High School Students Often Ridicule Others Whom They Call "Nerds

High school students often ridicule others whom they call "nerds." How would sociologists most likely explain this phenomenon?

A) Both nerds and the students who ridicule them act on the basis of inborn biological characteristics.
B) Nerds are vain and snobbish, and students who ridicule them are right to do so.
C) Students who ridicule nerds feel better about themselves by doing so.
D) Teachers deliberately create animosity between nerds and other students.