The types of social roles are determined by the variety of social groups, activities and relationships in which the individual is included. Depending on social relations, social and interpersonal social roles are distinguished.

Social roles are associated with social status, profession or type of activity (teacher, pupil, student, seller). These are standardized impersonal roles based on rights and obligations, regardless of who fills these roles. Allocate socio-demographic roles: husband, wife, daughter, son, grandson ... Man and woman are also social roles, biologically predetermined and involving specific ways of behavior, enshrined in social norms and customs.

Interpersonal roles are associated with interpersonal relationships that are regulated on an emotional level (leader, offended, neglected, family idol, loved one, etc.).

In life, in interpersonal relations, each person acts in some kind of dominant social role, a kind of social role as the most typical individual image familiar to others. It is extremely difficult to change the habitual image both for the person himself and for the perception of the people around him. The longer the group exists, the more familiar the dominant social roles of each member of the group become for others and the more difficult it is to change the stereotype of behavior familiar to others.

An attempt to systematize social roles was made by Talcott Parsons and his colleagues (1951). 3 They believed that any role can be described using five main characteristics:

1. Emotionality.

2. Method of receipt.

3. Scale.

4. Formalization.

5. Motivation

1. Emotionality. Some roles (for example, nurse, doctor, or funeral home owner) require emotional restraint in situations that are usually accompanied by a violent manifestation of feelings (we are talking about illness, suffering, death). Less restrained expression of feelings is expected from family members and friends.

2. Method of receipt. Some roles are conditioned by prescribed statuses - for example, child, youth or adult citizen; they are determined by the age of the person playing the role. Other roles are being won; when we talk about the doctor of medicine, we mean a role that is not achieved automatically, but as a result of the efforts of the individual.

3. Scale. Some roles are limited to strictly defined aspects of human interaction. For example, the roles of physician and patient are limited to matters that directly relate to the health of the patient. Between a small child and his mother or father, a larger relationship is established; Every parent is concerned about many aspects of a child's life.

4. Formalization. Some roles involve interacting with people in accordance with established rules. For example, a librarian is required to lend out books for a specified period and demand a fine for each day late from those who delay the books. In the performance of other roles, special treatment is allowed for those with whom you have developed a personal relationship. For example, we do not expect a brother or sister to pay us for a service rendered to them, although we could take payment from a stranger.

5. Motivation. Different roles are due to different motives. It is expected, say, that an enterprising person is absorbed in his own interests - his actions are determined by the desire to obtain maximum profit. But a social worker like the Bureau of Unemployment is supposed to work primarily for the public good, not for personal gain.

According to Parsons, any role includes some combination of these characteristics. For example, the role of a prostitute. Usually these ladies do not show any feelings for their clients. This role is achieved rather than prescribed, as it is acquired on the basis of a certain activity. It is strictly limited to sex offered for money. Usually prostitutes serve their clients in accordance with the accepted rules - a fixed fee for a certain type of service. Prostitutes work for their own benefit - sexual services for personal enrichment.

Performing roles, a person, as a rule, experiences emotional and moral experiences, can come into conflict with other people, experience a moral crisis, split. This gives rise to discomfort, insecurity, psychological distress, which are signs of role tension.

The main causes of role tensions are primarily role conflicts.

Just as the forms, causes, and situations that give rise to role tensions are diverse, so are the ways to overcome them. We are not talking about overcoming the fundamental principles, the root causes of psychological stress in the course of role behavior - we are only talking about ways to overcome stress, possible depression.

One of these ways is the method of rationalization of role expectations, which creates illusory, but seemingly rational excuses for failure.

Rationalization of role expectations can reduce claims, transfer claims from one prestigious status to another, but in a different area, sphere (for example, from production to a family, and vice versa).

The essence of the principle of separation of roles, as a way to overcome role tensions, is the conscious differentiation of the rules, techniques, norms inherent in the performance of one role from the norms, patterns of behavior inherent in another role.

