Social role

Social role- a model of human behavior, objectively set by the social position of an individual in the system of social, social and personal relations. A social role is not something outwardly related to social status, but an expression in action of the agent's social position. In other words, a social role is "the behavior that is expected of a person holding a certain status."

History of the term

The concept of "social role" was proposed independently of each other by American sociologists R. Linton and J. Mead in the 1930s. in terms of direct human interaction, " role play", during which, due to the fact that a person represents himself in the role of another, the assimilation of social norms takes place and the social is formed in the personality. Linton's definition of" social role "as a" dynamic aspect of status "was fixed in structural functionalism and was developed by T. Parsons, A Radcliffe-Brown, R. Merton. Mead's ideas were developed in interactionist sociology and psychology. With all the differences, both of these approaches are united by the idea of ​​the "social role" as a nodal point at which the individual and society meet, individual behavior turns into social, and the individual properties and inclinations of people are compared with the normative attitudes prevailing in society, depending on which people are selected for certain social roles. Of course, in reality, role expectations are never unambiguous. In addition, a person often finds himself in a situation of role conflict, when its different "social roles" are poorly matched stimulating. Modern society requires an individual to constantly change his model of behavior in order to fulfill specific roles. In this regard, such neo-Marxists and neo-Freudians as T. Adorno, K. Horney and others in their works made a paradoxical conclusion: the “normal” personality of modern society is a neurotic. Moreover, in modern society, role conflicts are widespread, arising in situations when an individual is required to simultaneously perform several roles with conflicting requirements. Irwin Hoffman in his studies of rituals of interaction, accepting and developing the basic theatrical metaphor, paid attention not so much to role-playing prescriptions and passive adherence to them, but to the very processes of active construction and maintenance of "appearance" in the course of communication, to zones of uncertainty and ambiguity in interaction , mistakes in the behavior of partners.

Definition of the concept

Social role- a dynamic characteristic of a social position, expressed in a set of behavioral models consistent with social expectations (role expectations) and set by special norms (social prescriptions) addressed from the corresponding group (or several groups) to the owner of a certain social position. Holders of a social position expect that the implementation of special prescriptions (norms) will result in regular and therefore predictable behavior, which can be guided by the behavior of other people. This enables regular and continuously planned social interaction (communicative interaction).

Types of social roles

The types of social roles are determined by the variety of social groups, activities and relationships in which the individual is included. Depending on the public relations distinguish social and interpersonal social roles.

In life, in interpersonal relationships, each person acts in some kind of dominant social role, a kind of social role as the most typical individual image familiar to others. It is extremely difficult to change the familiar image both for the person himself and for the perception of the people around him. The longer a group exists, the more familiar the dominant social roles of each member of the group become for those around them, and the more difficult it is to change the stereotype of behavior habitual for those around them.

Social role characteristics

The main characteristics of the social role are highlighted by the American sociologist Talcott Parsons. He offered the following four characteristics for any role:

• By scale... Some of the roles can be severely limited, while others are blurred.
• By way of receiving... Roles are divided into prescribed and conquered (also called achievable).
• By the degree of formalization... Activity can proceed both within strictly established frameworks and arbitrarily.
• By types of motivation... Personal profit can act as motivation, public good etc.

Role scope depends on the range of interpersonal relationships. The larger the range, the larger the scale. For example, the social roles of spouses are very large, since a wide range of relationships is established between husband and wife. On the one hand, these are interpersonal relationships based on a variety of feelings and emotions; on the other hand, relations are regulated by normative acts and, in a certain sense, are formal. Participants in this social interaction are interested in the most different sides life of each other, their relationship is practically unlimited. In other cases, when the relationship is strictly determined by social roles (for example, the relationship between the seller and the buyer), interaction can be carried out only on a specific occasion (in this case- purchases). Here the scale of the role is reduced to a narrow circle of specific issues and is small.

How to get a role depends on how inevitable this role is for a person. So, the roles of a young man, old man, man, woman are automatically determined by the age and gender of a person and do not require special efforts to acquire them. There can only be the problem of matching your role, which already exists as a given. Other roles are achieved or even won in the process of a person's life and as a result of purposeful special efforts. For example, the role of a student, researcher, professor, etc. These are practically all roles related to the profession and any achievements of a person.

