What social roles are you? Social roles and role behavior of the individual

In psychology and sociology there are many theories about personality and its attributes. The concepts of “social role” and “personal status” are used to explain human behavior in society, as they influence many aspects of an individual’s functioning. His self-esteem, self-awareness, communication, direction largely depend on them.

Concept of personality

From a sociological point of view, a personality is an individual who, during socialization, acquires a specific set of socially significant qualities, properties, knowledge, skills and abilities. As a result of inclusion in social relations and connections, he becomes a responsible subject of volitional activity. According to psychologists, personality is an integral set of various traits of biogenic and sociogenic origin, which is formed during life and affects human behavior and activity. In both cases, the social role and status of the individual play an important role in the formation and self-realization of the individual.

The basis for the formation are four groups of phenomena: the biological characteristics of the human body and its innate experience, the results of learning, the experience of social life and interaction with other people, the results of self-esteem, reflection and self-awareness. In the personality structure, groups of characteristics can be distinguished that influence all human behavior.

These include such psychological traits as abilities, motivation, volitional qualities, social attitudes and stereotypes, character, orientation, emotions, temperament. Personality also includes a set of social characteristics, such as social statuses and roles, a system of dispositions and various role expectations, a complex of knowledge, values and beliefs, interests and worldview. The process of crystallization of personality traits often occurs under the influence of the external and internal environment and proceeds uniquely, creating a unique integrity.

Concept of social status

At the end of the 19th century, the English scientist Henry Men introduced a new concept into circulation. Since then, social status has been analyzed and studied a lot. Today, it is understood as a certain place of a person in a social system or group. It is determined by a number of characteristics: financial and marital status, possession of power, functions performed, education, specific skills, nationality, special psychological characteristics and many others. Since an individual is simultaneously a member of various groups, his status in them may be different.

It not only denotes a person’s position in society, but also gives him certain rights and responsibilities. Typically, the higher it is, the greater the set of rights and responsibilities. Often in everyday consciousness the concepts of social status and roles are equated with the concept of prestige. It certainly accompanies status, but is not always its mandatory attribute. Status is a moving category. A person can change it with the acquisition of new qualities or roles. Only in traditional social systems could it be inherited, enshrined in law or in accordance with religious canons. Today, a person in his development can achieve the desired statuses or lose them under certain circumstances.

Hierarchy of statuses

A set of different positions of one person in society is usually called a status set. In this structure there is usually a dominant, main status, and a set of additional ones. The first determines the main position of the individual in this social system. For example, a child or an elderly person will have a primary status according to age. At the same time, in some patriarchal societies, a person’s gender will be the main feature for determining his position in the system.

Since there is a division into main and non-main statuses, researchers talk about the existence of a hierarchy of social positions of the individual. Social roles and status are the most important factor influencing an individual’s overall satisfaction with his life. The assessment takes place in two directions. There are stable interactions of statuses at the horizontal and vertical levels.

The first factor is a system of interaction between people at the same level of the social hierarchy. Vertical, respectively, communication between people at different levels. The distribution of people along the steps of the social ladder is a natural phenomenon for society. Hierarchy supports the role expectations of the individual, stipulating an understanding of the distribution of responsibilities and rights, allows a person to be satisfied with his position or forces him to strive for a change in status. This ensures personality dynamics.

Personal and social status

Traditionally, based on the size of the community in which a person functions, it is customary to distinguish between personal and social statuses. They function at different levels. Thus, social status is the sphere of professional and social relations. Professional position, education, political position, and social activity are of utmost importance here. They are the signs by which a person is placed in the social hierarchy.

Social role and status also function in small groups. In this case, researchers talk about personal status. In a family, a small interest group, a circle of friends, a small work group, a person occupies a certain position. But to establish a hierarchy, not professional, but personal, psychological signs are used here. Leadership qualities, knowledge, skills, sociability, sincerity and other character traits allow a person to become a leader or an outsider and gain a certain personal status. There is a significant difference between these two types of positions in a social group. They allow a person to realize himself in various fields. Thus, a small clerk who occupies a low position in the work team can play a significant role, for example, in the society of numismatists, thanks to his knowledge.