The principle of role hierarchization can also play a huge role in overcoming serious psychological experiences generated by the clash of role predirections. "What is more important to me - children, family, or science?" Faced with such a dilemma, a person finds himself in a dead end, the way out of which is the choice by the personality of one of these roles as a priority. And in conflict situations, one should follow the pre-indications of the role that is preferred.

Regulation of roles is a conscious, purposeful action of society, nation, team, family, the purpose of which is to overcome the psychological tension of the individual caused by role conflict.

One of the forms of regulation of roles associated with the approval (propaganda) by the authorities, the media of new standards of role behavior (could play a significant role in establishing in our society the model of an entrepreneur, farmer, etc., increasing their prestige).

The influence of social role on personality development

The influence of the social role on the development of the individual is quite large. The development of personality is facilitated by its interaction with persons playing a number of roles, as well as its participation in the largest possible role repertoire. The more social roles an individual is able to play, the more adapted to life he is. Thus, the process of personality development often acts as the dynamics of mastering social roles.

Equally important to any society is the prescribing of roles according to age. The adaptation of individuals to constantly changing ages and age statuses is an eternal problem. The individual does not have time to adapt to one age, as another one immediately approaches, with new statuses and new roles. As soon as a young man begins to cope with embarrassment and complexes of youth, he is already on the threshold of maturity; as soon as a person begins to show wisdom and experience, old age comes. Each age period is associated with favorable opportunities for the manifestation of human abilities, moreover, it prescribes new statuses and requirements for learning new roles. At a certain age, an individual may experience problems in adapting to new role status requirements. A child who is said to be older than his years, i.e., has reached the status inherent in the older age category, usually does not fully realize his potential childhood roles, which negatively affects the completeness of his socialization. Often such children feel lonely, flawed. At the same time, immature adult status is a combination of adult status with the attitudes and behaviors of childhood or adolescence. Such a person usually has conflicts in the performance of roles appropriate to her age. These two examples show an unfortunate adjustment to the age statuses prescribed by society.

Learning a new role can go a long way in changing a person. In psychotherapy, there is even an appropriate method of behavior correction - image therapy (image - image). The patient is offered to enter into a new image, to play a role, as in a play. At the same time, the function of responsibility is not borne by the person himself, but by his role, which sets new patterns of behavior. A person is forced to act differently, based on a new role. Despite the conventionality of this method, the effectiveness of its use was quite high, since the subject was given the opportunity to release repressed desires, if not in life, then at least during the game. The sociodramatic approach to the interpretation of human actions is widely known. Life is seen as a drama, each participant in which plays a specific role. Playing roles gives not only a psychotherapeutic, but also a developing effect.

The social role is interpreted as an expectation, activity, representation, stereotype, social function, set of norms, etc.

In addition, there are two main role characteristics(aspect):

1) role expectation- what is expected of me

2) role performance- what I will actually perform.

A certain consistency of role expectation with role performance serves as a guarantee of optimal social interaction.

Types of social roles determined by the variability of social groups, types of activities and relationships in which the individual is included.

Classification of social roles according to Gerhard:

1. Status - changeable with the greatest difficulty, prescribed to us from birth.

Man Woman

age roles

The role of a citizen of one's country

2. Positional - are determined by the professional and qualification division of labor in society. (Physicists, chemists, journalists; senior and junior researchers; professors, categories of actors). More defined than status. Status, in turn, are superimposed on positional.

3. Situational - performed in a given situation. Pedestrian, shopper, etc. More degrees of freedom. The difference in their number can lead to conflict.

Classification of positional roles at work according to Brown:

1. Landmark.

2. Approver, emotional leader.

3. Unique roles due to the characteristics of the person. For example, a scapegoat.

T. Parsons. Approach to the problem of social roles. Characteristics of social role analysis:

1. Emotionality (the doctor and the cemetery attendant must be restrained).

2. Method of obtaining (methods are achieved (student) and prescribed).

3. Scale (optician, salesperson or friend, parent).

4. Formalization. Formalized roles contain a specific structure of actions. Librarian and friend - behavior regarding a borrowed book.