Formalization as a descriptive characteristic of a social role is determined by the specifics of the interpersonal relations of the bearer of this role. Some roles presuppose the establishment of only formal relations between people with rigid regulation of the rules of behavior; others, on the contrary, are only informal; still others can combine both formal and informal relationships. It is obvious that the relationship of the traffic police representative with the violator of the rules road traffic should be determined by formal rules, and the relationship between loved ones - by feelings. Formal relationships are often accompanied by informal ones, in which emotionality is manifested, because a person, perceiving and evaluating another, shows sympathy or antipathy towards him. This happens when people interact for a while and the relationship becomes relatively stable.

Motivation depends on the needs and motives of the person. Different roles are driven by different motives. Parents, caring for the welfare of their child, are guided primarily by a sense of love and care; the leader works in the name of the cause, etc.

Role conflicts

Role conflicts arise when the duties of the role are not fulfilled due to subjective reasons (unwillingness, inability).

see also

Bibliography

• "Games People Play" by E. Bern

Notes (edit)

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

• Chachba, Alexander Konstantinovich
• Fantozzi (film)

See what "Social role" is in other dictionaries:

SOCIAL ROLE- a normatively approved, relatively stable pattern of behavior (including actions, thoughts and feelings) reproduced by an individual depending on social status or position in society. The concept of "role" was introduced independently of each other ... ... The latest philosophical dictionary

Social role- a stereotypical model of human behavior, objectively set by the social position of the individual in the system of social or personal relations. The role is defined by: name; the position of the individual; performed function in the system of social relations; and… … Business glossary

social role- socialinis vaidmuo statusas T sritis švietimas apibrėžtis Žmogaus elgesio būdų visuma, būdinga kuriai nors veiklos sričiai. Visuomeninis individo statusas (užimama vieta, pareigos ir atsakomybė) sukelia lūkestį, kad vaidmuo bus atliktas pagal ... ... Enciklopedinis edukologijos žodynas

social role- socialinis vaidmuo statusas T sritis Kūno kultūra ir sportas apibrėžtis Laikymasis normų, nustatančių, kaip turi elgtis tam tikros socialinės padėties žmogus. atitikmenys: angl. social role mode vok. soziale Rolle, f rus. role; social role ... Sporto terminų žodynas

social role- socialinis vaidmuo statusas T sritis Kūno kultūra ir sportas apibrėžtis Socialinio elgesio modelis, tam tikras elgesio pavyzdys, kurio tikimasi iš atitinkamą socialinę padėtį užimančio žmogaus. atitikmenys: angl. social role mode vok. soziale ... ... Sporto terminų žodynas

Social role- (see Social role) ... Human ecology

Social role- Normally approved by the society way of behavior expected from everyone holding a given social position. Social roles typical for a given society are assimilated by a person in the process of his socialization. S.r. directly related to ... ... Dictionary of Sociolinguistic Terms

A social role is the behavior expected of someone who has a certain social status... Social roles are a set of requirements imposed on an individual by society, as well as actions that must be performed by a person occupying this status in social system... A person can have many roles.

The status of children is usually subordinate to adults, and children are expected to be deferential to the latter. The status of soldiers is different from that of civilians; the role of soldiers is associated with risk taking and taking oaths, which is not the case for other populations. The status of women is different from that of men, and therefore they are expected to behave differently from men. Each individual can have big number statuses, and those around him have the right to expect him to perform roles in accordance with these statuses. In this sense, status and role are two sides of the same phenomenon: if status is a set of rights, privileges and obligations, then a role is an action within this set of rights and obligations. The social role consists of: role expectation (expectation) and the performance of this role (play).

Social roles can be institutionalized and conventional.

Institutionalized: the institution of marriage, family (social roles of mother, daughter, wife)

Conventional: accepted by agreement (a person may refuse to accept them)

Cultural norms are learned mainly through role learning. For example, a person who is mastering the role of a military man becomes familiar with the customs, moral standards and the laws specific to the status of the role. Only a few norms are accepted by all members of society, the adoption of most norms depends on the status of a particular person. What is acceptable for one status turns out to be unacceptable for another. Thus, socialization as a process of teaching generally accepted ways and methods of actions and interactions is the most important process of teaching role behavior, as a result of which the individual really becomes a part of society.

Types of social roles

The types of social roles are determined by the variety of social groups, activities and relationships in which the person is included. Depending on social relations, social and interpersonal social roles are distinguished.

Social roles are associated with social status, profession or type of activity (teacher, student, student, salesperson). These are standardized impersonal roles based on rights and responsibilities, regardless of who plays those roles. Social and demographic roles are distinguished: husband, wife, daughter, son, grandson ... Man and woman are also social roles, biologically predetermined and presupposing specific ways of behavior, enshrined in social norms and customs.