Types of social statuses

Since the concept of status covers an extremely broad area of social activity of an individual, that is, there are many of their varieties. Let's highlight the main classifications. Depending on the dominance of different characteristics, the following statuses are distinguished:

Natural, or socio-demographic. These statuses are established in accordance with such characteristics as age, kinship, gender, race and health status. Examples could be the positions of a child, a parent, a man or a woman, a Caucasian, or a disabled person. The social role and status of a person in communication are reflected in this case by endowing the individual with certain rights and responsibilities.
Actually social status. It can only develop in society. Economic statuses are usually distinguished depending on the position held and the availability of property; political, in accordance with views and social activity, also a sign of status is the presence or absence of power; sociocultural, which include education, attitude towards religion, art, science. In addition, there are legal, professional, territorial statuses.

According to another classification, prescribed, achieved and mixed statuses are distinguished in accordance with the method of obtaining it. Prescribed statuses are those assigned by birth. A person receives them unwillingly, without doing anything for it.

Achieved, on the contrary, are acquired as a result of effort, often significant. These include professional, economic, and cultural positions in society. Mixed - those that combine the two previous types. An example of such statuses can be various dynasties, where by right of birth a child receives not only a position in society, but a predisposition to achievements in a certain field of activity. Formal and informal statuses are also distinguished. The first are formally enshrined in some documents. For example, when taking office. The latter are assigned by the group behind the scenes. A striking example is the leader in a small group.

Concept of social role

In psychology and sociology, the term “social role” is used, which refers to expected behavior dictated by social status and other group members. Social role and status are closely related. Status imposes obligations of law on an individual, and they, in turn, dictate a certain type of behavior to a person. Any person, due to his sociality, must constantly change behavior patterns, so each individual has a whole arsenal of roles that he plays in different situations.

Social role determines social status. Its structure includes role expectation, or expectation, performance, or play. A person finds himself in a typical situation where participants expect a certain model of behavior from him. Therefore, he begins to bring it to life. He doesn't need to think about how to behave. The model dictates his actions. Each person has his own role set, that is, a set of roles for different occasions in accordance with his status.

Psychological characteristics of social roles

There is an opinion that the role in society determines social status. However, the sequence is reversed. Receiving another status, a person develops behavior options. There are two psychological components to every role. Firstly, this is a symbolic-informational part, which is the script of a typical performance. It is often presented in the form of instructions, reminders, principles. Each individual has unique characteristics that give the role a distinctive and subjective character. Secondly, this is the imperative-control component, which is the mechanism for starting the game. The imperative component is also associated with values and norms. He dictates how to act, based on cultural stereotypes and moral norms of society.

The social role has three psychological parameters by which it can be assessed and classified:

Emotionality. Different degrees of sensuality are characteristic of each role. So, the leader should be restrained, and the mother can be emotional.
Formalization. Roles can be formal or informal. The first ones are described by a certain scenario, fixed in some form. For example, the role of a teacher is partly described in the job description, and is also fixed in the stereotypes and beliefs of society. The latter arise in specific situations and are not recorded anywhere except in the psyche of the performer. For example, the role of the ringleader in the company.
Motivation. Roles are always closely related to the satisfaction of various needs, each of them has one or more initial needs.

Types of social roles

Society is infinitely diverse, so there are many types of roles. Social status and social role of a person are interconnected. Therefore, the former often duplicate the latter and vice versa. Thus, there are natural roles (mother, child) and achieved ones (manager, leader), formal and informal. Social role and status, examples of which everyone can find in their personality structure, have a certain sphere of influence. Among them, there are status roles that are directly related to a certain position in society and interpersonal roles that arise from the situation, for example, the role of the loved one, the offended, etc.