5. Motivation. The motive is always there, but we are not always aware of it.

T. Shibutani. Classification of social roles:

1. Conventional. People agree on the rules for their implementation (teacher and student).

2. Interpersonal. Informal, personalized. How to behave with this or that person.

Depending on social relations, there are social and interpersonal social roles.

Social roles are connected with social status, profession or type of activity (teacher, pupil, student, seller). In interactionist concepts, such roles are called conventional(convention - agreement). These are standardized impersonal roles based on rights and obligations, regardless of who fills these roles. Allocate socio-demographic roles: husband, wife, daughter, son, grandson... A man and a woman are also social roles (gender roles), biologically predetermined and involving specific ways of behavior.

Interpersonal roles are connected with interpersonal relationships that are regulated on an emotional level (leader, offended, neglected, family idol, loved one, etc.).

In life, in interpersonal relationships, each person acts in some kind of dominant social role, a kind of social role as the most typical individual image familiar to others. It is extremely difficult to change the habitual image both for the person himself and for the perception of the people around him.

According to the degree of manifestation, they are distinguished active and latent roles.

Active roles are conditioned a specific social situation and are performed at a given time (teacher in the lesson).

Latent rollers manifest themselves in the actual situation, although the subject is potentially the bearer of this role (teacher at home).

Each of us is the carrier of a large number of latent social roles.

According to the way of assimilation, the roles are divided into:

prescribed(Determined by age, gender, nationality).

Acquired(which the subject learns in the process of socialization).

Highlighted the main characteristics of the social role American sociologist T. Parsons. These include:

- scale;

- method of obtaining;

- emotionality;

- formalization;

- motivation.

Scale roles depends on the range of interpersonal relationships. The larger the range, the larger the scale (for example, the social roles of the spouses are very large scale, the seller - the buyer: the interaction is carried out on a specific occasion - purchases - the scale is small).

How to get a role depends on how inevitable the given role is for the person.

The roles of a young man, an old man, a man, a woman are determined and do not require much effort to acquire them. Other roles are achieved in the process of a person's life and as a result of purposeful efforts: student, academician, writer, etc.

Emotion level: each role carries certain possibilities for the emotional manifestation of its subject.

There are roles that prescribe emotional restraint and control: investigator, surgeon, and so on. Conversely, actors are required to be more emotional.

Formalization as a descriptive characteristic of a social role is determined by the specifics of interpersonal relations of the bearer of this role. Some roles involve the establishment of only formal relations between people with strict regulation of the rules of conduct; others, on the contrary, are only informal; others may combine both.

(traffic inspector to the violator only formal).

Motivation depends on the needs and motives of the person. Different roles are due to different motives. Parents, caring for the welfare of their child, are guided primarily by a feeling of love and care; the leader works for the cause, and so on.

There is no doubt that the influence of the social role on the development of the individual is quite large. The development of personality is facilitated by its interaction with persons playing a number of roles, as well as its participation in the largest possible role repertoire. The more social roles an individual is able to play, the more adapted to life he is. Thus, the process of personality development often acts as the dynamics of mastering social roles.

(additional information, off the record)

Learning a new role can go a long way in changing a person. In psychotherapy, there is even an appropriate method of behavior correction - imagotherapy (imago - image). The patient is offered to enter into a new image, to play a role as in a performance. At the same time, the function of responsibility is not borne by the person himself, but by his role, which sets new pattern behaviors. A person is forced to act differently, based on a new role. At the origins of imagotherapy is the method of psychodrama D. Moreno. He treated people for neurosis, giving them the opportunity to play those roles that they would like to, but could not play in life.

12. Social expectations of personality

EXPECTATIONS - a social psychology term used to denote the expectation of something in interpersonal relationships, for example, the assessment of an individual's actions by other people

Expectations are essentially determined by the individual characteristics of the individual, the objective activity and organizational structure of the group, group norms, standards of the totality of socio-psychological expectations, being internally accepted by the individual, form part of its value orientations.

