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 a person who occupies 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 respectful towards the latter. The status of soldiers is different from that of civilians; the role of soldiers is associated with risk and fulfillment of the oath, which cannot be said about other groups of the population. 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 others 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 duties, then a role is an action within this set of rights and duties. The social role consists of: role expectation (expectation) and 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 acquired mainly through role training. For example, a person who masters the role of a military man joins the customs, moral norms and laws that are characteristic of the status of this 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 is unacceptable for another. Thus, socialization as a process of learning the generally accepted ways and methods of action and interaction is the most important process of learning role-playing behavior, as a result of which the individual really becomes 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 individual is included. Depending on the public relations allocate social and interpersonal social roles.
Social roles are associated with social status, profession or type of activity (teacher, pupil, student, seller). These are standardized impersonal roles based on rights and obligations, regardless of who fills these roles. Allocate socio-demographic roles: husband, wife, daughter, son, grandson ... Man and woman are also social roles, biologically predetermined and involving specific ways of behavior, fixed by 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 relations, 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 habitual image both for the person himself and for the perception of the people around him. The more a long period time the group exists, the more familiar the dominant social roles of each member of the group become for others and the more difficult it is to change the stereotype of behavior familiar to others.
The main characteristics of the social role
The main characteristics of the social role are highlighted by the American sociologist Talcott Parsons. He suggested the following four characteristics of any role.
By scale. Some roles may be strictly limited, while others may be blurred.
According to the method of receipt. Roles are divided into prescribed and conquered (they are also called achieved).
Degree of formalization. Activities can proceed both within strictly established limits, and arbitrarily.
By type of motivation. Personal profit, public good, etc. can act as motivation.
Role scale varies by range interpersonal relationships. The larger the range, the larger the scale. So, for example, the social roles of spouses have a very large scale, 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, relationships are regulated regulations and in a certain sense are formal. The participants in this social interaction are interested in the most diverse aspects of each other's lives, their relationships are practically unlimited. In other cases, when the relationship is strictly defined by social roles (for example, the relationship of the seller and the buyer), the interaction can be carried out only on a specific occasion (in this case- purchases). Here the scope of the role is reduced to a narrow range of specific issues and is small.
How a role is acquired depends on how unavoidable the role is for the person. Yes, roles young man, old man, men, women are automatically determined by the age and gender of a person and do not require special efforts to purchase 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 course of a person's life and as a result of purposeful special efforts. For example, the role of a student researcher, professors, etc. These are almost all roles associated with the profession and any achievements of a person.
Formalization as a descriptive characteristic of a social role is determined by the specifics of interpersonal relations of the bearer of this role. Some roles involve the establishment of only formal relations between people with strict regulation of the rules of conduct; others, on the contrary, are only informal; still others may combine both formal and informal relationships. Obviously, the relationship of the representative of the traffic police with the violator of the rules traffic should be determined by formal rules, and relations between close people - 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 a person. Different roles are due to different motives. Parents, caring for the welfare of their child, are guided primarily by a feeling of love and care; the leader works for the cause, and so on.
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 important role in the formation and self-realization of the individual.
Four groups of phenomena become the basis for the formation: biological features 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 features, such as social statuses and roles, a system of dispositions and various role expectations, a complex of knowledge, values and beliefs, interests and worldview. The process of crystallization of 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 signs: material and marital status, possession of power, functions performed, education, specific skills, nationality, special psychological characteristics and many others. Since the individual is also part of various groups, then its 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. It certainly accompanies status, but is not always its mandatory attribute. Status is a mobile category. A person can change it with the acquisition of new qualities or roles. Only in traditional public systems it could be inherited, fixed by 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 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 on various levels. Thus, social status is a sphere of professional and social relations. Here, the most important professional position, education, political position, social activity. 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, not professional, but personal, psychological signs are used here. Leadership qualities, knowledge, skills, sociability, sincerity and other character traits allow a person to become a leader or an outsider, to receive a certain personal status. Between these two types of provisions in social group there is a significant difference. They allow a person to realize himself in various fields. 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, according to 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 the 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, so 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. A different degree of manifestation of sensuality is characteristic for 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, status roles are distinguished, which 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 gets into a certain situation, he needs to quickly find suitable model behavior. 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 decide various social tasks achieve goals and meet 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 described as the driving force of the individual on the way to self-realization and achievement of goals.
