all the happiness and opportunities to progress in life. Kavita wants to pursue a professional degree in a reputed college of another city but Mr. Pandey is not ready to let her go as he thinks that those who go there get spoilt and indulge in delinquent behaviour.
According to Balance theory of attitude, the imbalance is found in this situation because.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Two sides are positive and one is negative
In Heider’s P-O-X triangle, P is the person whose attitude is studied (Kavita), O another person (Mr. Pandey) and X the attitude object (the professional degree in another city). Imbalance is found when all three sides are negative, or two sides are positive and one is negative; balance when all three are positive, or two are negative and one is positive.
P-O: Kavita loves her father — positive.
P-X: Kavita wants the degree — positive.
O-X: Mr. Pandey will not let her go — negative.
Option (1) All three sides (P-O-X) in this case are positive — Incorrect. All three positive is a state of balance, and here the father’s attitude to the degree is negative.
Option (2) All three sides (P-O-X) are negative — Incorrect. Three negative sides would also be an imbalance, but it is not this situation: Kavita and her father love each other, and Kavita wants the degree.
Option (3) Two sides are negative and one is positive — Incorrect. Two negatives and one positive make a state of balance, and only one side here is negative.
Option (4) Two sides are positive and one is negative — Correct. P-O and P-X are positive, O-X is negative: two positives and one negative, a situation of imbalance, like the dowry example of a parent who favours dowry and a would-be in-law who opposes it.
NCERT (2025-26): “Process of Attitude Change … (a) The concept of balance, proposed by Fritz Heider is sometimes described in the form of the ‘P-O-X’ triangle, which represents the relationships between three aspects or components of the attitude. P is the person whose attitude is being studied, O is another person, and X is the topic towards which the attitude is being studied (attitude object). It is also possible that all three are persons. The basic idea is that an attitude changes if there is a state of imbalance between the P-O attitude, O-X attitude, and P-X attitude. This is because imbalance is logically uncomfortable. Therefore, the attitude changes in the direction of balance.…” “…Imbalance is found when (i) all three sides of the P-O-X triangle are negative, or (ii) two sides are positive, and one side is negative. Balance is found when (i) all three sides are positive, or (ii) two sides are negative, and one side is positive.…” “…If O initially has a positive attitude towards P, the situation would be unbalanced. P-X is positive, O-P is positive, but O-X is negative. That is, there are two positives and one negative in the triangle. This is a situation of imbalance.…” |