Interpersonal roles are associated with interpersonal relationships that are regulated on an emotional level (leader, offended, neglected, family idol, loved one, etc.).

In life, in interpersonal relationships, each person acts in some kind of dominant social role, a kind of social role as the most typical individual image familiar to others. It is extremely difficult to change the familiar image both for the person himself and for the perception of the people around him. The longer a group exists, the more familiar the dominant social roles of each member of the group become for those around them, and the more difficult it is to change the stereotype of behavior habitual for those around them.

The main characteristics of the social role

The main characteristics of the social role are highlighted by the American sociologist Tolcot Parsons. He proposed the following four characteristics of any role.

By scale. Some of the roles can be severely limited, while others are blurred.

By the method of receipt. Roles are divided into prescribed and conquered (also called achievable).

By the degree of formalization. Activity can proceed both within strictly established frameworks and arbitrarily.

By types of motivation. Personal profit, public benefit, etc. can act as motivation.

The scope of the role depends on the range of interpersonal relationships. The larger the range, the larger the scale. For example, the social roles of spouses are very large, since a wide range of relationships is established between husband and wife. On the one hand, these are interpersonal relationships based on a variety of feelings and emotions; on the other hand, relations are regulated by normative acts and, in a certain sense, are formal. Participants in this social interaction are interested in the most diverse aspects of each other's life, their relationship is practically unlimited. In other cases, when the relationship is strictly determined by social roles (for example, the relationship between the seller and the buyer), interaction can only take place on a specific occasion (in this case, a purchase). Here the scale of the role is reduced to a narrow circle of specific issues and is small.

The way of getting a role depends on how inevitable the given role is for a person. So, the roles of a young man, old man, man, woman are automatically determined by the age and gender of a person and do not require special efforts to acquire them. There can only be the problem of matching your role, which already exists as a given. Other roles are achieved or even won in the process of a person's life and as a result of purposeful special efforts. For example, the role of a student, researcher, professor, etc. These are almost all roles related to the profession and any achievements of a person.

Formalization as a descriptive characteristic of a social role is determined by the specifics of the interpersonal relations of the bearer of this role. Some roles presuppose the establishment of only formal relations between people with rigid regulation of the rules of behavior; others, on the contrary, are only informal; still others can combine both formal and informal relationships. Obviously, the relationship of a traffic police representative with a traffic offender should be determined by formal rules, and the relationship between loved ones - by feelings. Formal relationships are often accompanied by informal ones, in which emotionality is manifested, because a person, perceiving and evaluating another, shows sympathy or antipathy towards him. This happens when people interact for a while and the relationship becomes relatively stable.

Motivation depends on the needs and motives of the person. Different roles are driven by different motives. Parents, caring for the welfare of their child, are guided primarily by a sense of love and care; the leader works in the name of the cause, etc.

Some people confuse this concept with status. But these terms mean absolutely different manifestations... The concept of role was introduced by psychologist T. Parsons. K. Horney and I. Hoffmann used it in their works. They revealed the characteristics of the concept in more detail and conducted interesting research.

Social role - what is it?

By definition, a social role is behavior that society has found acceptable for people in a particular status. The social roles of a person change, depending on who he is at the moment. Society prescribes to a son or daughter to behave in the same way, rather than, say, an employee, mother or woman.

What is included in the concept of a social role:

1. Behavioral reactions of a person, his speech, actions, deeds.
2. The appearance of the individual. He, too, must comply with the norms of society. A man wearing a dress or skirt in a number of countries will be perceived negatively, just like the head of the office who comes to work in a dirty robe.
3. Motivation of the individual. The environment approves and reacts negatively not only to human behavior, but also to his inner aspirations. Motives are assessed based on the expectations of other people, which are built on a generally accepted understanding. A bride who marries because of material benefits will be perceived negatively in certain societies, love and sincere feelings are expected from her, and not commercialism.

The value of the social role in human life

Changing behaviors can be costly for the individual. Our social roles are determined by the expectations of other people, without justifying them, we risk being left outcasts. A person who decides to break these peculiar rules is unlikely to build relationships with the rest of society. They will condemn him, try to change him. In some cases, such an individual is perceived as mentally abnormal, although the doctor did not make such a diagnosis.