Interpersonal communication gives psychological meaning to expectation - expectation acts as a motive for human behavior

Expectations play a regulatory role in the student group: on the one hand, they provide adaptation, adaptation of the student to his fellow students, and on the other hand, public opinion, the standards of behavior accepted in the student environment, through expectation, they appropriately project the consciousness and actions of each member of the student group, contribute to adaptation groups to individuals.

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 affect many aspects of the individual's functioning. His self-esteem, self-consciousness, communication, orientation largely depend on them.

The concept of personality

From the point of view of sociology, 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 features of biogenic and sociogenic origin, which is formed in vivo and affects human behavior and activities. In both cases, the social role and status of the individual play an important role in the formation and self-realization of the individual.

Four groups of phenomena become the basis for the formation: 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 structure of personality, it is possible to distinguish groups of features that affect all human behavior.

These include such psychological traits as abilities, motivation, volitional qualities, social attitudes and stereotypes, character, orientation, emotions, temperament. Also, a personality includes a set of social features, 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.

The concept of social status

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

It not only denotes the position of a person in society, but also gives him certain rights and obligations. Usually, the higher it is, the greater the set of rights and obligations. Often in everyday consciousness the concepts of social statuses and roles are equated with the concept of prestige. It certainly accompanies status, but is not always its mandatory attribute. Status is a mobile 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 reach the desired statuses or lose them under certain circumstances.

Status hierarchy

A set of different positions of one person in society is commonly 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 basic 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, the researchers talk about the existence of a hierarchy of social positions of the individual. Social roles and status are the most important factor influencing the overall satisfaction of an individual with his life. Evaluation 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 who are at the same level of the social hierarchy. Vertical, respectively, communication of people at different levels. The distribution of people along the steps of the social ladder is a natural phenomenon for society. The hierarchy supports the role expectations of the individual, causing an understanding of the distribution of duties and rights, allows a person to be satisfied with his position or makes him strive for a change in status. This provides the dynamics of the individual.

Personal and social status

Traditionally, according to the size of the community in which a person functions, it is customary to distinguish between personal and proper social statuses. They function at various levels. Thus, social status is a sphere of professional and social relations. Here the professional position, education, political position, social activity are of the utmost importance. 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, the researchers talk about personal status. In a family, a small circle of interests, a circle of friends, a small working 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, to obtain a certain personal status. There is a significant difference between these two types of positions in a social group. They allow a person to be realized in various areas. So, a petty 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 wide area of ​​social activity of the individual, that is, there are many varieties of them. Let's highlight the main classifications. Depending on the dominance of different signs, the following statuses are distinguished:

1. Natural, or socio-demographic. These statuses are established according to characteristics such as age, kinship, gender, race and health status. An example would be the situation of a child, a parent, a man or a woman, a Caucasian, a disabled person. The social role and status of a person in communication are reflected in this case by vesting the individual with certain rights and obligations.
2. proper social status. It can only take shape in society. Usually, economic statuses are distinguished, depending on the position held, the availability of property; political, in accordance with the views and social activity, also a sign of the allocation of status is the presence or absence of power; sociocultural, which include education, attitude to 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 that are assigned upon birth. A person receives them involuntarily, without doing anything for this.

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

The concept of social role

In psychology and sociology, the term "social role" is used, which refers to the expected behavior dictated by social position and other members of the group. Social role and status are closely related. The status imposes the duties of the right on the person, and they, in turn, dictate a certain type of behavior to the person. Any person, due to his sociality, must constantly change behavior patterns, therefore, 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. So he starts putting it into practice. He does not 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 their statuses.

