What does 'name calling' exactly mean?

Name-calling, says J. Vernon Jensen, is "attaching to a person, group, institution, or concept a label with a heavily derogatory connotation. It usually is an incomplete, unfair, and misleading characterization" Example: "In politics, association is often accomplished by name-calling--linking a person or idea to a negative symbol. read more

Name calling is abusive or insulting language referring to a person or group, a verbal abuse. This phenomenon is studied by a variety of academic disciplines from anthropology, to child psychology, to politics. It is also studied by rhetoricians, and a variety of other disciplines that study propaganda techniques and their causes and effects. read more