A teacher labels a student as "lazy" after poor performance. Over time that student begins to act disengaged and avoids participating. Which symbolic interactionist concept best explains this process?

• A. Biological determinism where the student's disengagement is predetermined by neurochemical factors and social labels have no causal effect whatsoever.
• B. Labeling leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy: the student's identity is reshaped by others' definitions, producing behavior consistent with the label.
• C. Marxist class consciousness where the teacher's label is a reflection of commodity exchange and capital accumulation dynamics rather than interpersonal meaning-making.
• D. Structural functional allocation where the label serves only to maintain macro equilibrium in the educational division of labor with no influence on the student's sense of self.

Answer: (B)