Social role - sample human behavior that society recognizes as appropriate for the holder of this status.
Social role- this is a set of actions that a person occupying this status must perform. A person must fulfill certain material values in social system.
This is a model of human behavior, objectively determined by the social position of the individual in the system of social, public and personal relations. In other words, a social role is “the behavior that is expected of a person occupying a certain status.” Modern society requires an individual to constantly change his behavior pattern to perform specific roles. In this regard, such neo-Marxists and neo-Freudians as T. Adorno, K. Horney and others in their works made a paradoxical conclusion: the “normal” personality of modern society is a neurotic. Moreover, in modern society role conflicts have become widespread, arising in situations where an individual is required to simultaneously perform several roles with conflicting requirements.
Erving Goffman, in his studies of interaction rituals, accepting and developing the basic theatrical metaphor, paid attention not so much to role prescriptions and passive adherence to them, but to the very processes of active construction and maintenance. appearance"in the course of communication, to areas of uncertainty and ambiguity in interaction, errors in the behavior of partners.
The concept " social role“was proposed independently by American sociologists R. Linton and J. Mead in the 1930s, with the first interpreting 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 interaction between people , " role playing game", during which, due to the fact that a person imagines himself in the role of another, the assimilation occurs social norms and the social is formed in the individual. Linton's definition of the social role as a “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 a social role as a nodal point at which the individual and society meet, individual behavior turns into social behavior, and the individual properties and inclinations of people are compared with the normative attitudes existing in society, depending on which people are selected to certain social roles. Of course, in reality, role expectations are never straightforward. In addition, a person often finds himself in a situation of role conflict, when his different social roles turn out to be poorly compatible.
Types of social roles in society
Types of social roles are determined by diversity social groups, types of activities and relationships in which the individual is involved. Depending on the public relations distinguish social and interpersonal social roles.
- Social roles associated with social status, profession or type of activity (teacher, student, student, salesperson). These are standardized impersonal roles, built on the basis of rights and responsibilities, regardless of who plays these roles. There are socio-demographic roles: husband, wife, daughter, son, grandson... Man and woman are also social roles, presupposing specific modes of behavior, enshrined in social norms and customs.
- Interpersonal roles associated with interpersonal relationships that are regulated at the emotional level (leader, offended, neglected, family idol, loved one, etc.).
In life, in interpersonal relationships, each person acts in some dominant social role, a unique social role as the most typical individual image, familiar to others. Changing a habitual image is extremely difficult both for the person himself and for the perception of the people around him. The more a long period The more time a group exists, the more familiar the dominant social roles of each group member become for those around them and the more difficult it is to change the stereotype of behavior habitual for those around them.
Characteristics of social roles
The main characteristics of a social role were highlighted by American sociologist Talcott Parsons. He proposed the following four characteristics of any role:
- By scale. Some roles may be strictly limited, while others may be blurred.
- By method of receipt. Roles are divided into prescribed and conquered (they are also called achieved).
- According to the degree of formalization. Activities can take place either within strictly established limits or arbitrarily.
- By type of motivation. The motivation can be personal profit, public good, etc.
Scope of the role depends on range interpersonal relationships. The larger the range, the larger the scale. For example, the social roles of spouses have a very large scale, since the widest 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 regulations and, in a certain sense, are formal. The participants in this social interaction are interested in a variety of aspects of each other’s lives, their relationships are practically unlimited. In other cases, when relationships are strictly defined by social roles (for example, the relationship between a seller and a buyer), interaction can only be carried out on a specific occasion (in in this case- purchases). Here the scope of the role is limited to a narrow range of specific issues and is small.
How to get a role depends on how inevitable the role is for the person. Yes, roles young man, old man, man, woman are automatically determined by the age and gender of the person and do not require special effort to purchase them. There can only be a problem of compliance with one’s role, which already exists as a given. Other roles are achieved or even won during the course of a person's life and as a result of targeted special efforts. For example, the role of a student research fellow, professor, etc. These are almost all roles related to the profession and any achievements of a person.
Formalization as a descriptive characteristic of a social role is determined by the specifics of interpersonal relationships of the bearer of this role. Some roles involve the establishment of only formal relationships between people with strict regulation of rules of behavior; others, on the contrary, are only informal; still others may combine both formal and informal relationships. It is obvious that the relationship between the traffic police representative and the rule violator traffic 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 have been interacting for a while and the relationship has become relatively stable.
