It is believed that the concept of a social role in sociology was first introduced by R. Linton, although F. Nietzsche already appears in the sociological sense: “Caring for the maintenance of existence imposes a strictly definite role on the majority of male Europeans, as they say, career”. From the point of view of sociology, any organization of a society or group implies a combination of different 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 regulatory obligations and the rights corresponding to these obligations.
For example, an educational institution as a type of social organization implies 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 comply with the orders of the director, not to be late for his lessons, to conscientiously prepare for them, to orient students towards socially approved behavior, to be sufficiently 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 related to his role as a teacher: students should get up when he appears, call him by name and patronymic, implicitly obey his instructions related to the educational process, observe silence in the classroom when he speaks, and etc. Nevertheless, the fulfillment of a social role allows some freedom for the manifestation of individual qualities: a teacher can be severe and soft, maintain a tight distance in relation to students and behave with them as a senior comrade. The student may be diligent or negligent, obedient or impudent. All of these are permissible individual shades of social roles.
Regulatory requirements related to the social role, as a rule, are more or less known to the participants of role interaction, therefore they generate certain role expectations: all participants expect from each other behavior that fits into the context of these social roles. Thanks to this, the social behavior of people becomes largely predictable.
However, role requirements allow some freedom and the behavior of a group member is not determined by the mechanically performed role. So, from literature and life there are cases when, at a critical moment, he assumes the role of a leader and a person rescues the situation, from whom, by 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 regulatory requirements related to the social role. R. Merton noted their "dual nature." For example, a scientist-researcher is required to adhere to the principles and methods established by science and at the same time create and justify new ideas at times to the detriment of accepted ones; a good surgeon is not only one who performs routine operations well, but also one who can make a risky unconventional decision, saving the patient's life. Thus, a certain share of the initiative is an integral part of fulfilling a social role.
An individual always performs simultaneously not one social role, but several, sometimes even many. The position of a person performing only one role is always pathological and suggests that he lives in conditions of complete isolation from society (he 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 and his son, and brother, and husband, and father. In addition, he performs a number of 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 at the medical institute, and each other, and the neighbor of the inhabitants of his house, and a member of some political party, etc.
Role regulatory requirements are an element of the system of social norms adopted by this society. Nevertheless, they are specific and valid only in relation to those who occupy a certain social position. Many role requirements are absurd beyond a specific role situation. For example, a woman who came to see a doctor undresses at his request, fulfilling her role as a patient. But if a passerby on the street calls for a similar request, she will rush to run or call for help.
The ratio of special role norms to generally valid norms is very complex. Many role prescriptions are not associated with them at all, and some role norms are of an exceptional nature, putting people performing them in a special position when general norms do not apply to them. For example, a doctor is obliged to keep medical confidentiality, and a priest is obliged to confess confession, therefore, according to the law, they are not obliged to disclose this information by giving evidence 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 agent of the police).
Representations of the social role
It is believed that the concept of "social role" in sociology introduced in the first half of the XIX century. American scientist R. Linton. For the German philosopher F. Nietzsche, this word appears in a completely sociological sense: “Caring for the maintenance of existence imposes a strictly defined role on the majority of male Europeans, as they say, career”.
From the point of view of sociology, any organization of a society or group assumes the existence 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 It is a system of expected behavior, which is determined by regulatory obligations and the rights corresponding to these obligations. For example, an educational institution as a type of social organization implies the presence of a director, teachers and students. These social roles carry a specific set of responsibilities and rights. The teacher is obliged to follow the orders of the director, not to be late for his lessons, to prepare in good faith for them, to orient students towards socially approved behavior, to be demanding and fair, he is forbidden to resort to physical punishment of students, etc. Moreover, he has the right to certain signs of respect related to his role as a teacher: students should get up when he appears, call him by name and patronymic, follow his instructions related to the educational process, observe silence in the classroom when he speaks, and so on. .P.