Functions of social roles

Society constantly needs mechanisms to regulate the behavior of its members. The social role and status in communication primarily perform a regulatory function. They help you quickly find an interaction scenario without spending large resources. Social roles also perform an adaptation function. When a person’s status changes, or he finds himself in a certain situation, he needs to quickly find an appropriate model of behavior. Thus, the social role and status of the nation allow it to adapt to the new cultural context.

Another function is self-realization. Performing roles allows a person to demonstrate his various qualities and achieve desired goals. The cognitive function lies in the possibilities of self-knowledge. A person, trying on different roles, learns his potential and finds new opportunities.

Social role and status: ways of interaction

In the personality structure, roles and statuses are closely intertwined. They allow a person to solve various social problems, achieve goals and satisfy requirements. The social role and status of an individual in a group are important for motivating her to perform activities. Wanting to improve his status, a person begins to study, work, and improve.

Groups are a dynamic entity and there is always the possibility of redistribution of statuses. A person, using the range of his roles, can change his status. And vice versa: changing it will lead to a change in the role set. The social role and status of an individual in a group can be briefly characterized as the driving force of an individual on the path to self-realization and achieving goals.

Social role is the fixation of a certain position occupied by one or another individual in the system of social relations.

There are 2 types of social relations in society: formal (conventional) - regulated by law and social status; informal (interpersonal) – regulated by feelings.

A social role is a socially necessary type of social activity and a way of behavior of an individual that bears the stamp of social evaluation.

The concept of social role was first proposed by American sociologists R. Linton and J. Mead. (in the 30s of the last century)

Each individual performs not one, but several social roles.

Types of social roles:

1. formal social roles (teacher, cook)

2. interpersonal social roles (friend, leader, enemy)

3. socio-demographic roles (mother, man, sister)

Characteristics of a social role

The main characteristics of a social role are highlighted by the American sociologist T. Parsons: scale, method of obtaining, emotionality, formalization, motivation. 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.

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. Other roles are achieved or even won during the course of a person's life and as a result of special efforts.

Social roles differ significantly in their level of emotionality. Each role carries within itself certain possibilities for the emotional manifestation of its subject.

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 are only informal; still others may combine both formal and informal relationships.

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.

All social roles are subject to public assessment (not the individual, but the type of activity) and are associated with rights and responsibilities. If there is harmony of rights and responsibilities, it means that a person has correctly learned his social role.

The influence of social role on personality development

The influence of social role on personality development is great. 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. The process of personality development often acts as the dynamics of mastering social roles.

Role conflicts

Role conflict is a situation in which an individual with a certain status is faced with incompatible expectations.

The situation of role conflict is caused by the fact that the individual is unable to fulfill the requirements of the role.

In role theories, it is customary to distinguish between two types of conflicts: inter-role and intra-role.

Social role is a status-role concept that is one of the most popular theories in sociology. Any person is part of society, society and, in accordance with it, performs a number of functions, and therefore, in this concept, the individual is a subject. Famous American sociologists laid the foundations of the concept of personality, they were R. Minton, J. Mead and T. Parson, of course, each has individual merits for the contribution of their efforts and potential to the development of the status-role concept.

Social status and social role are the main two concepts that describe a person. An individual, occupying a certain place in society, is assigned a social position and has certain rights and responsibilities. It is this position that defines a person. At the same time, a person has several statuses, one of which is main or basic, that is, the main status is the person’s profession or position.

The social role is that he performs within the framework of his social status in a particular social system. And given that one person has several statuses, then, accordingly, he performs several roles. The totality within one social status is a social set. A person performs more social roles if he has a much higher status and position in society.