A social role in the most common understanding is the behavior of people occupying a certain position in society. In essence, this is a set of requirements that society places on a person and the actions that he must perform. And even one person can have quite a few social roles.
In addition to this, each person can have a large number of statuses, and the people around them, in turn, have every right to expect others to properly fulfill their social roles. Viewed from this point of view, social role and status are two sides of the same “coin”: while status is a set of special rights, responsibilities and privileges, then role is actions within this set.
Social role includes:
- Role Expectation
- Execution of the role
Social roles can be conventional or institutionalized. Conventional roles are accepted by people by agreement, and they can refuse to accept them. And institutionalized ones involve the adoption of roles determined by social institutions, for example, family, army, university, etc.
Typically, cultural norms are learned by an individual through , and only a few norms are accepted by society as a whole. Acceptance of a role depends on the status that this or that person occupies. What may be quite normal for one status may be completely unacceptable for another. Based on this, socialization can be called one of the fundamental processes of learning role behavior, as a result of which a person becomes part of society.
Types of social roles
The difference in social roles is due to the variety of social groups, forms of activity and interactions in which a person is involved, and depending on which social roles can be individual and interpersonal.
Individual social roles are interconnected with the status, profession or activity in which a person is engaged. They are standardized impersonal roles, built on the basis of duties and rights, regardless of the performer himself. Such roles can be the roles of husband, wife, son, daughter, grandson, etc. – these are socio-demographic roles. The roles of men and women are biologically defined roles that imply special behavioral patterns fixed by society and culture.
Interpersonal social roles are interconnected with relationships between people that are regulated at the emotional level. For example, a person can play the role of leader, offended, idol, loved one, condemned, etc.
IN real life, in progress interpersonal interaction all people act in some dominant role, typical for them and familiar to those around them. Changing an established image can be very difficult, both for the person and for those around him. And the longer a specific group of people exists, the more familiar the social roles of each become for its members, and the more difficult it is to change an established behavioral stereotype.
Basic characteristics of social roles
The basic characteristics of social roles were identified in the mid-20th century by American sociologist Talcott Parsons. They were offered four characteristics that are common to all roles:
- Scope of the role
- How to get a role
- Degree of formalization of the role
- Type of role motivation
Let's touch on these characteristics in a little more detail.
Scope of the role
The scope of the role depends on the range of interpersonal interactions. If it is large, then the scale of the role is also large. For example, marital social roles are of enormous scale, because There is a wide range of interaction between spouses. From one point of view, their relationships are interpersonal and based on emotional and sensory diversity, but from the other, their relationships are regulated by regulations, and to some extent they are formalized.
Both parties to such social interaction are interested in all sorts of areas of each other’s lives, and their relationship is practically unlimited. In other situations, where relationships are strictly determined by social roles (client-employee, buyer-seller, etc.), interaction is carried out exclusively for a specific reason, and the scale of the role is reduced to a small range of issues relevant to the situation, which means it is very very limited.
How to get a role
The method of obtaining a role depends on the general degree of inevitability for a person of a particular role. For example, the role of a young man, a man or an old man will be automatically determined by age and gender, and no effort is required to acquire it, although the problem may lie in the person's conformity to his role, which is a given.
And if we talk about other roles, then sometimes they need to be achieved and even conquered in the process of life, making specific, targeted efforts for this. For example, the role of a professor, specialist or even student needs to be achieved. Most social roles are associated with people's achievements in professional and other areas.
Degree of formalization of the role
Formalization is a descriptive characteristic of a social role and is defined when one person interacts with others. Some roles may involve the establishment of only formal relationships between people, and are distinguished by specific rules of behavior; others may be based on informal relationships; and the third ones will generally be a combination of the features of the first two.
Agree that the interaction between a law enforcement officer and a police officer should be determined by a set of formal rules, and the relationship between lovers, having messed up, should be based on feelings. This is an indicator of the formalization of social roles.
Type of role motivation
What motivates a social role will depend on each individual's motivations and needs. Different roles will always be determined by various motives. Thus, when parents care about the welfare of their child, they are guided by feelings of care and love; when a seller seeks to sell a product to a client, his actions may be determined by the desire to increase the organization’s profits and earn his percentage; the role of a person who selflessly helps another will be based on the motives of altruism and performing good deeds, etc.
Social roles are not rigid models of behavior
People can perceive and perform their social roles differently. If a person perceives a social role as a rigid mask, the image of which he must conform to always and everywhere, he can completely break his personality and turn his life into suffering. And this should not be done under any circumstances, besides, a person almost always has the opportunity to choose (unless, of course, the role is determined natural causes, such as gender, age, etc., although these “problems” are now being successfully solved by many people).