Signs of a social role

This concept is also associated with the profession and type of human activity. This also affects how the social role is manifested. We expect a different appearance, speech and deeds from a university student and a schoolchild. A woman, in our understanding, should not do what is included in the concept of a man's normal behavior. And a doctor has no right to act in a work environment in the same way as a salesman or an engineer would. The social role in the profession is manifested in the appearance, the use of terms. Violating these rules can be considered a bad specialist.

How are social status and social role related?

These concepts mean completely different things. But at the same time, social statuses and roles are very closely related. The first gives a person rights and obligations, the second explains what kind of behavior society expects from him. A man who becomes a father must support his child, and it is assumed that he will take time to communicate with his son. The expectations of the environment in this case can be very precise or blurry. It depends on the culture of the country where the person lives and is brought up.

Types of social roles

Psychologists divide the concept into 2 main categories - interpersonal and related to status. The first are associated with emotional relationships - the leader, the favorite in the team, the soul of the company. The social roles of the individual, depending on the official position, are more determined by the profession, type of activity and family - husband, child, salesman. This category is impersonal, the behavioral reactions in them are defined more clearly than in the first group.

Each social role is different:

1. By the degree of its formalization and scale. There are those where behavior is spelled out very clearly and those where expected actions and reactions by the environment are described vaguely.
2. By the method of receipt. Achievements are often associated with the profession, assigned with marital status, physiological characteristics. An example of the first subgroup is a lawyer, a leader, and the second is a woman, daughter, mother.

Individual role

Each person has several functions at the same time. Performing each of them, he is forced to behave in a certain way. The individual social role of an individual is associated with the interests and motives of a person. Each of us perceives ourselves somewhat differently from how other people see us, so our own assessment of behavior and the perception of it by other people can differ greatly. Let's say a teenager may consider himself quite mature, having the right to make a number of decisions, but for the parents he will still be a child.

Human interpersonal roles

This category is related to emotional sphere... Such a social role of a person is often assigned to him by a certain group of people. An individual can be considered a merry fellow, a favorite, a leader, a loser. Based on the perception of the individual by the group, the environment expects a certain standard response from the person. If it is assumed that a teenager is not only a son and a student, but also a joker and a bully, his actions will be evaluated through the prism of these unofficial statuses.

Social roles in the family are also interpersonal. It is not uncommon for one of the children to have the status of a pet. In this case, conflicts between children and parents become pronounced and occur more often. Psychologists advise avoiding the assignment of interpersonal statuses within the family, because in this situation its members are forced to rebuild their behavioral reactions, which leads to a change in personality, and not always for the better.

New social roles of youth

They appeared in connection with a change in the social order. The development of Internet communication has led to the fact that the social roles of young people have changed, become more varied. Development also contributed to this. Modern teenagers are more and more guided not by official statuses, but by those that are accepted in their society - punk, vaper. The appropriation of such perception can be group and individual.

Modern psychologists argue that behavior that is considered normal for the environment is inherent not in a healthy person, but in a neurotic. With this fact, they associate an ever-increasing number of people who are not forced to turn to specialists for help.

Social role functions

In sociology, functions indicate what consequences (for society, for its individual members) actions performed by this or that person have.

Personality behavior, priorities and attitudes, choices and emotions are determined by a number of factors:

• position in society;
• environmental conditions;
• the type of activity carried out;
• internal personality traits, the spiritual world.

Due to the fact that people need each other to satisfy their individual needs, certain relationships and interactions are established between them. At the same time, each person plays his own social role.

Throughout life, the individual masters many social roles, which are often forced to play at the same time. This allows for coexistence different people in one society as comfortable and possible.

The social role has a number of important functions:

1. Sets certain rules games: duties and norms, rights, plots of interaction between roles (boss-subordinate, boss-client, boss-tax inspector, etc.). Social adaptation implies mastering and studying the rules of the game - the laws of a given society.
2. Allows you to realize various aspects of your personality. Different roles (friend, parent, boss, public figure etc.) enable a person to show different qualities... The more roles an individual masters, the more multifaceted and rich his personality will become, the better he will understand others.
3. It makes it possible to manifest and develop the qualities potentially inherent in a person: softness, toughness, mercy, etc. Only in the process of fulfilling a social role can a person discover his capabilities.
4. Allows you to explore the resources of the personal capabilities of each person. Teaches you to use the best combination of qualities for adequate behavior in a given situation.

Relationship between social role and social status

Social status affects the behavior of the individual. Knowing the social status of a person, one can predict what qualities are characteristic of him, what actions can be expected from him. The expected behavior of an individual, associated with his status, is called a social role.

