Role model

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The term role model generally means any "person who serves as an example, whose behaviour is emulated by others".[1]

The term first appeared in Robert K. Merton's socialization research of medical students.[2] Merton hypothesized that individuals compare themselves with reference groups of people who occupy the social role to which the individual aspires.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Role model". Wiktionary. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/role_model. Retrieved 2008-04-23. 
  2. ^ a b Gerald Holton (4 December 2004). "Robert K. Merton - Biographical Memoirs" (PDF). Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 148 (4): 506–517. http://www.aps-pub.com/proceedings/1484/480411.pdf. Retrieved 2007-08-07. "He developed a theory of the reference group (i.e., the group to which individuals compare themselves, which is not necessarily a group to which those individuals belong), and elaborated on the concepts of in-group and out-group.". 
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