Any of us can always learn a new role, which will affect both the person himself and his life. There is even a special technique for this called image therapy. It means a person “trying on” a new image. However, a person must have the desire to enter a new role. But the most interesting thing is that responsibility for behavior lies not with the person, but with the role that sets new behavioral patterns.
Thus, a person who wants to change begins even in the most familiar and ordinary situations, revealing his hidden potential and achieving new results. All this suggests that people are capable of “making” themselves and building their lives the way they want, regardless of social roles.
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44.Social status and social role.
Social status- social position occupied by a social individual or social group in society or a separate social subsystem of society. It is determined by characteristics specific to a particular society, which can be economic, national, age and other characteristics. Social status is divided according to skills, abilities, and education.
Each person, as a rule, has not one, but several social statuses. Sociologists distinguish:
natural status- the status received by a person at birth (gender, race, nationality, biological stratum). In some cases, birth status may change: the status of a member of the royal family is from birth and as long as the monarchy exists.
acquired (achieved) status- the status that a person achieves thanks to his mental and physical efforts (work, connections, position, post).
prescribed (attributed) status- a status that a person acquires regardless of his desire (age, status in the family); it can change over the course of his life. The prescribed status is either innate or acquired.
Social role- this is a set of actions that a person occupying a given status in the social system must perform. Each status usually includes a number of roles. The set of roles resulting from a given status is called a role set.
The social role should be considered in two aspects: role expectations And role-playing. There is never a complete match between these two aspects. But each of them has great importance in personality behavior. Our roles are determined primarily by what others expect of us. These expectations are associated with the status that a given person has. If someone does not play a role in accordance with our expectations, then he enters into a certain conflict with society.
For example, a parent should take care of children, a close friend should be concerned about our problems, etc.
Role requirements (instructions, regulations and expectations of appropriate behavior) are embodied in specific social norms grouped around social status.
The main link between role expectations and role behavior is the character of the individual.
Because each person plays multiple roles in many different situations, conflict can arise between roles. A situation in which a person is faced with the need to satisfy the demands of two or more incompatible roles is called role conflict. Role conflicts can arise both between roles and within one role.
For example, a working wife finds that the demands of her day job may conflict with her household responsibilities; or a married student must reconcile the demands placed on him as a husband with the demands placed on him as a student; or a police officer sometimes must choose between fulfilling his official duty and arresting a close friend. An example of a conflict occurring within one role can be the position of a leader or public figure who publicly proclaims one point of view, but in a narrow circle declares himself a supporter of the opposite, or an individual who, under the pressure of circumstances, plays a role that does not meet either his interests or his internal installations.
As a result, we can say that every individual in modern society, due to inadequate role training, as well as constantly occurring cultural changes and the multiplicity of roles he plays, experiences role tension and conflict. However, it has mechanisms of unconscious protection and conscious involvement of social structures to avoid the dangerous consequences of social role conflicts.
45. Social inequality. Ways and means to overcome it Inequality in society can have two sources: natural and social. People differ in physical strength, endurance, etc. These differences lead to the fact that they achieve results and thereby occupy different positions in society. But over time, natural inequality is complemented by social inequality, which consists in the possibility of obtaining social benefits unrelated to contributions to the public domain. For example, unequal pay for equal work. Ways to overcome: due to the conditional nature of social. inequality, it can and must be abolished in the name of equality. Equality is understood as personal equality before God and the law, equality of opportunity, living conditions, health, etc. Currently, supporters of the theory of functionalism believe that social. inequality is a tool that helps ensure that the most important and responsible tasks are carried out by talented and trained people. Proponents of conflict theory believe that the views of functionalists are an attempt to justify the statuses that have developed in society and a situation in which people under whose control are social values had the opportunity to receive benefits for themselves. Question about social inequality is closely intertwined with the concept of social. justice. This concept has 2 interpretations: objective and subjective. Subjective interpretation comes from the attribution of social. justice to legal categories, with the help of which a person gives an assessment that approves or condemns processes occurring in society. The second position (objective) is based on the principle of equivalence, i.e. mutual retribution in relationships between people.
These are mechanisms of socialization. The concepts of social status, role and role behavior are distinguished.
Social status is the position of a subject in the system of interpersonal relations, which determines his duties, rights and privileges. It is established by society. Social relationships are confusing.
A social role is associated with status; these are the norms of behavior of a person occupying a certain status.
