The presence of a certain set of roles, which, on the one hand, differ from each other, but on the other hand, can be inherent in one social group or one individual, is mandatory for any type of social organization. Fulfilling a social role does not exclude the manifestation of individuality and a certain freedom of interpretation for a person.
Definition 1
A social role is a script of behavior expected from an individual. This behavior is determined by the norms, values, rules and responsibilities prescribed by society and the corresponding rights
A social role is the behavior expected of a person occupying a certain social status. When entering into social relations, individuals always simultaneously perform several social roles, being bearers of certain social statuses. These roles are determined by their social status. The set of roles corresponding to a certain social status is called a role set in modern sociology.
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Social roles. Types and characteristics
A 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 occupying a given status in the social system must perform. A person can have many roles.
Children's status 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. Women have a different status from men and are therefore expected to behave differently than men. Each individual can have a large number of statuses, and others have the right to expect him to fulfill 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 responsibilities, then a role is an action within the framework of this set of rights and responsibilities. A social role consists of role expectations (expectation) and the performance of this role (game).
Social roles can be institutionalized or conventional.
Institutionalized: institution of marriage, family (social roles of mother, daughter, wife)
Conventional: accepted by agreement (a person can refuse to accept them)
Cultural norms are learned primarily through role learning. For example, a person who masters the role of a military man becomes familiar with the customs, moral norms and laws characteristic of the status of this role. Only a few norms are accepted by all members of society; the acceptance of most norms depends on the status of a particular individual. What is acceptable for one status is unacceptable for another. Thus, socialization as the process of learning generally accepted ways and methods of actions and interactions is the most important process of learning role behavior, as a result of which the individual truly becomes a part of society.
Types of social roles
The types of social roles are determined by the variety of social groups, types of activities and relationships in which the individual is included. Depending on social relations, social and interpersonal social roles are distinguished.
Social roles are 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, biologically predetermined and presupposing specific modes of behavior, enshrined in social norms and customs.
Interpersonal roles are 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 longer a group exists, the more familiar the dominant social roles of each group member become to those around them and the more difficult it is to change the behavior pattern habitual to those around them.
Main characteristics of a social role
The main characteristics of a social role are highlighted by 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.
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 types of motivation. The motivation can be personal profit, public good, etc.
The scope of the role depends on the range of 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 for a specific reason (in this case, purchases). Here the scope of the role is limited to a narrow range of specific issues and is small.
The way a role is acquired depends on how inevitable the role is for the person. Thus, the roles of a young man, an old man, a man, a woman are automatically determined by the age and gender of a person and do not require special efforts to acquire 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 student, researcher, 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 a traffic police representative and a traffic rule violator 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.
Motivation depends on the needs and motives of a person. Different roles are driven by different motives. Parents, caring for the well-being of their child, are guided primarily by a feeling of love and care; the leader works for the sake of the cause, etc.
The influence of social role on personality development
The influence of social role on personality development is quite large. Personality development is facilitated by its interaction with persons playing a range of roles, as well as by its participation in the largest possible role repertoire. The more social roles an individual is able to reproduce, the more adapted to life he is. Thus, the process of personality development often acts as the dynamics of mastering social roles.
It is equally important for any society to prescribe roles according to age. Adaptation of individuals to constantly changing ages and age statuses is an eternal problem. Before an individual has time to adapt to one age, another one immediately approaches, with new statuses and new roles. As soon as a young man begins to cope with the embarrassment and complexes of youth, he already stands on the threshold of maturity; As soon as a person begins to show wisdom and experience, old age comes. Each age period is associated with favorable opportunities for the manifestation of human abilities, moreover, it prescribes new statuses and requirements for learning new roles. At a certain age, an individual may experience problems associated with adapting to new role status requirements. A child who is said to be older than his age, i.e. has reached the status inherent in the older age category, usually does not fully realize his potential childhood roles, which negatively affects the completeness of his socialization. Often such children feel lonely and defective. At the same time, the status of an immature adult is a combination of adult status with attitudes and behavior characteristic of childhood or adolescence. Such a person usually has conflicts when performing roles appropriate to his age. These two examples show unsuccessful adaptation to the age statuses prescribed by society.
