ABSTRACT
When a label is applied to someone, there is a tendency for that person to be seen, both by others and often also by themselves, as having all of the characteristics implied by the label, and being nothing more than that. Therefore, labelling someone as schizophrenic or depressive can cause them to be treated as less than a whole person, since all of their behaviour is likely to be interpreted in terms of the illness, as schizophrenic or depressed behaviour. This tendency can be resisted by insisting on referring to ‘a person with depression’ rather than ‘a depressive’, but the tendency remains difficult to avoid. The study of labelling and its implications is an important part of social psychology and has been so ever since the discovery of the self-fulfilling prophecy. See also stereotype.
