Role (sociology)

In sociology, a role is a position that a person plays within a social group. The term describes how that person relates to other people. A role, or a social role, is accompanied by a set of behaviors and duties that influence the expectations that other people have toward that person. People adopt many roles throughout their lives—child, student, partner, parent, employee, boss, and so on. Individuals may occupy more than one role at once. People adjust their behavior for each role they take on as they strive to meet the expectations of that position. These expected behaviors are called social norms. A person can become overwhelmed by the obligations that accompany a specific role (called role strain) or by taking on incompatible roles simultaneously (called role conflict).

Background

Taking a cue from theater, a person in a role is called an actor or a performer. In a society, an actor is responsible for executing the expected duties of a given role, which determines an individual's behavior.

Roles may be associated with social status. A status is a person's rank in society. A person can achieve social status by being born into it or by working for it.

In contrast to social status, a social role is what a person does. Roles are dynamic. They can be long-lasting or temporary. There are biological and social components.

A person can perform multiple roles simultaneously. A child can be a son or a daughter, which is how they relate to their parents. A child may also be a student. The expectations of behavior for a child differ from those of an adult.

People can take on various roles in different facets of life. An adult can be a boyfriend or girlfriend or a husband or wife. No matter which position they occupy in a relationship, they can also be a parent. The same person may occupy a role in the business world, too. An individual can be a parent and an employee or a parent and a manager.

Biological differences can determine roles. A son cannot be a mother. However, a son can eventually become a father.

The study of behaviors associated with certain roles and the processes that produce or explain those behaviors is called role theory. Behavior and expectations are used to analyze roles. In a nutshell, expectations affect behavior. The two kinds of expectations are prescriptive and predictive. Prescriptive expectations refer to behaviors that people believe should be performed and behaviors that should be avoided. Predictive expectations are behaviors that people believe will happen or are likely to happen.

The expected behavior for roles is guided by social or societal norms. These are the implicit rules of how to behave in a certain position. There are consequences for conforming to social norms and for acting against them.

Overview

When a person takes on a role, they perform the duties characteristic of the position and enforce the proper behaviors for others in the position. For example, a doctor examines and treats patients. A teacher instructs students. Both professions carry an air of authority as the people who occupy those positions often lead by example.

In every role, the actor is bound by definite duties to the people in the social group. The performer acts on behalf of others with whom they regularly interact. A doctor's duties involve attending to every single patient. A teacher's duties require teaching the content of subjects and emotionally guiding pupils, even as the students who make up their classes change each year.

Social norms govern social behavior and the interaction between people in various roles. The phenomenon can influence criminal activities, cooperative action, and the effectiveness of government. Social norms are often accompanied by a sense of obligation to act in a certain way. When people follow social norms, a sense of social order is maintained. Deviating from social norms can have certain consequences or costs. For instance, if a person runs away from a police officer, they risk arrest or the officer using force. In social situations, a person who violates a social norm may experience guilt or shame. They run the risk of being isolated or cast out of a group.

A subset of social roles includes gender roles, or sex roles. These are positions and behaviors considered appropriate for a person based on their gender. They are derived from gender stereotypes. Traditionally, expectations for gender roles involved men and women working in different occupations. Men used to be associated with working outside the home in jobs that require physical skills, such as carpenters and police officers. Women were associated with people-oriented jobs, such as secretary or hairstylist, or even more traditionally, with staying at home to raise a family. Since the feminist movement, however, perceptions of gender roles began changing, and as gender came to be understood as a social construct, gender roles became more fluid and inclusive.

People can encounter challenges in the role or roles they occupy. Some roles are hard to perform and may take years to perfect. When an actor is dealing with the problems specific to a certain role or multiple roles, the performer can experience role strain or role conflict. Role strain, also called role overload, can occur when an individual is saddled with too many duties. They may struggle to balance the obligations expected of them. For example, a mother may care for a newborn, take her other children to school, clean the house and perform other chores, organize and pay bills, and prepare meals for the household. Sometimes, a person's duties in a single role may conflict. For instance, a student must finish a term paper while also finding time to study for a test in a different subject.

Role conflict occurs when the duties of multiple roles are incompatible. For example, a mother tries to raise her children while also serving as the chief executive officer of a corporation. The mother's role inside the home conflicts with her obligations as a leader outside the home. The mother can find a way to manage both situations but not without difficulty and tradeoffs.

Roles continue to identify people's places in society, and they maintain guidelines for acceptable behavior. While roles are important templates for modern society, they are not entirely fixed but change over time. For example, as the perception of gender roles evolves, social roles are subject to change as people learn to occupy multiple roles and navigate the challenges that come with them.

Bibliography

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Duncan, Beverly, and Otis Dudley Duncan. Sex Typing and Social Roles: A Research Report. James A. McRae Jr., Academic Press, 1978.

Hechter, Michael, and Karl-Dieter Opp, editors. Social Norms. Russell Sage Foundation, 2005.

McLeod, Saul. "Social Roles and Social Norms In Psychology." Simply Psychology, 4 Oct. 2023, www.simplypsychology.org/social-roles.html. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Monaghan, Lee F., and Jonathan Gabe. Key Concepts in Medical Sociology. 3rd ed., Sage Publications Ltd, 2022.

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