Mastering a new role can make a huge difference in changing a person. In psychotherapy, there is even a corresponding method of behavior correction - image therapy (image - image). The patient is asked to enter a new image, to play a role, as in a play. In this case, the responsibility function is not borne by the person himself, but by his role, which sets new patterns of behavior. A person is forced to act differently based on a new role. Despite the conventionality of this method, the effectiveness of its use was quite high, since the subject was given the opportunity to release suppressed drives, if not in life, then at least during the game. The sociodramatic approach to the interpretation of human actions is widely known. Life is viewed as a drama, each participant in which plays his own specific role. Playing roles gives not only a psychotherapeutic, but also a developmental effect.
Gender is a social characteristic of a person
Sex and gender are important concepts that are often confused.
Sex is determined by the physiological structure of a person (biological characteristic), while gender is determined by personality traits, appearance and behavior (social characteristic).
Gender is the most important characteristic of a person.
The genetic basis of what people call sex occurs within three weeks of fertilization.
Under the influence of the male hormone - testosterone, the level of which in a woman’s body during this period increases on average by about 10 times, the developing fetus either produces the “Y” chromosome or not. Moreover, in the case of the appearance of the “Y” chromosome and, accordingly, the formation of male physiology, the level of testosterone (its amount) in the mother’s body affects the health and physical characteristics of the future man. Simply put, whether he will be an outstanding athlete or not depends on the amount of the male hormone testosterone, which produced by the mother's body during pregnancy (levels 8, 10 or 12 times higher than normal).
During this same period, the fingers of the future person are formed and if you believe the proven theory of the English scientific enthusiast - by the difference between the index and ring fingers of a man, you can determine the level of the male hormone that influenced the fetus in the body of the pregnant mother, and which, as a result, determined the physical characteristics of the future men, their abilities and health. Moreover, this does not apply at all to women, who, unlike men, have an index finger that is usually longer than the ring finger.
Sex and gender differences arise because “...one of the twenty-three pairs of chromosomes—called sex chromosomes—receives either an X chromosome, and the resulting XX combination will result in a female being, or the 23rd pair will have the XY pattern “, which leads to the formation of morphological characteristics characteristic of a man,” that is, the sex of a person is determined by only one chromosome. Moreover, the Y chromosome is several thousand times smaller in size than the X chromosome.
Scientists have proven: “The basic matrix of the human body and mind is female. We all start our lives as girls: 22 pairs of chromosomes carry female codes, and only the 23rd pair of chromosomes - sex chromosomes - can contain the Y chromosome - male genetic code. The breasts and nipples of the fetus are formed before the sex is formed, so in men they remain undeveloped.
In evolutionary development, Men are one step higher than women, but this is not a net advantage, rather, on the contrary, their brain is more specialized and vulnerable, they are susceptible to more serious diseases, etc.
In the 20th century, Sigmund Freud stated that a woman’s anatomy determines her destiny. According to Sigmund Freud, a woman’s “defectiveness” lies in her lack of a male sexual organ and sexual energy (libido). Realizing her inferiority, the woman allegedly experiences a feeling of phallic envy, which only disappears with the birth of a child. This is all that a woman strives for and what she is capable of, therefore, she cannot be considered a full-fledged being.
But there is some truth in this statement. After all, for many women, marriage and children are the meaning of life...
Gender is a specific set of cultural characteristics that determine the social behavior of women and men and their relationships with each other. Gender, then, refers not simply to women or men, but to the relationships between them, and to the way these relationships are socially constructed, i.e. to how society “builds” these relationships between the sexes in society.
The concept of gender is closely related to the concept of gender stereotypes - internal attitudes regarding the place of women and men in society, their functions and social tasks. It is these stereotypes that are a barrier to establishing true gender equality in our society.
