Jock (stereotype)

Jock is the classic American stereotype of a male athlete either at high school or college level. The most commonly perceived "jock" sports are those emphasizing body mass, such as football, wrestling, basketball, weightlifting, and ice hockey. Stereotypically, jocks take pleasure in bullying unpopular students (nerds).

Research

A small body of psychological research exists to suggest that self-defined or peer-identified jocks (a) do, indeed, show a preference for physical activities, (b) are among the young people who receive high friendship nominations from their peers, (c) are likely to show decreases of depressive or anxious type problems during the transition from childhood to adolescence, and (d) are more likely than many of their peers to engage in binge drinking.

See also

• High school subcultures
• Athlete
• Nerd
• Jock (disambiguation)