![]() Even a single status such as “student” has a complex role-set, or array of roles, attached to it (Merton 1957). ![]() One person can be associated with a multitude of roles and statuses. Our roles in life powerfully affect our decisions and help to shape our identities. When there is a deadline at the office but a sick child needs to be picked up from school, which comes first? When you are working toward a promotion but your children want you to come to their school play, which do you choose? Being a college student can conflict with being an employee, being an athlete, or even being a friend. A parent who also has a full-time career can experience role conflict on a daily basis. Similarly, a person can experience role conflict when one or more roles are contradictory. Consider the duties of a parent: cooking, cleaning, driving, problem-solving, acting as a source of moral guidance-the list goes on. If too much is required of a single role, individuals can experience role strain. However, you also play other roles in your life, such as “daughter,” “neighbor,” or “employee.” These various roles are each associated with a different status. Currently, while reading this text, you are playing the role of a student. Roles are patterns of behavior that we recognize in each other, and that are representative of a person’s social status. As a daughter or son, you occupy a different status than as a neighbor or employee.Īs you can imagine, people employ many types of behaviors in day-to-day life. Others, called achieved statuses, are obtained by choice, such as high school dropout, self-made millionaire, or nurse. Some statuses are ascribed-those you do not select, such as son, elderly person, or female. Sociologists use the term status to describe the responsibilities and benefits that a person experiences according to their rank and role in society. This threefold process correlates with Cooley’s 1902 concept of the looking-glass self, in which we develop our sense of self as we: 1) see how others react to us, 2) interpret that reaction (typically as positive or negative) and 3) develop a sense of self based on those interpretations. In our digital age, we can contemplate the kinds of photos posted online, how others react to those photos (“hearts,” “thumbs up,” emojis, comments, etc.), and then how we interpret those reactions. Long before the Internet, sociologists were examining how individuals interact with society and how they present themselves to others and are in turn perceived.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |