Role Models

• Young girls often choose role models who are only slightly older.Goodshoot RF/Goodshoot/Getty Images
  
  The ways in which people self-identify are called their "roles." These include gender identities, professional identities and religious identities. They also include less obvious self-expectations, such as how a person of a certain age, social standing, intelligence level or skill set should behave. An individual's role models are people whom he identifies as having a role in common with him, and they are usually more established in that role than he is. He looks to his role models for cues on how to acquit himself well in the role they share.
  
  

Mentors

• The mentor/mentee relationship is hands-on and personal.Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
  
  A mentor is a person who guides an individual through her development in a career, educational pursuit or other personal challenge. This can be anything from sports to investments to staying in school. The mentor's goal is to help the mentee build the skills and discipline necessary to succeed in her personal challenge on her own, eventually without continued assistance. The mentor helps the mentee both with concrete, skill-related guidance and with psychological guidance, usually focusing on developing the mentee's self-esteem and habits of responsibility.
  
  

Differences

• While a role model and a mentor are both people an individual looks up to as examples of how to behave or excel, there are some critical differences. The relationship between a mentor and a mentee is personal, usually face-to-face and one-on-one. The mentor is invested in the mentee and has made a commitment to guide and assist him. By contrast, a role model may not even know the person who seeks to emulate her. Even if she does, the relationship is not a two-way street: the individual admires the role model and attempts to imitate her behavior, but the role model does not actively connect with the individual.
  
  

Advantages

• Many cities have organized mentoring programs for at-risk children.John Howard/Lifesize/Getty Images
  
  The mentor/mentee relationship has the advantage of being a real interaction, rather than a psychological construct in the individual's mind. A person with a mentor has both a role model and a personal guide; the mentor frequently is teacher, coach and friend to the mentee. Role models are most useful when a hands-on mentorship is not practical for some reason, for example if no one with the necessary skill set or willingness is available. However, an individual can choose a role model who truly excels in the role in question and learn from that excellence, while she may not be able to find so brilliant a mentor.