social role
Social role- a model of human behavior, objectively set by the social position of the individual in the system of social, public and personal relations. A social role is not something outwardly associated with 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 by American sociologists R. Linton and J. Mead in the 1930s, and the first interpreted the concept of "social role" as a unit of social structure, described in the form of a system of norms given to a person, the second - in terms of direct human interaction, role play", during which, due to the fact that a person imagines himself in the role of another, the assimilation of social norms and the social in the personality is formed. Linton's definition of "social role" as a "dynamic aspect of status" was entrenched 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 a "social role" as a key point at which the individual and society merge, individual behavior turns into social, and the individual properties and inclinations of people are compared with the normative settings that exist in society, depending on what happens. selection of people 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 his different "social roles" turn out to be poorly compatible. Modern society requires the individual to constantly change the model of behavior to perform specific roles. In this regard, such neo-Marxists and neo-Freudians as T. Adorno, K. Horney and others made a paradoxical conclusion in their works: the “normal” personality of modern society is a neurotic. Moreover, in modern society role conflicts that arise in situations where an individual is required to simultaneously perform several roles with conflicting requirements are widely used. Irwin Hoffman, in his studies of interaction rituals, while adopting and developing the basic theatrical metaphor, paid attention not so much to role-playing prescriptions and passive adherence to them, but to the processes of active construction and maintenance themselves " appearance» in the course of communication, on areas of uncertainty and ambiguity in interaction, mistakes in the behavior of partners.
Concept definition
social role - dynamic response social position, expressed in a set of behaviors 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. The holders of a social position expect that the fulfillment of special prescriptions (norms) results in regular and therefore predictable behavior, on which the behavior of other people can be guided. Thanks to this, regular and continuously planned social interaction (communicative interaction) is possible.
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 social relations, social and interpersonal social roles are distinguished.
In life, in interpersonal relations, 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 habitual image both for the person himself and for the perception of the people around him. The longer the group exists, the more familiar the dominant social roles of each member of the group become for others and the more difficult it is to change the stereotype of behavior familiar to others.
Characteristics of a social role
The main characteristics of the social role are highlighted by the American sociologist Talcott Parsons. He proposed the following four characteristics of any role:
- Scale. Some roles may be strictly limited, while others may be blurred.
- By way of getting. Roles are divided into prescribed and conquered (they are also called achieved).
- According to the degree of formalization. Activities can proceed both within strictly established limits, and arbitrarily.
- By type of motivation. The motivation can be personal profit, public good, etc.
Role Scale depends on the range of interpersonal relationships. The larger the range, the larger the scale. So, for example, the social roles of spouses have a very large scale, 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. The participants in this social interaction are interested in the most diverse aspects of each other's lives, their relationships are practically unlimited. In other cases, when the relationship is strictly defined by social roles (for example, the relationship of the seller and the buyer), the interaction can be carried out only on a specific occasion (in this case, purchases). Here the scope of the role is reduced to a narrow range of specific issues and is small.
How to get a role depends on how inevitable the given role is for the person. So, the roles of a young man, an old man, a man, a woman are automatically determined by the age and sex of a person and do not require much effort 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 course 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 associated with the profession and any achievements of a person.
Formalization as a descriptive characteristic of a social role is determined by the specifics of interpersonal relations of the bearer of this role. Some roles involve the establishment of only formal relations between people with strict regulation of the rules of conduct; others, on the contrary, are only informal; still others may combine both formal and informal relationships. Obviously, the relationship between a traffic police representative and a violator of traffic rules should be determined by formal rules, and relationships between close people should be determined 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 due to different motives. Parents, caring for the welfare of their child, are guided primarily by a feeling 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 that people play" E. Bern
Notes
Links
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See what "Social role" is in other dictionaries:
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A social role is a certain set of actions or a model of human behavior in social environment, which is determined by its status or position. Depending on the change in the environment (family, work, friends), the social role also changes.