The social role of a person working in a security agency is radically different from the role set of the President of the country, this is all clear and easy. In general, the American sociologist T. Parson was the first to systematize roles, thanks to whom five main categories were identified that make it possible to qualify individual social roles:

A social role is something that is regulated in some cases. For example, the social role of a civil servant is strictly outlined, but the role of the fact that this employee is a man is very blurred and individual.
Some roles are extremely emotional, while others require rigor and restraint.
Social roles may differ in the way they are obtained. This depends on the social status that is prescribed or achieved by the person independently.
The scale and scope of authority within one social role is clearly defined, while in others it is not even established.
The performance of a role is motivated by personal interests or for the sake of public duty.

It is important to remember that a social role is a pattern of behavior that is balanced between role expectations and a person's character. That is, it is not the exact mechanism and pattern expected of a particular social role, but role behavior is specific depending on the individual characteristics of the person. Let us once again establish that the social role of a person is determined by a specific social status, expressed by a certain profession, field of activity. For example, teacher, musician, student, salesman, director, accountant, politician. The social role of the individual is always assessed by society, approved or condemned. For example, the role of a criminal or a prostitute has social stigma.

In scientific literature, and even more so in everyday life, the concepts: “person”, “individual”, “individuality”, “personality” are widely used, often without making distinctions, whereas there is a significant difference between them.

Human- a biosocial being, the highest level of the animal type.

Individual- a single person.

Individuality- a special combination in a person of the natural and social, inherent in a specific, individual individual, distinguishing him from others. Each person is individual, figuratively speaking, has his own face, which is expressed by the concept of “personality”.

This is a complex concept, the study of which takes place at the intersection of the natural and the social. Moreover, representatives of different schools and directions view it through the prism of the subject of their science.

Social-biological school (S. Freud etc.), is associated with the struggle in our consciousness of unconscious instincts and moral prohibitions dictated by society.
Theory of the “mirror self” (C. Cooley, J. Mead), in which “I” is part of the personality, which consists of self-awareness and the image of “I”. According to this concept, personality is formed in the process of its social interaction and reflects a person's ideas about how he is perceived and evaluated by other people. In the course of interpersonal communication, a person creates his mirror self, which consists of three elements:

ideas about how other people perceive him;
ideas about how they evaluate it;
how a person responds to the perceived reactions of other people.

Thus, in theory “mirror self” personality acts as a result of social interaction, during which the individual acquires the ability to evaluate himself from the point of view of other members of a given social group.

As we see, Mead’s concept of personality, in contrast to S. Freud’s theory, is completely social.

Role theory (Ya. Moreno, T. Parsons), according to which personality is a function of the totality of social roles that an individual performs in society.
Anthropological School (M. Lundman), which does not separate the concepts of “person” and “personality”.
Marxist sociology in the concept of “personality” reflects the social essence of a person as a set of social relations that determine the social, psychological and spiritual qualities of people, socialize their natural and biological properties.
Sociological approach, which many modern sociologists are guided by, is to represent each person as an individual, to the extent that he has mastered and acquired socially significant traits and qualities. These include the level of education and professional training, the body of knowledge and skills that allow people to realize various positions and roles in society.

Based on the above theoretical principles, it is possible to determine personality How individual manifestation of the totality of social relations, social characteristics of a person.

As an integral social system, a personality has its own internal structure, consisting of levels.

Biological level includes natural, common personality qualities (body structure, gender and age characteristics, temperament, etc.).

Psychological level personality is united by its psychological characteristics (feelings, will, memory, thinking). Psychological characteristics are closely related to the heredity of the individual.

Finally, social level of personality is divided into three sublevel:

actually sociological (motives of behavior, interests of the individual, life experience, goals), this sublevel is more closely connected with social consciousness, which is objective in relation to each person, acting as part of the social environment, as material for individual consciousness;
specific cultural (value and other attitudes, norms of behavior);
moral.

When studying personality as a subject of social relations, sociologists pay special attention to the internal determinants of its social behavior. Such determinants include, first of all, needs and interests.