Psychological characteristics of social roles

It is believed that the role in society determines social status. However, the sequence is reversed. Receiving the next status, a person develops options for behavior. Each role has two psychological components. Firstly, it is a symbolic-informational part, which is the scenario of a typical performance. It is often presented in the form of instructions, memos, principles. Each individual has unique traits that make the role unique and subjective. Secondly, it is the imperative-control component, which is the mechanism for launching 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. A different degree of manifestation of sensuality is characteristic for each role. So, the leader must be restrained, and the mother can be emotional.
• Formalization. Roles can be formal or informal. The first are described by a specific scenario, fixed in some form. For example, the role of a teacher is partially described in the job description, and also fixed in the stereotypes and beliefs of society. The latter arise in specific situations and are not fixed anywhere, except for the psyche of the performer. For example, the role of 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. The social status and social role of a person are interrelated. Therefore, the former often duplicate the latter and vice versa. So, they distinguish natural roles (mother, child) and achieved ones (leader, 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 follow from the situation, for example, the role of a loved one, offended, etc.

Functions of social roles

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

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

Social role and status: ways of interaction

In the structure of personality, 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 the individual in the group are important for motivating her to work. Wishing to raise the status, the person begins to study, work, be improved.

Groups are a dynamic entity and there is always room for redistribution of statuses. A person using the assortment 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 the individual in the group can be briefly described as the driving force of the individual on the way to self-realization and achievement of goals.

The social role is the fixation of a certain position that this or that individual occupies in the system of social relations.

In society, there are 2 types of social relations: formal (conventional) - regulated by law and social status; informal (interpersonal) - are regulated by feelings.

A social role is a socially necessary type of social activity and a way of behaving a person who bears the stamp of social assessment.

For the first time, the concept of a social role was 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 the social role are highlighted by the American sociologist T. Parsons: scale, method of obtaining, emotionality, formalization, motivation. The scale 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 a wide range of relationships is established between husband and wife.

How a role is acquired depends on how unavoidable the role is for the person. So, the roles of a young man, an old man, a man, a woman are automatically determined by the age and sex of a person and do not require much effort to acquire them. Other roles are achieved or even won in the course of a person's life and as a result of special efforts.

Social roles differ significantly in terms of emotionality. Each role carries 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 relations of the bearer of this role. Some roles involve the establishment of only formal relations between people with strict regulation of the rules of conduct; 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 due to different motives. Parents, caring for the welfare of their child, are guided primarily by a feeling of love and care; the leader works in the name of the cause, etc.

All social roles are subject to public evaluation (not a person, but a type of activity) and are associated with rights and obligations. If there is a harmony of rights and duties, then a person has correctly mastered his social role.

The influence of social role on personality development

The influence of social role on personality development is great. The development of personality is facilitated by its interaction with persons playing a number of roles, as well as its participation in the largest possible role repertoire. The more social roles an individual is able to play, 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 single out two types of conflicts: inter-role and intra-role.



In the scientific literature, and even more so in everyday life, the concepts of “man”, “individual”, “individuality”, “personality” are widely used, often making no distinctions, while there is a significant difference between them.

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

Individual- an individual person.

Individuality- a special combination in a person of the natural and the social, inherent in a specific, single 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 natural and social. Moreover, representatives of different schools and trends view it through the prism of the subject of their science.

1. Socio-biological school (S. Freud etc.), is associated with the struggle in our minds of unconscious instincts and moral prohibitions dictated by society.
2. The theory of "mirror self" (C. Cooley, J. Mead), in which “I” is a part of the personality, which consists of self-consciousness and the image of “I”. In accordance with this concept, a 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 it;
• ideas about how they evaluate it;
• how a person responds to the perceived reaction of other people.

So 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 this social group.

As you can see, the Meadian concept of personality, in contrast to the theory of Z. Freud, is completely social.

1. Role theory (J. Moreno, T. Parsons), according to which the personality is a function of the set of social roles that the individual performs in society.
2. Anthropological School (M. Lundman), which does not separate the concepts of "man" and "personality".
3. 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.
4. Sociological approach which guides many modern sociologists, is to represent each person as a personality, to the extent of mastering, acquiring socially significant features and qualities. These include the level of education and training, the totality of knowledge and skills that make it possible to realize various positions and roles in society.