Characteristic
The social role, like any concept in psychology, has its own classification. The American sociologist Talcott Parsons identified several characteristics that could be used in describing the social role of an individual:
Stages of formation
A social role is not created in a minute or overnight. 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 learn from childhood, as well as thinking skills that improve along with life experience. The main stages of learning begin and take place in the family.
The next step is education. This is a long process and we can say that it does not end throughout life. Are engaged in education schools, parents, funds mass media and much more. A huge number of factors are involved in this process.
Also, the socialization of the individual 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.
Next milestones socialization: protection and adaptation. Protection is a set of processes that are primarily aimed at reducing the significance for the subject of any traumatic factors. A person intuitively tries to protect himself from moral discomfort by resorting to various mechanisms of social protection (denial, aggression, repression, and others). Adaptation is a kind of mimicry process, thanks to which the individual adapts to communicate with other people and maintain normal contacts.
Kinds
Personal socialization 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 takes place more actively in childhood and youth, when the psyche is most susceptible to influences environment 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 appear, the environment changes.
Distinguish between primary and secondary socialization. The process of forming the personality itself and its qualities is called primary, and the secondary already refers to professional activity.
Socialization agents are groups of people, individuals who have a direct impact on the search and formation of social roles. They are also called institutions of socialization.
Accordingly, the agents of socialization are primary and secondary. The first group includes family members, friends, a team (kindergarten and school), as well as many other people who influence the formation of personality throughout their conscious life. They play the most important role in the life of every person. This can be explained not only by the informative and intellectual influence, but also by the emotional underpinnings of such close relationships. It is during this period that those qualities are laid that in the future will influence the conscious choice of secondary socialization.
Parents are considered to be one of the most important agents of socialization. The child, even at an unconscious age, begins to copy the behavior and habits of his parents, becoming like 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 development of a person as a professional. These include employees, managers, customers, and people who are related to the individual in his line of duty.
Processes
Personal socialization is a rather complex process. It is customary for sociologists 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 gets acquainted with the rules of behavior in society. A person adapts, learns to live according to new laws for him;
- The phase of internalization is no less important, since this time is necessary for the full acceptance 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 foundations. This is an inevitable process, since often some norms and roles contradict existing ones.
If at any of the phases there was a “failure”, then role conflicts may appear in the future. This is due to the inability or unwillingness of the individual to fulfill his chosen role.
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, he is presented with certain requirements. Thus, one and the same person must behave in one situation like a father, in another - like a friend, in a third - like a boss, i.e. act in different roles. Social role - appropriate accepted norms the way people behave depending on their status or position in society, in the system of interpersonal relations. 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. 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 included in many activities and relationships, forced to perform different roles, the requirements for which may be contradictory, there is a need for some mechanism that would allow a person to maintain the integrity of his "I" in the conditions of multiple connections with the world (that is, to remain himself, playing various roles). A personality (or rather, a formed substructure of orientation) is just that mechanism, a functional organ that allows you to integrate your "I" and your own life, 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 work out the meaning of one's existence, to refuse one in favor of the other. Thus, a developed personality can use role-playing behavior as a tool for adapting to certain social situations, while at the same time not merging, not identifying with the role. The main components of the social role constitute 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 civil status of a poet or a doctor). The second level involves such attributes of the role that affect both perception and its effectiveness (for example, long hair a hippie or an athlete in poor health). 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 concept of personality emerged in American social psychology in the 1930s. (C. Cooley, J. Mead) and became widespread in various sociological currents, primarily in structural-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 we think others perceive us ("I'm sure 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 gives importance our interpretation of the thoughts and feelings of others. American psychologist George Herbert Mead went further in his analysis of the process of development of our "I". Like Cooley, he believed that the "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 thus 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 distinct stages. The first is imitation. At this stage, children copy the behavior of adults without understanding it. Then follows the game stage, when children understand behavior as the performance of certain roles: a doctor, a firefighter, a race car driver, etc.; in the course of the game they reproduce these roles.