Needs- these are those forms of interaction with the world (material and spiritual), the need for which is determined by the characteristics of the reproduction and development of its biological, psychological, social certainty, which are realized and felt by a person in some form.

Interests- These are the conscious needs of the individual.

The needs and interests of an individual underlie his value attitude towards the world around him, the basis of his system of values and value orientations.

Some authors in personality structure include and other elements: culture, knowledge, norms, values, activities, beliefs, value orientations and attitudes that form the core of the personality, acting as a regulator of behavior, directing it into the normative framework prescribed by society.

A special place in the personality structure is occupied by its role.

Having matured, a person actively enters, “infiltrates” into public life, striving to take his place in it, to satisfy personal needs and interests. The relationship between the individual and society can be described by the formula: society offers, the individual seeks, chooses his place, trying to realize his interests. At the same time, she shows and proves to society that she is in her place and will perform well in a certain role assigned to him.

Social status of the individual

The social functions of the individual and the ensuing rights and obligations in relation to other participants in social interaction determine it social status, i.e. that set of actions and corresponding conditions for their execution that are assigned to a given social status of an individual occupying a certain place or position in the social structure. Social status of the individual is a characteristic of social positions, on which it is located in a given social coordinate system.

Society ensures that individuals regularly fulfill their roles and social functions. Why does he endow her with a certain social status? Otherwise, it puts another person in this place, believing that she will better cope with social responsibilities and will bring more benefit to other members of society who play other roles in it.

There are social statuses prescribed(gender, age, nationality) and achieved(student, associate professor, professor).

Achieved statuses are consolidated taking into account abilities and achievements, which gives everyone a perspective. In an ideal society, most statuses are achievable. In reality, this is far from the case. Each person has many statuses: father, student, teacher, public figure, etc. Among them, the main one stands out, which is the most important and valuable for society. It corresponds to social prestige of this individual.

Each status is associated with certain expected behavior when performing the corresponding functions. In this case, we are talking about the social role of the individual.

Social role of the individual

Social role is a set of functions, a more or less clearly defined pattern of behavior that is expected from a person, holding a certain status in society. So, a family man plays the roles of son, husband, father. At work, he can simultaneously be an engineer, a technologist, a production site foreman, a trade union member, etc. Of course, not all social roles are equivalent for society and are equivalent for the individual. The main ones should be family, everyday, professional and socio-political roles. Thanks to their timely mastery and successful implementation by members of society, the normal functioning of the social organism is possible.

To each person you have to perform a lot situational roles. By entering the bus, we become passengers and are obliged to follow the rules of behavior in public transport. Having finished the trip, we turn into pedestrians and follow the traffic rules. We behave differently in the reading room and in the store because the role of the buyer and the role of the reader are different. Deviations from role requirements and violations of rules of behavior are fraught with unpleasant consequences for a person.

A social role is not a rigid model of behavior. People perceive and perform their roles differently. However, society is interested in people timely mastering, skillfully performing and enriching social roles in accordance with the requirements of life. First of all, this applies to the main roles: employee, family man, citizen, etc. In this case, the interests of society coincide with the interests of the individual. WITH social roles - forms of manifestation and development of personality, and their successful implementation is the key to human happiness. It is easy to notice that truly happy people have a good family and successfully cope with their professional responsibilities. They take a conscious part in the life of society and government affairs. As for friendly companies, leisure activities and hobbies, they enrich life, but are not able to compensate for failures in fulfilling basic social roles.

Social conflicts

However, achieving harmony of social roles in human life is not at all easy. This requires great effort, time, abilities, as well as the ability to resolve conflicts that arise when performing social roles. These could be intra-role, interrole And personal-role.

To intra-role Conflicts include those in which the demands of one role contradict or oppose each other. Mothers, for example, are instructed not only to treat their children kindly and affectionately, but also to be demanding and strict towards them. It is not easy to combine these instructions when a beloved child has done something wrong and deserves punishment.

