Robert K. MertonRobert King Merton (born Meyer Robert Schkolnick; July 4, 1910 – February 23, 2003) was an American sociologist who is considered a founding father of modern sociology, and a major contributor to the subfield of criminology. He served as the 47th president of the American Sociological Association. He spent most of his career teaching at Columbia University, where he attained the rank of University Professor.Self-fulfilling prophecyA self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that comes true at least in part as a result of a person's belief or expectation that the prediction would come true. In the phenomena, people tend to act the way they have been expected to in order to make the expectations come true. Self-fulfilling prophecies are an example of the more general phenomenon of positive feedback loops. A self-fulfilling prophecy can have either negative or positive outcomes.
SociologySociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on human social behaviour, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociology was coined in the late 18th century to describe the scientific study of society. As a social science, sociology uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about social order and social change.Physical attractiveness stereotypeThe physical attractiveness stereotype, commonly known as the "beautiful-is-good" stereotype, is the tendency to assume that physically attractive individuals, coinciding with social beauty standards, also possess other desirable personality traits, such as intelligence, social competence, and morality. The target benefits from what has been coined as "pretty privilege", namely social, economic, and political advantages or benefits.
StereotypeIn social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example, an expectation about the group's personality, preferences, appearance or ability. Stereotypes make information processing easier by allowing the perceiver to rely on previously stored knowledge in place of incoming information.
Attitude (psychology)In psychology, an attitude "is a summary evaluation of an object of thought. An attitude object can be anything a person discriminates or holds in mind". Attitudes include beliefs (cognition), emotional responses (affect) and behavioral tendencies (intentions, motivations). In the classical definition an attitude is persistent, while in more contemporary conceptualizations, attitudes may vary depending upon situations, context, or moods.
Physical attractivenessAesthetic assessment of physical traitsVenus de Milo at the Louvre has been described as a "classical vision of beauty".Michelangelo's David is considered a symbol of young male beauty and strength.Physical attractiveness is the extent to which a person's physical features are considered aesthetically pleasing or beautiful. The term often implies sexual attractiveness or desirability but can also be distinct.BeliefA belief is a subjective attitude that something is true or a state of affairs is the case. A subjective attitude is a mental state of having some stance, take, or opinion about something. In epistemology, philosophers use the term belief to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take it to be true; for instance, to believe that snow is white is comparable to accepting the truth of the proposition "snow is white".
BehaviorBehavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions of organisms, individuals, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as well as the inanimate physical environment. It is the computed response of the system or organism to various stimuli or inputs, whether internal or external, conscious or subconscious, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary.
Social psychologySocial psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.Mark Snyder (psychologist)Markus Snyder is an American social psychologist who is recognized as the founder of the personality scale called the 25-item self-monitoring scale (later modified to the 18-item self-monitoring scale). In 2013, Snyder works as the McKnight Presidential Chair of Psychology at the University of Minnesota.PersonalityPersonality describes the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional patterns that make up a person's unique time-dependent adjustment to life. Personality is relatively stable, but can change over time due to experiences and developmental processes. Although there is no consensus on the definition of personality, most theories in personality focus on traits, motivation, skills, and identity.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.