Editing Popularity (section)

== Introduction ==
[[File:Rebecca1917version.jpg|thumb|From the 1917 silent film ''[[Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917 film)|Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm]]'', this image shows one girl behaving with overt aggression towards another girl.]]

The term ''popularity'' is borrowed from the Latin term ''popularis'', which originally meant "common." The current definition of the word popular, the "fact or condition of being well liked by the people", was first seen in 1601.<ref name="etymonline">[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=popular Etymology Online entry for Popular], 5 April 2009.</ref>

While popularity is a trait often ascribed to an individual, it is an inherently social phenomenon and thus can only be understood in the context of groups of people. Popularity is a collective perception, and individuals report the consensus of a group's feelings towards an individual or object when rating popularity. It takes a group of people to like something, so the more that people advocate for something or claim that someone is best liked, the more attention it will get, and the more popular it will be deemed.<ref name="Scott">Scott, B. A., & Judge, T. A. (2009). The popularity contest at work: Who wins, why, and what do they receive? ''Journal of Applied Psychology'', 94(1), 20–33.</ref>

Notwithstanding the above, popularity as a concept can be applied, assigned, or directed towards objects such as songs, movies, websites, activities, soaps, foods etc. Together, these objects collectively make up [[popular culture]], or the consensus of mainstream preferences in society. In essence, anything, human or non-human, can be deemed popular.