Question

According to the concept of balance proposed by Fritz Heider, imbalance is found when:
(i) All three sides of the P-O-X triangle are negative.
(ii) Two sides of the P-O-X triangle are negative and one side is positive.
(iii) Two sides of the P-O-X triangle are positive and one side is negative.
(iv) All three sides of the P-O-X triangle are positive.

• A. (i) and (ii) only
• B. (ii) and (iv) only
• C. (i) and (iii) only
• D. (ii) only

Hint:

Balance = Product of signs is Positive.
Imbalance = Product of signs is Negative.
Count the number of negative signs: if it is odd (1 or 3), the system is imbalanced.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Fritz Heider's Balance Theory represents relationships between a Person (P), another Person (O), and an Object/Issue (X) as a triangle.
A state is considered balanced if the product of the signs of the three relationships is positive (+).
A state is imbalanced if the product of the signs is negative (-).
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let's evaluate each condition by multiplying the signs:
(i) All three sides are negative: $(-1) \times (-1) \times (-1) = -1$. Result is negative, so this is an imbalance.
(ii) Two sides negative, one positive: $(-1) \times (-1) \times (+1) = +1$. Result is positive, so this is balanced.
(iii) Two sides positive, one negative: $(+1) \times (+1) \times (-1) = -1$. Result is negative, so this is an imbalance.
(iv) All three sides positive: $(+1) \times (+1) \times (+1) = +1$. Result is positive, so this is balanced.
Imbalance is found in cases (i) and (iii).
Step 3: Final Answer:
The imbalanced conditions are (i) and (iii), which corresponds to option (C).