Interrole Conflicts arise when the demands of one role contradict or oppose the demands of another role. A striking illustration of such a conflict is the double employment of women. The workload of family women in social production and in everyday life often does not allow them to fully and without harm to their health perform professional duties and run a household, be a charming wife and a caring mother. Many thoughts have been expressed about ways to resolve this conflict. The most realistic options at the present time and in the foreseeable future seem to be a relatively even distribution of household responsibilities among family members and a reduction in women’s employment in public production (working part-time, weekly, introducing a flexible schedule, spreading home-based work, etc. . P.).

Student life, contrary to popular belief, is also not without role conflicts. To master the chosen profession and obtain an education, concentration on educational and scientific activities is required. At the same time, a young person needs varied communication, free time for other activities and hobbies, without which it is impossible to form a full-fledged personality and create his own family. The situation is complicated by the fact that neither education nor varied communication can be postponed to a later date without prejudice to personality formation and professional training.

Personal-role conflicts arise in situations where the requirements of a social role contradict the properties and life aspirations of the individual. Thus, a social role requires from a person not only extensive knowledge, but also good willpower, energy, and the ability to communicate with people in various, including critical, situations. If a specialist lacks these qualities, then he cannot cope with his role. People say about this: “The hat doesn’t suit Senka.”

Each person included in the system of social relations has countless social connections, is endowed with many statuses, performs a whole set of different roles, is the bearer of certain ideas, feelings, character traits, etc. It is almost impossible to take into account all the diversity of the properties of each individual, but in this is not necessary. In sociology are essential not individual, but social properties and qualities of personality, i.e. quality, which many individuals possess, located in similar, objective conditions. Therefore, for the convenience of studying individuals who have a set of repeating essential social qualities, they are typologized, i.e., assigned to a specific social type.

Social personality type- a generalized reflection, a set of repeating social qualities inherent in many individuals belonging to any social community. For example, European, Asian, Caucasian types; students, workers, veterans, etc.

Typology of personalities can be carried out for various reasons. For example, by professional affiliation or type of activity: miner, farmer, economist, lawyer; by territorial affiliation or way of life: city dweller, village resident, northerner; by gender and age: boys, girls, pensioners; by degree of social activity: leader (leader, activist), follower (performer), etc.

In sociology there are modal,basic and ideal personality types. Modal They call the average type of personality that actually prevails in a given society. Under basic refers to the type of personality that best meets the development needs of society. Ideal the personality type is not tied to specific conditions and is considered as a standard for the personality of the future.

An American sociologist and psychologist made a great contribution to the development of social typology of personality E. Fromm(1900-1980), who created the concept of social character. According to E. Fromm’s definition, social character- this is the core of character structure, characteristic of the majority members of a particular culture. E. Fromm saw the importance of social character in the fact that it allows one to most effectively adapt to the requirements of society and gain a sense of safety and security. Classical capitalism, according to E. Fromm, is characterized by such social character traits as individualism, aggressiveness, and the desire to accumulate. In modern bourgeois society, a social character emerges that is oriented towards mass consumption and is marked by feelings of satiety, boredom and preoccupation. Accordingly, E. Fromm identified fourtype of social character:receptive(passive), exploitative, accumulative And market He considered all these types to be unfruitful and contrasted them with the social character of a new type, promoting the formation of an independent, independent and active personality.

In modern sociology, the identification of personality types depending on the their value orientations.

Traditionalists are focused mainly on the values of duty, order, discipline, and obedience to the law, and qualities such as independence and the desire for self-realization are very weakly expressed in this type of personality.
Idealists, on the contrary, have strong independence, a critical attitude towards traditional norms, a focus on self-development and disdain for authority.
Realists combine the desire for self-realization with a developed sense of duty and responsibility, healthy skepticism with self-discipline and self-control.

