Social roles, definition and types
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 5:31 am
They are aspects that are decisive for establishing good community coexistence, since each member of society must fulfill a series of roles that are approved by the rest.
We have often heard that each person plays a role in their environment - or several - depending on the situations they face. For this reason, it is important to talk about roles. Social psychology and sociology have conceptualized what the social role means and the way they use to keep communities, groups or social environments in balance.
When talking about roles, it is necessary to consider the personality and the development of human beings' lives. These are two of the topics that make up the curriculum of the Bachelor of Psychology at Southern New Hampshire University , which essentially responds to the various aspects of social psychology. Thus, it is essential to know the concept of social roles.
What are social roles?
It is about the attitudes, behaviors and ways of proceeding that mark the guidelines for social behavior that people should have individually, within their community . It has to do with the functions that individuals perform in the context in which they operate, being a representation of the functions they must perform, such as being a father or mother, teacher, worker, provider or counselor, to name a few.
The American sociologist, known for his theory of social action and social systems, Talcott Parsons (1902-1979), was the one who developed and popularized the concept of social role. His cpa b2b list definition includes “a set of attitudes, capabilities, values and expectations associated with social positions or belonging to a group.” He also adds that “a role is what the actor does in his relationship with another, seen through the prism of his functional significance in a social system.”
According to Parsons, roles are functional because they respond to desirable criteria in societies, where the family and the socialization process are considered. This aspect is essential when speaking about another determining issue, such as social functioning, which corresponds to the capacity that people have to carry out the activities essential for daily life and to exercise the main social roles.
In this way, social roles are important because individuals are formed and developed in a community, naturally, through the interactions they have with each other . With the exchange of actions and experiences, social structures are created that determine the behavior expected by family, coworkers or classmates, and even friends, according to particular qualities.
You are interested in knowing the types of psychology .
Types of social roles
The social role that individuals play is related to aspects of personality, such as identity and status. In this sense, Talcott Parsons determined that there is no single social role, since what is expected of each person changes depending on their context, the culture that surrounds them, their age and their interrelationship with others. This is how the following classification of social roles was established, which initially includes those that are achieved and those that are ascribed:
Achieved role. This is the behavior that is voluntarily chosen to perform a function that requires some effort, as in the case of a professional who has invested time to study and develop his or her skills.
Ascribed role. This is the status that is granted by other people who have more power, such as the functions that parents perform when raising their children, teaching them norms, rules and other behaviors for healthy coexistence.
Relational role. It is generated by establishing a direct relationship with another person, in which one plays a complementary role to the other, as happens when there is a creditor and there is a debtor or when there is a student and there is a teacher.
Basic or simple role. These are the attitudes that a person has in society and that are determined by age, sex, kinship and physical power that they possess, with which they perform political or economic functions.
We have often heard that each person plays a role in their environment - or several - depending on the situations they face. For this reason, it is important to talk about roles. Social psychology and sociology have conceptualized what the social role means and the way they use to keep communities, groups or social environments in balance.
When talking about roles, it is necessary to consider the personality and the development of human beings' lives. These are two of the topics that make up the curriculum of the Bachelor of Psychology at Southern New Hampshire University , which essentially responds to the various aspects of social psychology. Thus, it is essential to know the concept of social roles.
What are social roles?
It is about the attitudes, behaviors and ways of proceeding that mark the guidelines for social behavior that people should have individually, within their community . It has to do with the functions that individuals perform in the context in which they operate, being a representation of the functions they must perform, such as being a father or mother, teacher, worker, provider or counselor, to name a few.
The American sociologist, known for his theory of social action and social systems, Talcott Parsons (1902-1979), was the one who developed and popularized the concept of social role. His cpa b2b list definition includes “a set of attitudes, capabilities, values and expectations associated with social positions or belonging to a group.” He also adds that “a role is what the actor does in his relationship with another, seen through the prism of his functional significance in a social system.”
According to Parsons, roles are functional because they respond to desirable criteria in societies, where the family and the socialization process are considered. This aspect is essential when speaking about another determining issue, such as social functioning, which corresponds to the capacity that people have to carry out the activities essential for daily life and to exercise the main social roles.
In this way, social roles are important because individuals are formed and developed in a community, naturally, through the interactions they have with each other . With the exchange of actions and experiences, social structures are created that determine the behavior expected by family, coworkers or classmates, and even friends, according to particular qualities.
You are interested in knowing the types of psychology .
Types of social roles
The social role that individuals play is related to aspects of personality, such as identity and status. In this sense, Talcott Parsons determined that there is no single social role, since what is expected of each person changes depending on their context, the culture that surrounds them, their age and their interrelationship with others. This is how the following classification of social roles was established, which initially includes those that are achieved and those that are ascribed:
Achieved role. This is the behavior that is voluntarily chosen to perform a function that requires some effort, as in the case of a professional who has invested time to study and develop his or her skills.
Ascribed role. This is the status that is granted by other people who have more power, such as the functions that parents perform when raising their children, teaching them norms, rules and other behaviors for healthy coexistence.
Relational role. It is generated by establishing a direct relationship with another person, in which one plays a complementary role to the other, as happens when there is a creditor and there is a debtor or when there is a student and there is a teacher.
Basic or simple role. These are the attitudes that a person has in society and that are determined by age, sex, kinship and physical power that they possess, with which they perform political or economic functions.