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I would suggest that "role model" be unlinked from Moral Example and given its own article, linked to the article on Robert K. Merton. The wiki article on Merton already acknowledges that he coined the term, and I think it is important to include this more precise usage and not conflate it with a concept of "moral example". From Holton, Gerald. (2003). "Robert K. Merton". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 148 (4), 514:
"Central for Merton’s understanding of social groups were social roles. The term “role model” first appeared in a Columbia study of the socialization of medical students, and was to become wildly popular. Merton emphasized that, rather than assuming one status and one role, a person has a status set in the social structure to which is attached a whole role-set of expected behavior—and that, within those sets, ambiguities, incompatibilities, and conflicts almost inevitably lurk."