Definition 2

A social role is a pattern of behavior that is recognized as the most appropriate for an individual of a given status in society. The role indicates exactly how to act in a given situation.

Any individual is a reflection of the totality of social relations of his historical period.

The social role and social status in communication perform the following functions:

• regulatory function - helps to quickly select the required interaction scenario without spending large resources;
• adaptation function - allows you to quickly find a suitable model of behavior when changing social status;
• cognitive function - the ability to find out your personal potential, to carry out the processes of self-knowledge;
• self-realization function - manifestation best qualities person, achieving the desired goals.

The process of teaching social roles allows you to assimilate cultural norms. Each status of this role is characterized by its own norms and laws, customs. Acceptance of most of the norms depends on the status of the individual. Some norms are accepted by all members of society. The norms and rules that are acceptable for one status may not be acceptable for another. Socialization teaches role behavior, allows an individual to become a part of society.

Remark 1

Of the many social roles and statuses offered to an individual by society, he can choose those that will most fully help to apply his abilities and realize plans. Acceptance of a certain social role is greatly influenced by biological and personal characteristics, social conditions. Any social role only outlines the scheme of human behavior; the individual chooses the ways of performing the role himself.

Every person living in a society is included in many different social groups (family, study group, friendly company, etc.). In each of these groups, he occupies a certain position, has a certain status, and certain requirements are imposed on him. Thus, one and the same person should behave in one situation like a father, in another - like a friend, in a third - like a boss, i.e. perform in different roles. A social role is a way of people behaving in accordance with accepted norms, depending on their status or position in society, in the system of interpersonal relations. Mastering social roles is part of the process of socialization of the individual, an indispensable condition for a person's "growing" into a society of his own kind. Socialization is the process and result of assimilation and active reproduction of social experience by an individual, carried out in communication and activity. Examples of social roles are also gender roles (male or female behavior), professional roles... Observing social roles, a person learns social standards of behavior, learns to evaluate himself from the outside and exercise self-control. However, since in real life a person is involved in many activities and relationships, is forced to play different roles, the requirements for which may be contradictory, there is a need for some mechanism that would allow a person to preserve the integrity of his "I" in conditions of multiple connections with the world (i.e. to remain himself , performing various roles). The personality (or rather, the formed substructure of direction) is precisely that mechanism, a functional organ that allows you to integrate your "I" and your own life activity, to carry out a moral assessment of your actions, to find your place not only in a separate social group, but also in life in general, to develop the meaning of their existence, to abandon one in favor of the other. Thus, developed personality can use role behavior as a tool for adapting to certain social situations, at the same time not merging, not identifying with the role. The main components of the social role make up a hierarchical system in which three levels can be distinguished. The first is peripheral attributes, i.e. such, the presence or absence of which does not affect either the perception of the role by the environment or its effectiveness (for example, the civic state of a poet or a doctor). The second level assumes such attributes of the role that affect both perception and its effectiveness (for example, long hair hippies or poor health in an athlete). At the top of the three-level gradation are the attributes of the role, which are decisive for the formation of a person's identity. The role-based concept of personality originated in the American social psychology in the 30s of the XX century. (C. Cooley, J. Mead) and became widespread in various sociological trends, primarily in structural and functional analysis. T. Parsons and his followers consider personality as a function of the multitude of social roles that are inherent in any individual in a particular society. Charles Cooley believed that personality is formed on the basis of many interactions of people with the outside world. In the process of these interactions, people create their "mirror self", which consists of three elements: 1. How, in our opinion, others perceive us ("I am sure that people pay attention to my new hairstyle"); 2. how we think they react to 3. what they see ("I'm sure they like my new hairstyle"); 4. how we respond to the perceived reaction of others ("Apparently, I will always comb my hair like this"). This theory places great importance on our interpretation of the thoughts and feelings of others. American psychologist George Herbert Mead went further in his analysis of the development of our "I". Like Cooley, he believed that "I" is a social product, formed on the basis of relationships with other people. In the beginning, as young children, we are unable to explain to ourselves the motives behind the behavior of others. Having learned to comprehend their behavior, children thereby take the first step in life. Having learned to think about themselves, they can think about others; the child begins to acquire a sense of his "I". According to Mead, the process of personality formation includes three different stages. The first is imitation. At this stage, children copy the behavior of adults without understanding it. Then follows the play stage, when children understand behavior as the performance of certain roles: doctor, firefighter, race car driver, etc .; in the course of the game, they reproduce these roles.