This is fascinating. I do think the labels people use come to define reality as we experience it, though. For instance, when people changed views of "problem students" to "at-risk students," there was less of a focus on personal character and more on their environment.

I'm currently reading Atomic Habits, so I've thought about how cues in environments can produce certain behaviors in people. It takes away some of the responsibility of people for their own behaviors and places it on circumstances rather than themselves. It's a viewpoint that gives people more grace, too.

Thanks for writing this article! Really made me think.