Role behavior is a person's specific use of a social role. It is reflected here personal characteristics.
Mead proposed the concept of social role at the end of the 19th – 20th centuries. A person becomes a Personality when they learn to take on the role of another person.
Any role has a structure:
- Model of human behavior from society.
- A system of representing a person how he should behave.
- The actual observable behavior of a person occupying a given status.
In the event of a mismatch between these components, a role conflict arises.
1. Interrole conflict. A person performs many roles, the requirements of which are incompatible or he does not have the strength or time to perform these roles well. At the heart of this conflict is illusion.
2. Intra-role conflict. When different representatives of social groups have different requirements for the performance of one role. The presence of intra-role conflict is very dangerous for the Personality.
A social role is a fixation of a certain position that one or another individual occupies in the system of social relations. A role is understood as “a function, a normatively approved pattern of behavior expected of everyone occupying a given position” (Kohn). These expectations do not depend on the consciousness and behavior of a particular individual; their subject is not the individual, but society. What is essential here is not only and not so much the fixation of rights and responsibilities, but the connection of the social role with certain types social activities Personalities. The social role is “socially required type social Activity and the way of behavior of the Personality” (Bueva). A social role always bears the stamp of social evaluation: society can either approve or disapprove of some social roles, sometimes approval or disapproval can differentiate among different social groups, the evaluation of a role can become completely different meaning in accordance with the social experience of a particular social group.
In reality, each individual performs not one, but several social roles: he can be an accountant, a father, a trade union member, etc. A number of roles are prescribed to a person at birth, others are acquired during life. However, the role itself does not determine the activities and behavior of each specific carrier in detail: everything depends on how much the individual learns and internalizes the role. The act of internalization is determined by a number of individual psychological characteristics each specific bearer of this role. Therefore, social relations, although in essence they are role-based, impersonal relations, in reality, in their concrete manifestation, acquire a certain “personal coloring”. Each social role does not mean an absolute set of behavior patterns; it always leaves a certain “range of possibilities” for its performer, which can be conditionally called a certain “style of playing the role.”
Social differentiation inherent in all forms of human existence. The behavior of the Personality is explained by social inequality in society. It is influenced by:
- social background;
- ethnicity;
- the level of education;
- job title;
- prof. belonging;
- power;
- income and wealth;
- lifestyle, etc.
The performance of the role is individual in nature. Linton proved that the role has socio-cultural conditioning.
There is also a definition that a social role is social function Personalities.
It should be noted that there are several points of view:
- Shebutani is a conventional role. Distinguishes between the concepts of conventional role and social role.
- A set of social norms that society encourages or forces to master.
Types of roles:
- psychological or interpersonal (in the system of subjective interpersonal relationships). Categories: leaders, preferred, not accepted, outsiders;
- social (in the system of objective social relations). Categories: professional, demographic.
- active or current – currently being executed;
- latent (hidden) – a person is potentially a carrier, but not at the moment
- conventional (official);
- spontaneous, spontaneous - arise in a specific situation, not determined by requirements.
Relationship between role and behavior:
F. Zimbardo (1971) conducted an experiment (students and prison) and found that the role greatly influences the behavior of a person. The phenomenon of absorption of a person’s personality into a role. Role prescriptions shape human behavior. The phenomenon of deindividuation is the absorption of the Personality into a social role, the Personality loses control over its individuality (example - jailers).
Role behavior is the individual performance of a social role - society sets the standard of behavior, and the performance of the role is personal. Mastering social roles is part of the process of socialization of the Personality, an indispensable condition for the “growth” of the Personality in a society of their own kind. In role behavior, role conflicts can arise: inter-role (a person is forced to simultaneously perform several roles, sometimes contradictory), intra-role (occur when different demands are placed on the bearer of one role from different social groups). Gender roles: male, female. Professional roles: boss, subordinate, etc.
Jung. Persona – role (ego, shadows, self). Do not merge with the “person”, so as not to lose the personal core (self).
Andreeva. A social role is a fixation of a certain position that one or another individual occupies in the system of social relations. A number of roles are prescribed from birth (to be a wife/husband). A social role always has a certain range of possibilities for its performer - a “role performance style.” By mastering social roles, a person assimilates social standards of behavior, learns to evaluate himself from the outside and exercise self-control. Personality acts (is) the mechanism that allows you to integrate your “I” and your own life activities, carry out a moral assessment of your actions, and find your place in life. It is necessary to use role behavior as a tool for adaptation to certain social situations.