SOCIAL ROLE: CONCEPT ACCORDING TO TALCOTT PARSONS, TYPES AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The social role is a concept extracted from sociology and psychology that refers to all those behaviors, attitudes and ways of thinking that a person is expected to adopt based on the situation in which they find themselves and their personal characteristics. For example, different professions generate different social roles.

The concept of social role was developed and popularized by Talcott Parsons, an American sociologist in the early 20th century who created the first known theory of social systems. Their discoveries helped us better understand the role that the expectations of society and the people around us fulfill in our behavior.

The social role that we fulfill on a regular basis has a very close relationship with other very important elements of our personality, such as identity or status. At the same time, it also greatly influences the way in which we relate to the people around us.

Many times we are not aware of the social roles we play, and therefore their power over us is even greater. In this article we will see the most important characteristics of this phenomenon and the way it influences our lives.

Social role according to Talcott Parsons

Talcot Parsons. Max Smith / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

At the beginning of the 20th century, Talcott Parsons developed a theory that tried to explain the interaction of people with our environment and the effects this relationship produces on our behavior. This received the name of “systemic theory”, and today it is considered one of the most important contributions of all time in sociology.

Parsons systems

According to Parsons, in order to understand an individual it is not enough to just study their way of being or their personal characteristics, but it is necessary to understand the environments or systems in which they move. This author argued that there were four main systems: the cultural, the social, the personality and the biological.

The last two systems are directly related to the unique characteristics of each person. On the contrary, both the cultural and social systems provide a context and expectations to which the individual has to adapt to be successful in different areas. Social roles emerge from the interaction between all these systems.

What is the social role according to Parsons?

For Parsons, there would not be a single social role, but what is expected of a particular person would change depending on their context, the individuals with whom they are related, the culture in which they live and other factors such as their age, your economic status or your own needs.

Within this theory, a social role does not have to be negative. It is a neutral element that serves to regulate the interactions between the different members of a group or culture, and as such could serve to maintain order and the well-being of the people involved. However, on some occasions the social role can also cause undesirable consequences.

Thus, for example, a person may end up habitually behaving in a way that goes against their own interests, desires or values ​​simply to conform to what is expected of them.

According to Talcott Parsons, there would be great social pressure to always act appropriately based on our role for each specific situation.

Types of social roles

Social roles play a very important role in our day-to-day life, so within sociology several models have been developed to classify them. However, the most common is the one that divides them based on their origin. Below we will see some of the most common types of social roles according to this categorization.

- Cultural roles

The culture in which we are born and live has a great influence on how we think and behave. A person from an Asian country will tend to act very differently from a European or a Latino, without taking into account factors such as their personality or individual tastes.

Thus, for example, Asian cultures often place great emphasis on the importance of supporting the family and respecting parents. Western cultures, by contrast, reward individualism and encourage behaviors intended for personal gain.

- Professional roles

Our work is one of the most important sources of rules for how we have to act and behave. A person in a position of responsibility will tend to adopt a social role very different from that of her subordinate, even when she is outside her work environment.

A very clear example is that of a school classroom. Children tend to respect their teacher simply because of the position she occupies, and they place great value on her words without entering into judgment.

- Gender roles

In virtually every culture in the world, men and women are expected to behave differently in certain areas. For example, among other things it is generally believed that men are more aggressive and assertive, and women more empathetic and with greater emotional intelligence.

Today there is a great debate about the origin of gender roles, with some experts claiming that they are largely biological and with other theories advocating otherwise. However, it is undeniable that these roles have a great influence on the lives of many people.

- Age roles

Social roles change as the person goes through the different stages of his life. Thus, young people are normally expected to study, party and have casual relationships, while middle-aged adults must marry, start a family and have a stable job.

Examples

As we have already seen, social roles are present in almost all aspects of our existence. Next we will see some concrete examples to finish understanding this concept.

- A young man decides to find a partner because it is what is expected of adolescents.

- A 30-year-old woman thinks about having children because she thinks it is "the right thing to do."

- An employee of a large company goes out every day to drink with his colleagues because that is what everyone else does, even when he does not feel like it.

References

1. "Social roles and social norms" in: Simply Psychology. Retrieved on: February 18, 2020 from Simply Psychology: simplypsychology.com.
2. "Social roles: an overview" in: Science Direct. Retrieved on: February 18, 2020 from Science Direct: sciencedirect.com.
3. "Role" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: February 18, 2020 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
4. "Role" in: Britannica. Retrieved on: February 18, 2020 from Britannica: britannica.com.
5. "Talcott Parsons" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: February 18, 2020 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.