Quotes About Reference group

The rich are so near the top that their reference group is likely to include people who are poorer that the are, while the poor are so near the bottom that their reference group is likely to include people who are richer than they are. That helps to explain why the rich are on average happier than the poor.

If you want to pick a role model for designing a group's practical rules of engagement, you can't do better than Merton. To start, he coined the phrase "role model," along with "self-fulfilling prophecy," "reference group," "unintended consequences," and "focus group." He founded the science of sociology and was the first sociologist awarded the National Medal of Science.