Ticket 8. The concept of social status. social role
The social status of a person- this is the social position that he occupies in the structure of society, the place that the individual occupies among other individuals.
Each person simultaneously has several social statuses in different social groups.
Types of social status:
natural status. Invariable, as a rule, the status received at birth: gender, race, nationality, belonging to a class or estate.
acquired status. The position in society achieved by the person himself. What a person achieves in the course of his life with the help of knowledge, skills and abilities: profession, position, title.
prescribed status. The status that a person acquires regardless of his desire (age, status in the family), it can change over the course of life.
The totality of all the statuses of a person that he possesses at the moment is called status set.
Natural status of the individual- essential and relatively stable characteristics of a person: a man, a woman, a child, a young man, an old man, etc.
Professional and official status is a social indicator that captures the social, economic and industrial position of a person in society. (engineer, chief technologist, shop manager, personnel manager, etc.)
social role is a set of actions that must be performed by a person occupying this status in social system.
Moreover, each status involves the performance of not one, but several roles. The set of roles, the fulfillment of which is prescribed by one status, is called role set.
The systematization of social roles was first developed by Parsons, who identified five grounds for classifying a particular role:
1. Emotionality. Some roles (for example, nurse, doctor, or police officer) require emotional restraint in situations that are usually accompanied by a violent manifestation of feelings (we are talking about illness, suffering, death).
2. Receipt method. How to get a role:
prescribed (roles of a man and a woman, a young man, an old man, a child, etc.);
achieved (the role of a schoolchild, student, worker, employee, husband or wife, father or mother, etc.).
3. Scale. By the scale of the role (that is, by the range of possible actions):
wide (the roles of husband and wife imply a huge number of actions and diverse behavior);
narrow (the roles of the seller and the buyer: gave money, received goods and change, said “thank you”).
4. Formalization. By the level of formalization (formality):
formal (based on legal or administrative norms: police officer, civil servant, official);
informal (arising spontaneously: the role of a friend, "the soul of the company", a merry fellow).
5. Motivation. By motivation (according to the needs and interests of the individual):
economic (the role of the entrepreneur);
political (mayor, minister);
personal (husband, wife, friend);
spiritual (mentor, educator);
religious (preacher);
There are usually four elements in the normal structure of a social role:
1) description of the type of behavior corresponding to this role;
2) instructions (requirements) associated with this behavior;
3) assessment of the performance of the prescribed role;
4) sanctions - the social consequences of a particular action within the framework of the requirements of the social system. Social sanctions by their nature can be moral, implemented directly by the social group through its behavior (contempt), or legal, political, environmental.
One and the same person performs many roles that may contradict each other, which leads to a role conflict.
Socio-role conflict - it is a contradiction either between the normative structures of social roles or between the structural elements of a social role.
In psychology and sociology, there are many theories about personality and its attributes. The concepts of "social role" and "personal status" are used to explain human behavior in society, as they affect many aspects of the individual's functioning. His self-esteem, self-consciousness, communication, orientation largely depend on them.
The concept of personality
From the point of view of sociology, a personality is an individual who, during socialization, acquires a specific set of socially significant qualities, properties, knowledge, skills and abilities. As a result of inclusion in social relations and connections, he becomes a responsible subject of volitional activity. According to psychologists, personality is an integral set of various features of biogenic and sociogenic origin, which is formed in vivo and affects human behavior and activities. In both cases, the social role and status of the individual play an important role in the formation and self-realization of the individual.
Four groups of phenomena become the basis for the formation: the biological characteristics of the human body and its innate experience, the results of learning, the experience of social life and interaction with other people, the results of self-esteem, reflection and self-awareness. In the structure of personality, it is possible to distinguish groups of features that affect all human behavior.
These include such psychological traits as abilities, motivation, volitional qualities, social attitudes and stereotypes, character, orientation, emotions, temperament. Personality also includes a set social characteristics, such as social statuses and roles, a system of dispositions and various role expectations, a complex of knowledge, values and beliefs, interests and worldview. crystallization process personality traits often occurs under the influence of the external and internal environment and proceeds uniquely, creating a unique integrity.
