This theory describes why certain people emerge as leaders in groups. Performance expectations, or unconscious evaluations as to who will be best in leading the group, are part of the make up of this theory. When there is a higher expectation for a particular person, that person will have more opportunities to contribute to the group than those with lower expectations. This theory can be seen in one of the last scenes of the movie after Frank has told the children that he and Helen were going to split up and their lives would go back to normal. The children are upset because they have grown close through all of the scheming and they do not want to be separated. As a result of seeing the sadness in his siblings’ faces, the oldest son, William, steps up and sets everyone in action to get show they parents that they love each other in an effort to bring them back together. Since William is the oldest, his siblings are willing to listen to him because he knows best how to do deal with his father and how to act in order to rationalize with the adults. In addition, William is the class president at his school so he is used to positions of leadership, which is also why he would have been inclined to take control of the situation. Often, people with more experience or perceived skill will step in groups and the rest of the group will allow it because they have higher expectations for that person. In this case …show more content…
Specifically, being aware of stereotypes and how they operate in society is helpful because this allows people to understand why certain people expect actions from certain groups. Stereotypes may reflect the truth for certain specific cases; however they are too broad to ever accurately depict the entire group they attempt to describe. Knowing the stereotypes prevalent in society can help people to avoid reinforcing them. For example, being aware of stereotypes about mothers and fathers can help people realize that the “traditional” parenting roles are very broad and do not apply to all families. With this knowledge it is easier to accept newer roles for mothers and fathers, such as stay at home dads, rather than try to tear them