Altercasting

Define: A tactic of persuasion. When you force a role onto a person, they will behave according to that role.

Altercasting. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Media%2C%20Culture%20and%20Society/Altercasting/.
Apply: As a community organizer, you will be putting people in various roles (committee leaders, for example) within your organization for change. Their behavior influences the organization, and you will want them to be successful so that the change your community is seeking occurs. This theory says that because you put a person in that role, they will live up to it because people generally accept roles they are given, and they face a social pressure to fulfill that role.

Adapt: This theory could play out in the field of higher education. There are many opportunities for students to fulfill leadership roles in student organizations. Previous leaders may impose a role onto a new student as that student becomes more familiar with the campus organization and the duties that various roles require. It reminds me of giving someone confidence, and hoping that the pressure you create by telling someone they are a fit for a role actually helps them fit into that role successfully.