Nevertheless, the fulfillment of a social role allows some freedom for the manifestation of individual qualities: a teacher can be harsh or soft, keep a distance with students or behave like a senior comrade with them. The student may be diligent or negligent, obedient or impudent. All of these are permissible individual shades of social roles. Consequently, the behavior of an individual in a group is not determined by the social role mechanically performed by him. So, from literature and life, there are cases when, at critical moments, they assumed the role of leader and saved the situation from people who, by their usual roles in the group, did not expect this.
The American sociologist R. Merton was the first to draw attention to the fact that each has not one social role, but several, and this position became the basis role set theories.
Thus, individuals, as carriers of certain social statuses, entering into social relations, always carry out simultaneously several social roles 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 plays several roles. For example, a man’s social status allows him to have many social roles: in a family, he can be a husband and father or son and brother; at work - as a boss or subordinates, and at the same time as a boss for some and subordinates for others; in professional activities, 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 totality of roles corresponding to a particular social status is called role set. For example, the status of a teacher in a particular educational institution has its own distinctive set of roles connecting it with the holders of correlative 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 distinguish between the concepts of "role set" and "multiplicity of roles." The latter concept refers to the various social statuses (set of statuses) that an individual possesses. The term “role set" refers only to those roles that are dynamic aspects of only a given social status.
"The social role is the social function of the individual, the way people behave according to accepted standards, depending on their status or position in society, in the system of interpersonal relations."
A social role is a method, algorithm, pattern of activity and behavior of a person that is normatively approved and prescribed by society or a social group, voluntarily or forcibly accepted by it in the implementation of certain social functions. The social role is a model of a person’s behavior, determined by his status.
There is a point of view that a social role is a set of social norms that a society or group encourages or forces an individual to master. Usually, the social role is defined as a dynamic aspect of status, as a list of real functions assigned by a group to its member as a set of expected behavioral stereo types associated with the performance of a specific work.
The American social psychologist T. Shibutani introduces the concept of a conventional role. He tries to distinguish between social and conventional roles, but this cannot be done quite strictly and obviously.
According to T. Shibutani, the conventional role is the idea of \u200b\u200bthe prescribed pattern of behavior that is expected and required from the subject in this situation, if the position taken by him in the joint action is known. It seems that its conventional role with very slight errors can be considered synonymous with the role of the social. It is very important that, in the understanding of T. Shibutani, roles are defined as a template, an algorithm of mutual rights and obligations, and not just as a behavioral standard. A duty, he notes, is what the subject feels compelled to do based on the role that he plays, while other people expect and demand that he act in a certain way. However, it is absolutely impossible to tear the template from behavior: it is the behavior that ultimately acts as a measure of whether the conventional role is adequately or inadequately realized.
Another American psychologist, T. Parsons, defines the role as a structurally organized, normatively regulated participation of a person in a specific process of social interaction with certain specific role partners. He believed that any role can be described by the following five basic characteristics: emotionality; different roles require varying degrees of emotionality; method of obtaining: some roles are prescribed, others are won; structured: some roles are formed and strictly limited, others are blurred; formalization: some of the roles are implemented in strictly established templates, algorithms specified from the outside or by the subject himself, the other is realized spontaneously, creatively; motivation: a system of personal needs that are satisfied by the very fact of fulfilling roles.
Social roles are distinguishable in their significance. The role is objectively determined by the social position, regardless of the individual characteristics of the person occupying this position. The fulfillment of a social role must correspond to accepted social norms and the expectations (especization) of others.
There is practically no complete match between role expectation and role execution. The quality of the performance of a role depends on many conditions; it is especially important that the role matches the interests and needs of the individual. An individual who does not live up to expectations enters into conflict with society and incurs social and group sanctions.
Since each person plays several roles, role conflict is possible: parents and peers, for example, expect different behaviors from a teenager, and he, playing the roles of a son and a friend, cannot simultaneously meet their expectations. Role conflict is the subject's experience of the ambiguity or inconsistency of role requirements from the various social communities of which he is a member.
The following conflicts are possible:
Intrapersonal: caused by conflicting requirements for the behavior of the individual in different social roles, and even more so - an aqueous social role;
Intra-role: arises due to contradictions in the requirements for the fulfillment of a social role by different participants in the interaction;
Personality-role: arises due to the mismatch of a person's ideas about himself and his role functions;
Innovative: appears as a result of the discrepancy between the previously formed value orientations and the requirements of the new social situation.