The concept of social status
At the end of the 19th century, the English scientist Henry Man introduced a new concept into circulation. Since then, social status has been much analyzed and researched. Today, it is understood as a certain place of a person in a social system or group. It is determined by a number of features: financial and family status, possession of power, functions performed, education, specific skills, nationality, special psychological characteristics and many others. Since an individual is simultaneously a member of different groups, his status in them may be different.
It not only denotes the position of a person in society, but also gives him certain rights and obligations. Usually, the higher it is, the greater the set of rights and obligations. Often in everyday consciousness the concepts of social statuses and roles are equated with the concept of prestige. He, of course, accompanies status, but is not always his required attribute. Status is a mobile category. A person can change it with the acquisition of new qualities or roles. Only in traditional social systems could it be inherited, enshrined in law or in accordance with religious canons. Today, a person in his development can reach the desired statuses or lose them under certain circumstances.
Status hierarchy
A set of different positions of one person in society is commonly called a status set. In this structure, there is usually a dominant, main status, and a set of additional ones. The first determines the main position of the individual in this social system. For example, a child or an elderly person will have a basic status according to age. At the same time, in some patriarchal societies, a person's gender will be the main feature for determining his position in the system.
Since there is a division into main and non-main statuses, the researchers talk about the existence of a hierarchy of social positions of the individual. Social roles and status are the most important factor influencing the overall satisfaction of an individual with his life. Evaluation takes place in two directions. There are stable interactions of statuses at the horizontal and vertical levels.
The first factor is a system of interaction between people who are at the same level of the social hierarchy. Vertical, respectively, communication of people at different levels. The distribution of people along the steps of the social ladder is a natural phenomenon for society. The hierarchy supports the role expectations of the individual, causing an understanding of the distribution of duties and rights, allows a person to be satisfied with his position or makes him strive for a change in status. This provides the dynamics of the individual.
Personal and social status
Traditionally, according to the size of the community in which a person functions, it is customary to distinguish between personal and proper social statuses. They function at various levels. Thus, social status is a sphere of professional and social relations. Here the professional position, education, political position, social activity are of the utmost importance. They are the signs by which a person is placed in the social hierarchy.
Social role and status also function in small groups. In this case, the researchers talk about personal status. In a family, a small circle of interests, a circle of friends, a small working group a person occupies a certain position. But to establish a hierarchy, it is not professional, but personal, psychological signs. Leadership qualities, knowledge, skills, sociability, sincerity and other character traits allow a person to become a leader or an outsider, to obtain a certain personal status. There is a significant difference between these two types of positions in a social group. They allow a person to be realized in various areas. So, a petty clerk, who occupies a low position in the work team, can play a significant role, for example, in the society of numismatists, thanks to his knowledge.
Types of social statuses
Since the concept of status covers an extremely wide area of social activity of the individual, that is, there are many varieties of them. Let's highlight the main classifications. Depending on the dominance of different signs, the following statuses are distinguished:
- Natural, or socio-demographic. These statuses are established according to characteristics such as age, kinship, gender, race and health status. An example would be the situation of a child, a parent, a man or a woman, a Caucasian, a disabled person. The social role and status of a person in communication are reflected in this case by vesting the individual with certain rights and obligations.
- proper social status. It can only take shape in society. Usually, economic statuses are distinguished, depending on the position held, the availability of property; political, in accordance with the views and social activity, also a sign of the allocation of status is the presence or absence of power; sociocultural, which include education, attitude to religion, art, science. In addition, there are legal, professional, territorial statuses.
According to another classification, prescribed, achieved and mixed statuses are distinguished in accordance with the method of obtaining it. Prescribed statuses are those that are assigned upon birth. A person receives them involuntarily, without doing anything for this.
Achieved, on the contrary, are acquired as a result of efforts, often significant. These include professional, economic, cultural positions in society. Mixed - those that combine the two previous types. An example of such statuses can be various dynasties, where, by birthright, a child receives not only a position in society, but a predisposition to achievements in a certain field of activity. There are also formal and informal statuses. The first are fixed officially, in any documents. For example, when taking office. The latter are assigned by the group behind the scenes. A prime example is a leader in a small group.
