Role

I

Introduction

Role, pattern of social behaviour demanded of a person’s status. Roles are seen as taking precedence over individual preferences as attributes, entitlements, and obligations bound up in rank or personal position.

Role has always been an important topic in analysing how people manage their lives together and how they evolve socially approved conduct, as human relations are to a great extent constructed and confirmed by standardized behaviour. Some theorists have investigated the possible influence of genetic, predetermined factors, as well as oft-cited environmental ones, in evolving roles.

II

Concept of Role

The concept of role is widely used in the study of organizations, family relationships, and many other human dealings. As a term evolved from romantic literature, and especially drama, people are conceptualized as actors following a script—performing to an audience that recognizes norms and evaluates the turn of events.

Sociologists and psychologists confirm from their observations of people that foresight and calculation come into play as people both take on roles and create roles. In coping with recurring problems of human existence, most people anticipate the consequences of their behaviour as they assert their conception of self and negotiate future actions; they draw upon funds of social knowledge, or customs handed down via family or culture, as they assess what is tolerable in a given situation and the impression they are likely to make.

Most commonplace statements concerning family responsibilities describe and prescribe the complementary roles of parents and children—it is not possible to speak of one without implying the presence of the other. The parameters of a role of, for example, a specific profession, may be clearly defined; printed rules establish the demeanour of, for example, a judge or a medical practitioner, which people expect to see maintained, just as public knowledge of specific theatrical roles restrains the performance of an actor (Macbeth must recognizably be Macbeth). Exemplary attributes are demanded of celebrities, politicians, royalty, and other prominent figures, such as religious leaders, who are expected to set a “good example”—a role model—to “ordinary” people.

A “role model” is the idealized performance of the role that is worthy of copying, as defined by the common values of the system. Much of human social behaviour is assumed to take place through the imitation of role models. This leads to a level of conformity, with the possibility that people may live according to an extreme version, or stereotype, of their role. Role models have a vital role in influencing the social and psychological development of young people. Some sociologists have attached great importance to the need for a male role model for children in single-parent families, while others have studied the vast influence of gender roles in all social development. Rock and pop stars, sports and television celebrities, and famous people in general are the role models most often cited as affecting youth behaviour. In some societies, imitation rites are performed to provide the transition from childhood into new roles.

III

Role Conflict

Studies of roles often uncover power tussles, which produce emotion-charged tensions that have to be dissolved if conflicts is to be avoided. As roles are sets of norms and prescriptions for behaviour, disagreement of any kind causes difficulties for the occupant of a role. Role conflict can arise because a person occupies two or more roles that make incompatible demands, such as an employer who cultivates staff friendships and then faces moral dilemmas when having to sack those people. It can also arise when there is a lack of consensus among those who occupy complementary roles, as when hospital doctors adhere to their own strong codes of medical practice, which may be opposed by regional health officials on, for example, economic grounds. In these ways, some people experiencing role conflict may be able to mask their discomfort by dissimulating or distancing themselves, and by obscuring their true feelings as they protect certain interests.