Robert King Merton was a distinguished American sociologist perhaps best known for having coined the phrase "self-fulfilling prophecy," the explanation for how a belief or an expectation, correct or incorrect, affects the outcome of a situation or the way a person or a group will behave. He also coined many other phrases that have gone into everyday use, such as "role model," which first appeared in a study on the socializaton of medical students at Columbia. The term grew from his theory of a reference group, or the group that individuals compare themselves to, but do not necessarily belong to. Social roles were a central piece to Merton's theory on social groups. Merton emphasized that, rather than a person assuming one role and one status, they have a status set in the social structure which has attached to it a whole set of expected behaviors.

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