Which concept involves defining a person or group in a way that leads to certain behaviours being expected of them?

Which concept involves defining a person or group in a way that leads to certain behaviours being expected of them?

• A. Discrimination
• B. Ethnocentrism
• C. Cultural Capital
• D. Labelling

Answer: (D)

Labelling is the idea that giving someone or a group a specific label can set expectations about how they should behave. When a person is tagged as deviant or trouble, those expectations are communicated by teachers, peers, or institutions, and the individual may adapt their behavior to fit the label. This self-fulfilling process can shape identity and opportunities, making the label seem to cause the behavior rather than just describe it. Discrimination involves acting unfairly on prejudice, ethnocentrism is judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own culture, and cultural capital refers to non-financial resources that help social mobility—none of these paths explain how simply defining someone leads to expected behaviors the way labelling does.

Labelling is the idea that giving someone or a group a specific label can set expectations about how they should behave. When a person is tagged as deviant or trouble, those expectations are communicated by teachers, peers, or institutions, and the individual may adapt their behavior to fit the label. This self-fulfilling process can shape identity and opportunities, making the label seem to cause the behavior rather than just describe it. Discrimination involves acting unfairly on prejudice, ethnocentrism is judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own culture, and cultural capital refers to non-financial resources that help social mobility—none of these paths explain how simply defining someone leads to expected behaviors the way labelling does.