Each person has a certain idea of \u200b\u200bhow he will fulfill one or another of his role. Different roles are important for a person in different ways.
The role structure of the personality can be integrated or disintegrated depending on the harmony or conflict of social relations.
The internal structure of the personality (a picture of the world, desire, attitude) may have one social role and not contribute to the choice of other social roles. Role expectations are also not random situational factors; they arise from the requirements of a social, including corporate, system.
Depending on the norms and expectations attributed to a particular social role, the latter may be:
Represented roles (expectations system of an individual and certain groups);
Subjective roles (expectations that a person associates with his status, i.e. his subjective ideas about how he should act in relation to persons with other statuses);
Roles played (observed behavior of a person having a given status in relation to another person with a different status).
There is a normative structure for fulfilling a social role, which consists of:
Descriptions of behavior (characteristic of this role);
Prescriptions (requirements for this product);
Assessment of the performance of the prescribed role;
Sanctions for violation of prescribed requirements.
Since the personality is a complex social system, we can say that it is a combination of social roles and its individual characteristics,
People differently identify themselves with their social role. Some merge with her as much as possible and behave in accordance with her instructions everywhere and everywhere, even where it is not required at all. It happens that different social roles inherent in one and the same subject have different ranks, different personal significance, relevance. In other words, the subject is far from identifying himself with all his roles: with some, personally significant, more, with others less. There is such a strong separation from the role that we can talk about its movement from the current part of the sphere of consciousness to the periphery, or even about crowding out of the sphere of consciousness completely.
The experience of practicing psychologists suggests that if an objectively relevant social role is not recognized as such by a subject, then within the framework of this role, internal and external conflicts are manifested.
Various roles are mastered in the process of socialization. As an example, we give the role repertoire of a small group:
Leader: a member of the group, over whom others recognize the right to make responsible decisions in situations significant for her, decisions that affect the interests of group members and determine the direction and nature of the activities and behavior of the entire group (more on this in the topic “Leadership as a socio-psychological phenomenon”) ;
Expert: a member of the group who has special knowledge, abilities, skills that the group requires or that the group simply respects;
Passively and easily adaptable members: they strive to maintain their anonymity;
- “extreme” member of the group: behind all due to personality restrictions or fears;
Opponent: an oppositionist actively opposing the leader;
Martyr: crying out for help and refusing it;
Moralist: a member of a group who is always right;
Interceptor: a member of a group that seizes the initiative of a leader;
Pet: a member of the group, awakening tender feelings and constantly in need of protection;
Aggressor;
The jester;
Provocateur;
Defender;
Whiner;
Rescuer;
Pedant;
Victim, etc.
The group is always striving to expand its repertoire of roles. The individual fulfillment of the role by a person has a personality paint, which depends on his knowledge and ability to be in this role, on its significance for him, on the desire to meet the expectations of others more or less (for example, to become a father is easy, it is difficult to be a father).
Social role - sample human behavior, which society considers appropriate for the holder of this status.
Social role - this is a set of actions that a person holding this status must perform. A person must fulfill certain material values \u200b\u200bin social system.
This is a model of human behavior, objectively set by the social position of the individual in the system of social, social and personal relations. In other words, the social role is “the behavior that is expected of a person holding a certain status”. Modern society requires the individual to constantly change behaviors to fulfill specific roles. In this regard, neo-Marxists and neo-Freudians such as T. Adorno, C. Horney and others made a paradoxical conclusion: the “normal” personality of modern society is a neurotic. Moreover, in modern society, role conflicts occurring in situations where the individual is required to simultaneously perform several roles with conflicting requirements are widespread.
In his studies of interaction rituals, Irving Hoffman, accepting and developing the basic theatrical metaphor, drew attention not so much to role prescriptions and passive adherence to them, but to the very processes of actively constructing and maintaining the “appearance” during communication, to zones of uncertainty and ambiguity in interaction errors in the behavior of partners.