They show that the specificity of relationships in various spheres of social life stimulates the manifestation of certain personal qualities and types of behavior. Thus, market relations contribute to the development of entrepreneurship, pragmatism, cunning, prudence, and the ability to present oneself; interactions in the sphere of production form egoism, careerism and forced cooperation, and in the sphere of family and personal life - emotionality, cordiality, affection, and the search for harmony.

Interrelation, interdependence of the individual and society

Let's consider different concepts presented by M. Weber and K. Marx.

M. Weber sees in the role of a subject of public life only certain individuals who act meaningfully. And such social totalities as “classes”, “society”, “state”, in his opinion, are entirely abstract and cannot be subject to social analysis.

Another solution to this problem is the theory K. Marx. In his understanding, the subjects of social development are social formations of several levels: humanity, classes, nations, state, family and individual. The movement of society is carried out as a result of the actions of all these subjects. However, they are by no means equivalent and the strength of their impact varies depending on historical conditions. In different eras, the decisive subject is the one who is the main driving force of a given historical period.

Nevertheless, it is imperative to keep in mind that in Marx’s concept, all subjects of social development act in accordance with the objective laws of social development. They can neither change these laws nor repeal them. Their subjective activity either helps these laws to act freely and thereby accelerates social development, or prevents them from acting and then slows down the historical process.

How is the problem that interests us represented in this theory: personality and society? We see that the individual here is recognized as a subject of social development, although he does not come to the fore and does not become one of the driving forces of social progress. According to Marx's concept, personality Not only subject, but also object of society. It is not an abstract characteristic of an individual. In your reality it is the totality of all social relations. The development of an individual is conditioned by the development of all other individuals with whom he is in direct or indirect communication; it cannot be divorced from the history of previous and contemporary individuals. Thus, the life activity of an individual in Marx’s concept is comprehensively determined by society in the form of the social conditions of its existence, the heritage of the past, the objective laws of history, etc., although some space for its social action still remains. According to Marx, history is nothing more than the activity of a person pursuing his goals.

Now let’s return to reality, the life of modern Russians in the 21st century. The Soviet totalitarian state collapsed. New social conditions and values arose. And it turned out that many people cannot perceive them, master them, assimilate them, or find their new path in such a difficult time. Hence the social pathologies that are now the pain of our society - crime, alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide.

Obviously, time will pass and people will learn to live in new social conditions, to seek and find the meaning of life, but this requires the experience of freedom. She created a vacuum of existence, breaking traditions, classes, etc., and she will teach how to fill it. In the West, people are already making some progress in this direction - they have studied longer. The Austrian scientist Dr. W. Frankl expresses very interesting ideas on this matter. He believes that it is human nature to strive for a meaningful life. If there is no meaning, this is the most difficult state of the individual. There is no common meaning in life for all people; it is unique for everyone. The meaning of life, Frankl believes, cannot be invented or invented; it needs to be found, it exists objectively outside of man. The tension that arises between a person and the external meaning is a normal, healthy state of mind.

Despite the fact that the meaning of life is unique to everyone, there are not so many ways in which a person can make his life meaningful: what we give to life (in the sense of our creative work); what we take from the world (in the sense of experiences, values); what position we take in relation to fate if we cannot change it. In accordance with this, three groups of values can be distinguished: the values of creativity, the values of experiences and the values of relationships. The realization of values (or at least one of them) can help make sense of human life. If a person does something beyond the prescribed duties, brings something of his own to work, then this is already a meaningful life. However, meaning in life can also be given by an experience, for example, love. Even one single vivid experience will make your past life meaningful. But the third group of values is deeper - relational values. A person is forced to resort to them when he cannot change circumstances, when he finds himself in an extreme situation (hopelessly ill, deprived of freedom, lost a loved one, etc.). Under any circumstances, a person can take a meaningful position, because a person’s life retains its meaning to the end.