The concept of social role
In psychology and sociology, the term "social role" is used, which refers to the expected behavior dictated by social position and other members of the group. Social role and status are closely related. The status imposes the duties of the right on the person, and they, in turn, dictate a certain type of behavior to the person. Any person, due to his sociality, must constantly change behavior patterns, therefore, each individual has a whole arsenal of roles that he plays in different situations.
Social role determines social status. Its structure includes role expectation, or expectation, performance, or play. A person finds himself in a typical situation where participants expect a certain model of behavior from him. So he starts putting it into practice. He does not need to think about how to behave. The model dictates his actions. Each person has his own role set, i.e. a set of roles on different cases life according to their status.
Psychological characteristics of social roles
It is believed that the role in society determines social status. However, the sequence is reversed. Receiving the next status, a person develops options for behavior. Each role has two psychological components. Firstly, it is a symbolic-informational part, which is the scenario of a typical performance. It is often presented in the form of instructions, memos, principles. Each individual has unique traits that make the role unique and subjective. Secondly, it is the imperative-control component, which is the mechanism for launching the game. The imperative component is also associated with values and norms. He dictates how to act, based on cultural stereotypes and moral norms of society.
The social role has three psychological parameters by which it can be assessed and classified:
- Emotionality. different degree manifestations of sensuality is characteristic of each role. So, the leader must be restrained, and the mother can be emotional.
- Formalization. Roles can be formal or informal. The first are described by a specific scenario, fixed in some form. For example, the role of a teacher is partially described in job description, as well as fixed in the stereotypes and beliefs of society. The latter arise in specific situations and are not fixed anywhere, except for the psyche of the performer. For example, the role of ringleader in the company.
- Motivation. Roles are always closely related to the satisfaction of various needs, each of them has one or more initial needs.
Types of social roles
Society is infinitely diverse, so there are many types of roles. The social status and social role of a person are interrelated. Therefore, the former often duplicate the latter and vice versa. So, they distinguish natural roles (mother, child) and achieved ones (leader, leader), formal and informal. Social role and status, examples of which everyone can find in their personality structure, have a certain sphere of influence. Among them, there are status roles that are directly related to a certain position in society and interpersonal roles that follow from the situation, for example, the role of a loved one, offended, etc.
Functions of social roles
Society constantly needs mechanisms to regulate the behavior of its members. The social role and status in communication perform primarily a regulatory function. They help to quickly find an interaction scenario without spending large resources. Also, social roles perform an adaptive function. When a person's status changes, or he finds himself in a certain situation, he needs to quickly find a suitable behavior model. Thus, the social role and status of the nation allow it to adapt to a new cultural context.
Another function is self-realization. The performance of roles allows a person to show his various qualities and achieve the desired goals. The cognitive function lies in the possibilities of self-knowledge. A person, trying on various roles, learns his potential, finds new opportunities.
Social role and status: ways of interaction
In the structure of personality, roles and statuses are closely intertwined. They allow a person to solve various social problems, achieve goals and satisfy requirements. The social role and status of the individual in the group are important for motivating her to work. Wishing to raise the status, the person begins to study, work, be improved.
Groups are a dynamic entity and there is always room for redistribution of statuses. A person using the assortment of his roles can change his status. And vice versa: changing it will lead to a change in the role set. The social role and status of the individual in the group can be briefly characterized as driving force personality on the way to self-realization and achievement of goals.
Characterize various relationships and determine the behavior of people certain social roles and statuses.
A social role is a way of people's behavior corresponding to accepted norms, depending on their status or position in society, in the system of interpersonal relations. Every human behavior is motivated by something and someone, has its own direction, is accompanied by some actions (physical, mental, verbal, etc.).
The development of social roles is part of the process of socialization of the individual, an indispensable condition for the “growing” of a person into a society of his own kind. Socialization is the process and result of the assimilation and active reproduction of social experience by an individual, carried out in communication and activity. By assimilating social roles, a person assimilates social standards of behavior, learns to evaluate himself from the outside and exercise self-control. In this way, developed personality can use role-playing behavior as a tool for adapting to certain social situations, at the same time not merging, not identifying with the role.
Social roles are subdivided into institutionalized ones, i.e. institution of marriage, family; social. roles of mother, daughter; wife and conventional: accepted by agreement, although a person may not accept them.
Describing the role sociotypical behavior of the individual, sociologists and social psychologists characterize the individual precisely as a representative of a particular group, profession, nation, class, one or another social whole. Depending on how the group acts for the individual, how much the individual is involved in certain relations with the group, what the goals and objectives of the joint activity of the group mean for it, various personality traits are manifested.
Social roles are diverse, and the larger their set, the more complex the society. However, the roles are not a simple heap, devoid of inner harmony. They are organized, interconnected by countless threads. There are two main levels of organization, ordering of roles: institutions and communities. Thanks to these social formations the roles are interconnected, their reproduction is ensured, guarantees of their stability are created, specific norms regulating role interactions are formed, sanctions are developed, and complex systems of social control arise.
The social role "concentrates attention on the universal, universal requirements for the behavior of a person who is in a certain social position." Moreover, these two concepts describe the same phenomenon from different points of view. Status describes the position of a person in the social structure, and the role determines its dynamic aspect. Role is a dynamic aspect of status. Education, as a folded system, offers a set of ready-made statuses and roles that can fluctuate within a certain scale of acceptable invariants.
With regard to social stratification, education plays a dual role. Social stratification describes the social inequality of people, fixes the structural inequality of people, "the conditions under which social groups have unequal access to such social benefits as money, power, prestige, education, information, professional career, self-realization, etc." Thus, education as a synonym for the word "diploma" is one of the criteria for building the social stratification of a particular society. According to the degree of accessibility of individual members of society to education, we can talk about the qualitative characteristics of the inequality that prevails in a particular society. On the other hand, education is a separate stratum of society. The social stratum has a certain qualitative homogeneity. It is a collection of people who occupy a close position in the hierarchy and lead a similar lifestyle. Belonging to a stratum has two components - objective (the presence of objective indicators characteristic of a given social stratum) and subjective (identification with a certain stratum).
Social status as an element of the social organization of society is complexly coordinated and ranked relative to the dominant system of values, which gives them a special significance in public opinion. Social mobility characterizes “a change in social status, i.e. movement of an individual (or social group) between different positions in the system of social stratification. A number of researchers consider educational institutions to be the main means of stimulating and reinforcing social inequality. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that in the current conditions of the development of society (acceleration of scientific progress, intensification of the rate of knowledge renewal, increase in the volume of incoming information), a quality education is required.
These categories allow you to describe the movement of an individual vertically. But education appears at all levels: global, national, regional. Such a consideration makes it possible to reveal the presence of additional functions performed by education.
However, this model of education as a social institution turns out to be rather schematic, since it does not reflect the conditions in which a particular institution is located. In addition, it is built synchronously and does not allow revealing the dynamics of the development of education in the time perspective.
The modern social, economic, political, cultural context in which education is located is characterized in terms of two processes: regionalization and globalization. It is customary to consider them as multidirectional and leading to different results. However, this opinion can also be accused of schematism.