The concept of " social role”Was proposed independently by American sociologists R. Linton and J. Mead in the 1930s, the first interpreting the concept of“ social role ”as a unit of social structure described in the form of a given system of norms, the second in terms of direct interaction of people , A “role-playing game,” 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 in the personality is formed. Linton's definition of the social role as the “dynamic aspect of status” was entrenched in structural functionalism and was developed by T. Parsons, A. Radcliffe-Brown, and R. Merton. Mead's ideas were developed in interactionist sociology and psychology. Despite all the differences, both of these approaches are united by the idea of \u200b\u200ba social role as a nodal point at which the individual and society meet, individual behavior turns into social, and individual characteristics and inclinations of people are compared with the normative attitudes in society, depending on which people are selected on 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 his various social roles are poorly compatible.
Types of social roles in society
The types of social roles are determined by the variety of social groups, types of activities and relationships in which the personality is included. Depending on social relations, social and interpersonal social roles are distinguished.
- Social roles related to social status, profession or type of activity (teacher, student, student, salesman). These are standardized impersonal roles, built on the basis of rights and obligations, regardless of who performs these roles. Social and demographic roles are distinguished: husband, wife, daughter, son, grandson ... Man and woman are also social roles, suggesting specific ways of behavior, enshrined in social norms and customs.
- Interpersonal roles are associated with interpersonal relationships that are regulated at an emotional level (leader, resentful, neglected, family idol, loved one, etc.).
In life, in interpersonal relationships, each person acts in some 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 the group exists, the more familiar it becomes for people around the dominant social roles of each member of the group and the more difficult it is to change the stereotype of behavior that is familiar to others.
Characteristics of Social Roles
The main characteristics of the social role are highlighted by the American sociologist Talcott Parsons. He proposed the following four characteristics of any role:
- In scale. Some roles may be strictly limited, while others may be blurred.
- By the method of obtaining. Roles are divided into prescribed and won (they are also called attainable).
- By degree of formalization. Activities can occur both within a strictly established framework and arbitrarily.
- By types of motivation. Personal motivation, the public good, etc. can serve as motivation.
Role scale 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 a husband and wife. On the one hand, these are interpersonal relationships based on a variety of feelings and emotions; on the other, 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 relations are practically unlimited. In other cases, when the relationship is strictly determined by social roles (for example, the relationship of the seller and the buyer), interaction can only be carried out for a specific reason (in this case, purchases). Here the scale of the role is reduced to a narrow circle of specific issues and is small.
The way to get the role depends on how inevitable this role is for a person. So, the roles of a young man, an old man, a man, a woman are automatically determined by the age and gender of the person and do not require special efforts to acquire them. There can only be a problem of matching one's role, which already exists as a given. Other roles are achieved or even won in the process of human life and as a result of targeted special efforts. For example, the role of a student, researcher, professor, etc. These are almost all the roles associated with the profession and any achievements of a person.
Formalization as a descriptive characteristic of a social role is determined by the specificity of interpersonal relations of the carrier of this role. Some roles involve the establishment of only formal relationships between people with strict regulation of the rules of conduct; others, on the contrary, are only informal; still others can combine both formal and informal relationships. Obviously, the relationship of the traffic police representative with the violator of the rules of the road should be determined by formal rules, and the relationship between loved ones - feelings. Formal relationships are often accompanied by informal ones in which emotionality is manifested, because a person, perceiving and appreciating another, shows sympathy or antipathy for him. This happens when people interact for a while and the relationship becomes relatively stable.
A social role is a certain set of actions or a model of human behavior in a social environment, which is determined by its status or position. Depending on the changes in the situation (family, work, friends), the social role also changes.
Characteristic
The social role, like any concept in psychology, has its own classification. American sociologist Talcott Parsons identified several characteristics that could be used to describe the social role of the individual:
Stages of formation
A social role is not created in a minute or per night. The socialization of the individual must go through several stages, without which normal adaptation in society is simply not possible.
First of all, a person must learn certain basic skills. This includes practical skills that we have been developing since childhood, as well as mental skills that are improved along with life experience. The main stages of training begin and take place in the family.
The next stage is education. This process is long and it can be said that it does not end throughout life. Educational institutions, parents, the media and much more. A huge number of factors are involved in this process.
