A social role is a pattern of expected behaviors, rights, obligations, and norms associated with a particular position or status within a group or society. In other words, it’s what people presume you should do, say, or how you should act when you occupy a given social position, such as student, parent, teacher, or employee. Roles help organize social life by coordinating actions and signaling expectations to others, while also guiding how individuals present themselves and interact with others in specific contexts. Key points
- Roles are tied to positions or statuses (e.g., "teacher" or "friend") rather than to individuals themselves.
- They come with set expectations about behavior and duties, which can be codified in norms or rules.
- People often occupy multiple roles simultaneously, and some roles may conflict (role conflict) or evolve over time (role change).
- Roles are learned through socialization and can be reinforced by rewards or sanctions for conforming to or violating role norms.
If you’d like, I can provide examples from different domains (family, work, education) or compare role expectations across cultures.