behavior expected from someone who has a certain social status. It is limited by the totality of rights and obligations corresponding to this status.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
ROLE SOCIAL
a set of requirements imposed by the society on persons occupying certain social. positions. These requirements (prescriptions, wishes and expectations of appropriate behavior) are embodied in specific social. norms. The system of social sanctions of a positive and negative nature is aimed at ensuring the proper execution of requirements related to R.s. Arising in connection with a specific social. position given in society. structure, R.s. at the same time - a specific (normatively approved) way of behavior, obligatory for individuals performing the corresponding R.s. R.s performed by an individual become a decisive characteristic of his personality, without losing, however, their social-derived and, in this sense, objectively inevitable character. In the aggregate, R.s performed by people personify the dominant societies. relations. Social in their genesis, the requirements of the role become a structural element of the human personality in the course of the socialization of individuals and as a result of the internalization (deep internal assimilation) of the norms that characterize R.s. To internalize a role means to give it its own, individual (personal) definition, to evaluate and develop a certain attitude towards the social. position that forms the corresponding R.s. In the course of the internalization of the role, socially developed norms are evaluated through the prism of attitudes, beliefs, and principles shared by the individual. Society imposes R.s on an individual, but its acceptance, rejection, or performance always leaves an imprint on a person's real behavior. Depending on the nature of the requirements contained in the normative structure of R.s, the latter are divided into at least three categories: norms of proper (obligatory), desirable and possible behavior. Compliance with the mandatory regulatory requirements of R.s is ensured by the most serious negative sanctions, most often embodied in laws or other legal regulations. character. The norms of roles, embodying the desired (from the point of view of about-va) behavior, are most often provided with negative sanctions of an extra-legal nature (non-compliance with the charter of a public organization entails exclusion from it, etc.). In contrast, role norms, which formulate possible behavior, are provided primarily with positive sanctions (voluntary fulfillment of the duties of those who need help entails an increase in prestige, approval, etc.). In the normative structure of the role, four constructive elements can be distinguished - description (of the type of behavior that is required from a person in this role); prescription (requirement in connection with such behavior); assessment (cases of fulfillment or non-fulfillment of the requirements of the role); sanction (favorable or unfavorable social consequences of actions within the framework of the requirements of R.c). See also: Role theory of personality, Theory of roles. Lit.: Yakovlev A.M. Sociology of economic crime. M., 1988; Solovyov E.Yu. Personality and law//The past interprets us. Essays on the history of philosophy and culture. M, 1991. S, 403-431; Smelzer N. Sociology M., 1994. A.M. Yakovlev.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
It is believed that the concept of a social role in sociology was first introduced by R. Linton, although F. Nietzsche already uses this word in a sociological sense: “Care for maintaining existence imposes on most male Europeans a strictly defined role, as they say, a career.” From the point of view of sociology, any organization of a society or group presupposes the presence of a set of differing roles. In particular, P. Berger believes that "society is a network of social roles."
Social role - it is a system of expected behavior, which is determined by normative duties and the rights corresponding to these duties.
For example, an educational institution as a type of social organization requires the presence of a director, teachers and students. Weight is social roles associated with a specific set of duties and rights. So, the teacher is obliged to follow the director's orders, not to be late for his lessons, to conscientiously prepare for them, to orient students towards socially approved behavior, to be quite demanding and fair, he is forbidden to resort to physical punishment of students, etc. At the same time, he has the right to certain signs of respect associated with his role as a teacher: students must stand up when he appears, call him by his first name and patronymic, unquestioningly follow his orders related to educational process, observe silence in the class when he speaks, etc. Nevertheless, the fulfillment of a social role allows some freedom for the manifestation individual qualities: the teacher can be harsh and soft, keep a strict distance in relation to the students and behave with them like an older comrade. A student can be diligent or negligent, obedient or daring. All these are acceptable individual shades of social roles.
Regulatory requirements related to social role, as a rule, are more or less known to the participants in the role interaction, therefore they give rise to certain role expectations: all participants expect behavior from each other that fits into the context of these social roles. Thereby social behavior people becomes largely predictable.
However, role requirements allow some freedom and the behavior of a group member is not determined mechanically by the role performed by him. Thus, cases are known from literature and life when, at a critical moment, a person takes on the role of leader and saves the situation from whom, in his usual role in the group, no one expected this. E. Hoffman argues that an individual who performs a social role is aware of the existence of a distance between himself and his role. emphasized the variability of normative requirements associated with a social role. R. Merton noted their "dual character". For example, a research scientist is required to adhere to the provisions and methods established by science and at the same time to create and justify new ideas, sometimes to the detriment of the accepted ones; a good surgeon is not only one who does well normal operations, but also the one who can take a risky unconventional decision, saving the patient's life. Thus, a certain amount of initiative is an integral part of the fulfillment of a social role.
An individual always simultaneously performs not one social role, but several, sometimes even many. The position of a person who performs only one role is always pathological and suggests that he lives in conditions of complete isolation from society (is a patient in a psychiatric clinic or a prisoner in prison). Even in a family, a person plays not one, but several roles - he is a son, and a brother, and a husband, and a father. In addition, he performs a number of other roles in others: he is the boss for his subordinates, and the subordinate for his boss, and the doctor for his patients, and the teacher for his students in medical institute, and a friend of his friend, and a neighbor of the inhabitants of his house, and a member of some political party, etc.
Role normative requirements are an element of the system of social norms adopted by a given society. Nevertheless, they are specific and valid only in relation to those who occupy a certain social position. Many role requirements are absurd outside of a specific role situation. For example, a woman who comes to see a doctor undresses at his request, fulfilling her role as a patient. But if a passer-by on the street turns to her with a similar demand, she will rush to run or call for help.
The relationship between special role norms and universally valid norms is very complex. Many role prescriptions are not related to them at all, and some role norms are of an exceptional nature, placing people who perform them in special position when the general rules do not apply to them. For example, a doctor is required to keep medical secrecy, and a priest - the secret of confession, therefore, according to the law, they are not required to disclose this information when testifying in court. The discrepancy between general and role norms can be so great that the bearer of the role is almost exposed to public contempt, although his position is necessary and recognized by society (executioner, secret police agent).
Ideas about social role
It is believed that the concept of “social role” was introduced into sociology in the first half of the 19th century. American scientist R. Linton. At German philosopher F. Nietzsche, this word appears quite in the sociological sense: “Care for the maintenance of existence imposes on the majority of male Europeans a strictly defined role, as they say, a career.”
From the point of view of sociology, any organization of a society or group presupposes the presence of a set of roles that differ from each other. In particular, the American sociologist P. Berger believes that modern society is a "network of social roles."
social role is a system of expected behavior, which is determined by normative duties and the rights corresponding to these duties. For example, an educational institution as a type of social organization requires the presence of a director, teachers and students. These social roles carry a specific set of duties and rights. The teacher is obliged to follow the director's orders, not to be late for his lessons, to prepare for them conscientiously, to orient students towards socially approved behavior, to be demanding and fair, he is forbidden to resort to physical punishment of students, etc. At the same time, he has the right to certain signs of respect associated with his role as a teacher: students must stand up when he appears, call him by his first name and patronymic, follow his orders related to the educational process, keep silence in the classroom when he speaks, etc. .P.
Nevertheless, the fulfillment of a social role allows some freedom for the manifestation of individual qualities: the teacher can be harsh or soft, keep a distance from students or behave with them like an older comrade. A student can be diligent or negligent, obedient or daring. All these are acceptable individual shades of social roles. Consequently, the behavior of an individual in a group is not determined mechanically by the social role he performs. Thus, cases are known from literature and life when, at critical moments, people took on the role of leader and saved the situation from whom no one expected this due to their usual roles in the group.
The American sociologist R. Merton was the first to draw attention to the fact that everyone has not one social role, but several, and this provision became the basis role theory.
Thus, individuals as carriers of certain social statuses, entering into public relations, always perform several social roles at the same time, due to one or another social status. The position of a person who performs only one role is always pathological and suggests that he lives in isolation from society. Usually a person in society performs several roles. For example, the social status of a man allows him to have many social roles: in the family, he can be husband and father or son and brother; at work - a boss or a subordinate, and at the same time a boss for some and a subordinate for others; in professional activity he can be a doctor and at the same time a patient of another doctor; a member of a political party and a neighbor of a member of another political party, etc.
In modern sociology, the set of roles corresponding to a certain social status is called role set. For example, the status of a teacher of a particular educational institution has its own distinctive set of roles, connecting it with the holders of relative statuses - other teachers, students, director, laboratory assistants, officials of the Ministry of Education, members of professional associations, i.e. with those who are somehow related to the professional activities of the teacher. In this regard, in sociology, the concepts of "role set" and "multiple roles" are distinguished. The latter concept refers to various social status(a set of statuses) that an individual has. The concept of "role set" denotes only those roles that act as dynamic aspects of only a given social status.