The conclusion can be made quite optimistic: despite the spiritual crisis of many people in the modern world, a way out of this state will still be found as people master new free forms of life, opportunities for self-realization of their abilities, and achievement of life goals.

Personal self-realization, as a rule, occurs not in one, but in several types of activity. In addition to professional activities, most people strive to create a strong family, have good friends, interesting hobbies, etc. All the various types of activities and goals together create a kind of system for orienting the individual to the long term. Based on this perspective, the individual chooses the appropriate life strategy (the general direction of the life path).

Life strategies can be divided into three main types:

strategy for life well-being - the desire to create favorable living conditions and earn another million;
strategy for success in life - the desire to get the next position, the next title, conquer the next peak, etc.;
strategy of life self-realization - the desire to maximize one’s abilities in certain types of activities.

The choice of one or another life strategy depends on three main factors:

objective social conditions that society (the state) can provide to an individual for his self-realization;
the individual’s belonging to a particular social community (class, ethnic group, social stratum, etc.);
socio-psychological qualities of the individual himself.

For example, most members of a traditional or crisis society, in which the problem of survival is the main one, are forced to adhere to a strategy of life well-being. IN democratic society with developed market relations the most popular is life success strategy. In a social society(state) in which the main social problems have been solved for the vast majority of citizens, it can be very attractive life self-realization strategy.

A life strategy can be chosen by an individual once and for the rest of his life, or it can change depending on certain circumstances. Thus, the individual has fully realized the strategy of life success and decided to focus on a new strategy, or the individual is forced to abandon the previously chosen strategy (a scientist who has lost his job, a bankrupt businessman, a retired military man, etc.).

Social role - sample human behavior that society recognizes as appropriate for the holder of this status.

Social role- this is a set of actions that a person occupying this status must perform. A person must fulfill certain material values in social system.

This is a model of human behavior, objectively determined by the social position of the individual in the system of social, public and personal relations. In other words, a social role is “the behavior that is expected of a person occupying a certain status.” Modern society requires an individual to constantly change his behavior pattern to perform specific roles. In this regard, such neo-Marxists and neo-Freudians as T. Adorno, K. Horney and others in their works made a paradoxical conclusion: the “normal” personality of modern society is a neurotic. Moreover, in modern society, role conflicts that arise in situations where an individual is required to simultaneously perform several roles with conflicting requirements are widespread.

Erving Goffman, in his studies of interaction rituals, accepting and developing the basic theatrical metaphor, paid attention not so much to role prescriptions and passive adherence to them, but to the very processes of active construction and maintenance of “appearance” in the course of communication, to zones of uncertainty and ambiguity in interaction , mistakes in the behavior of partners.

The concept " social role“was proposed independently by American sociologists R. Linton and J. Mead in the 1930s, with the first interpreting the concept of “social role” as a unit of social structure, described in the form of a system of norms given to a person, the second - in terms of direct interaction between people , “role-playing game”, during which, due to the fact that a person imagines himself in the role of another, social norms are learned and the social is formed in the individual. Linton's definition of the social role as a “dynamic aspect of status” was entrenched in structural functionalism and was developed by T. Parsons, A. Radcliffe-Brown, and R. Merton. Mead's ideas were developed in interactionist sociology and psychology. Despite all the differences, both of these approaches are united by the idea of a social role as a nodal point at which the individual and society meet, individual behavior turns into social behavior, and the individual properties and inclinations of people are compared with the normative attitudes existing in society, depending on which people are selected to certain social roles. Of course, in reality, role expectations are never straightforward. In addition, a person often finds himself in a situation of role conflict, when his different social roles turn out to be poorly compatible.

Types of social roles in society

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 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, presupposing specific modes of behavior, enshrined in social norms and customs.
Interpersonal roles 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.

Characteristics of social roles

The main characteristics of a social role were highlighted by American sociologist Talcott Parsons. He proposed 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 type of motivation. The motivation can be personal profit, public good, etc.

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.

How to get a role 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 a 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.