Biological sex: male/female
The biological and social factors that influence gender identity are so intertwined that disentangling them would require a herculean effort. Imagine that you have just had a baby, but in the maternity hospital it is forbidden to tell parents the gender of the baby. You would probably feel extremely impatient. It would be caused by your passionate desire to find out the sex of the child. But why is this so important to you? It’s very simple - from the moment children are born, we consciously or unconsciously treat them differently depending on their gender. From the moment of birth, children begin to understand their gender.
Physical differences
Of course, there are some physical differences between the sexes. Male babies are usually somewhat longer and heavier than girls, and their muscles are slightly stronger than those of girls; in addition, as a rule, their heart and lungs are also larger. By age 18, women's muscle strength is almost 50 percent lower than men's. Female babies usually begin to walk and talk earlier than boys, in addition, they erupt teeth and develop bones earlier; Girls reach puberty one to two years earlier than boys. However, some of these differences may not be due solely to biological factors; Boys may develop stronger muscles because they are more encouraged to play sports than girls.
The relatively short life expectancy of men is probably partly due to wars, accidents, and the stress of working in a competitive atmosphere. As sexual roles change, these differences appear to be subject to change as well.
Gender identity and ideals: masculinity/femininity
Most members of society believe in generally accepted gender ideals—idealized ideas about the purpose, behavior, and feelings of men and women. Children who do not live up to these ideals are called tomboys and mama's boys. A girl is called a tomboy if she is self-confident, loves to compete with others, and enjoys sports; A boy is considered a mama's boy if he is sensitive and sympathetic, does not like football, and runs away instead of fighting back. Children who are called tomboys or mummy's boys immediately understand that their behavior is not approved, and they often respond to negative reinforcement and begin to behave in accordance with their gender.
Negative reactions to “inappropriate” behavior are not the only factor influencing the development of gender identity. Maccoby and Jacklin suggest that it is influenced by three main processes: modeling, reinforcement, and self-socialization.
Modeling
In this process, children imitate the behavior of adults. First, they imitate the person who cares about them the most - their mother or another person (usually female) who pays them a lot of attention, such as a nanny, housekeeper or nursery worker. Although fathers generally spend much less time with their children than mothers, most children take their cues from both their father and mother, and later from family friends, teachers, and the people they see on television.
It is interesting to note that when models of both sexes are present, young children do not necessarily imitate the behavior of an adult of the same sex. Research shows that preschoolers and elementary school children who engage with toys that are “appropriate” for their gender and who prefer to be friends with children of the same gender tend to imitate adults who have power and authority, regardless of their gender. For example, if children have a role model choice between a mother preparing dinner at home and a male chef working in a restaurant, both boys and girls are more likely to imitate the chef's skill.
Nancy Chodorova argues that most modeling occurs in early childhood. She believes that differences in gender ideals are maintained through the unique intimacy between mother and daughter. “Influenced by the early experiences of girls and boys who felt female care, an expectation is formed that mothers’ interests are completely focused on children and the main meaning of their lives is related to caring for the well-being of children.
Daughters grow up to identify with their mothers in accordance with these expectations... As a result of the maternal care experienced in childhood, girls are likely to develop a desire for maternal care of infants and will be ready to take on long-term care of children.”
Psychoanalytic studies have shown that in the early stages of socialization, boys and girls identify themselves with their mothers. In later stages, girls usually maintain their attachment to their mother; boys begin to become close to fathers or other strong male figures. Thus, the boy must change his orientation at a time when he is in great need of emotional support, and problems may arise due to this. Hetherington's research suggests that a boy's masculine identity is shaped by the influence of a strong father. In addition, it can be assumed that an overbearing mother may prevent a young son from becoming closer to his father.
Reinforcement
This concept is associated with rewards and punishments. Parents reward gender-appropriate behavior and disapprove of inappropriate behavior: boys are praised for learning to throw a ball 50 feet farther; adults usually grumble when fat girls eat their second helping of lunch. Boys are probably praised and scolded more often than girls. This is especially noticeable when it comes to generally accepted gender-appropriate behavior patterns. Parents are more concerned when their sons act like mama's boys than when their daughters act like tomboys. While parents tend to condemn the lack of independence in boys, they allow girls to be dependent on others and even approve of it. As a result, boys learn the principle that they must rely on their own achievements to gain self-respect, while girls' self-respect depends on how others treat them.
