Which one the following is false? Interpersonal Skills are developed through:

The question asks for the false statement, and B is the odd one out. Interpersonal skills are built through social learning: observing, identifying with others and absorbing their norms.

• A) Imitation: Children copy the behaviour they see around them. Bandura's observational learning is the standard reference.
• C) Identification: A child takes on the traits of a significant person, such as a parent or teacher. This is a key idea in psychoanalytic accounts of socialisation.
• D) Internalization: External norms become one's own values, so behaviour continues without supervision. This is why it matters for ethics.
• B) Intermittent punishment: This is the false option. Punishment suppresses behaviour; it does not teach the positive skills of cooperation, empathy or communication. The intermittent schedule is a reinforcement concept from Skinner's work, and inconsistent punishment usually produces confusion or resentment, not competence.

This links to GS IV, where emotional intelligence and the internalisation of values are core ideas in the ethics syllabus.

Trap: Aspirants pick imitation or identification as the false option because they sound passive. The real test is whether a mechanism builds a skill, and punishment does not.