Also, the socialization of personality is not possible without education. In this process, the main thing is the person himself. It is the individual who consciously chooses the knowledge and skills that he wants to possess.
The following important stages of socialization: protection and adaptation. Protection is a set of processes that are primarily aimed at reducing the importance of any traumatic factors for the subject. Man intuitively tries to protect himself from moral discomfort, resorting to various mechanisms of social protection (denial, aggression, repression, and others). Adaptation is a peculiar process of mimicry, thanks to which the individual adapts to communication with other people and maintaining normal contacts.
Kinds
Socialization of a person is a long process, during which a person acquires not only his personal experience, but also observes the behavior and reactions of the people around him. Naturally, the process of socialization is more active in childhood and adolescence, when the psyche is most susceptible to environmental influences, when a person is actively looking for his place in life and himself. However, this does not mean that changes do not occur at an older age. New social roles are emerging, the environment is changing.
Primary and secondary socialization are distinguished. The primary process is called the formation of the personality itself and its qualities, and the secondary is already related to professional activity.
Socialization agents are groups of people, individuals who directly influence the search and formation of social roles. They are also called institutions of socialization.
Accordingly, the primary and secondary socialization agents are distinguished. The first group includes family members, friends, the team (kindergarten and school), as well as many other people who influence the formation of personality throughout life. They play the most important role in the life of every person. This can be explained not only by informative and intellectual influence, but also by the emotional background of such close relationships. It is during this period that those qualities are laid that in the future will affect the conscious choice of secondary socialization.
Parents are rightfully considered one of the most important agents of socialization. The child, even at an irresponsible age, begins to copy the behavior and habits of his parents, becoming similar to him. Then dad and mom become not only an example, but they themselves actively influence the formation of personality.
Secondary agents of socialization are members of society who participate in the growth and formation of a person as a professional. These include employees, managers, customers and people who are associated with the individual on duty.
The processes
Socialization of personality is a rather complicated process. Sociologists decided to separate two phases, which are equally important for the search and formation of each of the social roles.
- Social adaptation is a period during which a person becomes acquainted with the rules of behavior in society. A person adapts, learns to live according to new laws;
- The phase of interiorization is no less important, since this time is necessary for the complete adoption of new conditions and their inclusion in the value system of each individual. It must be remembered that in this phase there is a denial or leveling of certain old rules and principles. This is an inevitable process, since often some norms and roles contradict existing ones.
If at some of the phases a “failure” occurred, then role conflicts may appear in the future. This is due to the inability or unwillingness of the individual to fulfill his role.
The social role is a socially necessary form of social activity and a method of individual behavior. The concept of social role was first proposed by American sociologists Mead and Linton in the thirties of the last century.
The main types of social roles
The diversity of social groups and relationships in their groups, as well as types of activities, has become the basis for the classification of social statuses. Currently, types of social roles are distinguished, such as: formal, interpersonal, and socio-demographic. Formal social roles are associated with the position that a person occupies in society. This refers to his occupation and profession. But interpersonal roles are directly related to various types of relationships. This category usually includes pets, outcasts, leaders. As for socio-demographic roles, this is a husband, son, sister, etc.
Characteristics of Social Roles
American sociologist Talcott Parsons identified the main characteristics of social roles. These include: scale, method of obtaining, emotionality, motivation and formalization. As a rule, the scale of the role is determined by the range of interpersonal relationships. Here, a directly proportional dependence is observed. For example, the social roles of husband and wife are very significant because a wide range of relationships is established between them.
If we talk about the method of obtaining the role, it depends on the inevitability of this role for the individual. So, the roles of a young man or an old man do not require any efforts to acquire them. They are determined by the age of the person. And other social roles can be won throughout life when certain conditions are met.
Social roles may vary in emotional level. Each role is characterized by its own manifestation of emotions. Also, some roles involve the establishment of formal relationships between people, others informal, and still others may combine both.
From the needs and motives of a person depends on his motivation. Different social roles may be determined by certain motives. For example, when parents take care of their child, they are guided by a sense of care and love for him. The head works for the benefit of some enterprise. It is also known that all social roles can be subject to public evaluation.