Maccoby and Jacklin found that outsiders, more than parents, perceive children based on generally accepted stereotypes of sexual behavior. Parents know the individual characteristics of their child and take them into account. Strangers who do not know the child expect him to behave “like a boy” or “like a girl.”
Self-socialization
This process, which Lawrence Kohlberg wrote about, is due to the fact that children “prepare themselves for life in society” on the basis of verbal and non-verbal social interaction. Like actors trying to find different interpretations of a role, children reproduce the behavior of cunning, rude and generous, etc. people – the criterion for them is the responses of their peers. Gradually, finding themselves in thousands of life situations, children begin to realize that the embodiment of certain models evokes the respect or condemnation of others.
Although in some cases this process reflects the standards of parents, self-socialization also has its own distinctiveness. This partly explains the fact that sometimes the gender identity of growing children does not correspond to the desires or expectations of their parents.
Ideals and identity
Through the three processes just discussed (modeling, reinforcement, and self-socialization), children learn to identify as girls or boys and develop concepts of “masculinity” or “femininity.” As such behavior develops, gender identity and ideals simultaneously emerge. Children begin to see their behavior as “natural” because they are boys or girls. Most of us usually identify ourselves as male or female without any doubt, but there is some confusion about how men or women should behave, how a male or female gender identity is formed.
The fact is that gender identity and ideals do not always correspond to each other. For example, homosexuals have a gender identity, but they do not experience romantic attraction to women, which personifies the gender ideal of a man. This behavior is also common among transvestites - people who wear both men's and women's clothing - they are aware of their biological sex, but their behavior does not correspond to generally accepted ideals. Any emergency doctor can tell you about men who wear lace underwear under a three-piece suit . Finally, the phenomenon of transsexuality also demonstrates the lack of automatic correspondence between gender identity and ideals.
Sexual roles: “a man’s place” / “a woman’s place”
We discussed the concepts of biological sex, gender identity, and gender ideals—the first three components of gender identity. The fourth component is related to sexual roles. They meet the expectations of behavior that determines the status of men and women in society. As for gender roles, biological factors do not predetermine a person’s fate - it cannot be said that the ability to bear children in all societies limits the purpose of women to housework and caring for the family hearth. For example, previously in America, pregnant women usually left work and stayed at home for twenty years, often remaining housewives forever. Currently, women typically take three to six months of maternity leave and then return to work. Although this change has only recently occurred in America, a similar trend has long been evident in other countries.
Margaret Mead dealt a crushing blow to the belief that men and women were “naturally” designed for certain roles. She wrote about this in her book Sex and Temperament, which presents her observations of the lives of three tribes in New Guinea. At the beginning of her research, Mead was convinced that there were some fundamental differences between the sexes. She embraced the idea that there were innate differences between men and women, so each gender was designed for specific roles. The findings surprised her. In each of the three tribes studied, men and women performed completely different roles, sometimes in direct opposition to the generally accepted stereotypes considered “natural” for each gender.
Instead of introducing
To begin with, let's say that any social role should be understood as a social function, stereotype, idea, behavior or type of activity. Such a number of ideas about social roles is an indicator that this concept itself can be successfully used to describe the behavior of a person performing various social functions.
Many experts are inclined to believe that social roles have the function of consolidating the most optimal ways of human behavior in specific circumstances, which have been developed by humanity over the centuries.
The systematic nature of a person’s daily life is due to the fact that he consistently performs any social roles associated with his duties and rights. Responsibility is the need for a person to do something based on a social role, regardless of how he feels about it. In the process of fulfilling his duties determined by his social role, any person has the right to make his own demands on others.
It is important to note that responsibilities will absolutely always be accompanied by rights. And the balance of duties and rights will always presuppose optimal adherence to the social role in behavior. If there is an imbalance, this indicates that the social role has not been properly learned.