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

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

biological level includes natural, common in origin personality traits (body structure, age and gender characteristics, temperament, etc.).

Psychological level personality unites its psychological characteristics (feelings, will, memory, thinking). Psychological features are in close relationship with the heredity of the individual.

Finally, social level of the individual divided into three sublevel:

1. proper 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;
2. specific cultural (value and other attitudes, norms of behavior);
3. moral.

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

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

Interests are the perceived needs of the individual.

The needs and interests of the individual lie at the basis of her value attitude to the world around her, at the basis of her 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 make up the core of the individual, act as a regulator of behavior, directing it to the normative framework prescribed by society.

A special place in the structure of personality is occupied by her and the role.

Having matured, a person actively enters, “introduces” himself into social life, trying 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, it shows, proves to society that it is in its place and will perform well a certain role assigned to it.

The social status of the individual

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

Society makes sure that the individual regularly performs his roles, social functions. Why endows it with a certain social status. Otherwise, it puts another person in this place, believing that she will better cope with social duties, will bring more benefit to other members of society who play different roles in it.

Social statuses are prescribed(sex, age, nationality) and achieved(student, associate professor, professor).

Achieved statuses are fixed taking into account abilities, achievements, which gives a perspective to everyone. In an ideal society, most statuses are attainable. In reality, it's far from it. 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 matches social prestige this person.

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

The social role of the individual

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

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

The social role is not a rigid model of behavior. People perceive and perform their roles differently. However, society is interested in people to master, skillfully perform and enrich social roles in accordance with the requirements of life in a timely manner. First of all, this applies to the main roles: worker, 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 see that truly happy people have a good family, successfully cope with their professional duties. They take a conscious part in the life of society, in state affairs. As for the company of friends, leisure activities and hobbies, they enrich life, but are not able to compensate for failures in the implementation of basic social roles.

Social conflicts

However, it is not at all easy to achieve harmony of social roles in human life. This requires great efforts, time, abilities, as well as the ability to resolve conflicts that arise in the performance of social roles. These could be intra-role, inter-role and personality-role.

To intra-role conflicts are those in which the requirements of one role contradict, oppose each other. Mothers, for example, are prescribed not only kind, affectionate treatment of their children, but also demanding, strictness towards them. It is not easy to combine these prescriptions when a beloved child has been guilty and deserves punishment.

Interrole conflicts arise when the requirements of one role contradict, oppose the requirements of another role. A striking illustration of this conflict is the dual 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 health perform their professional duties and housework, be a charming wife and caring mother. There are many ideas about how to resolve this conflict. The most realistic at the present time and in the foreseeable future seem to be a relatively even distribution of household chores among family members and a reduction in the employment of women in social production (part-time work, a week, the introduction of a flexible schedule, the spread of home work, etc.). . P.).

Student life, contrary to popular belief, is also not complete without role conflicts. To master the chosen profession, to receive education, a focus on educational and scientific activities is required. At the same time, a young person needs a variety of communication, free time for other activities and hobbies, without which it is impossible to form a full-fledged personality, create a family. The situation is complicated by the fact that neither education nor diverse socializing 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. The people on this occasion say: "Not for Senka hat."

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 the entire variety of properties of each individual, but in this is not necessary. In sociology essential not individual, but social properties and personality traits, i.e. qualities, that many individuals have under similar, objective conditions. Therefore, for the convenience of studying individuals who have a set of recurring essential social qualities, they are typologized, that is, they are attributed to a certain social type.

Social personality type- a generalized reflection, a set of recurring social qualities inherent in many individuals who are part of 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 profession or type of activity: miner, farmer, economist, lawyer; by territorial affiliation or way of life: city dweller, village dweller, northerner; by gender and age: boys, girls, pensioners; according to the degree of social activity: leader (leader, activist), follower (performer), etc.

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

An American sociologist and psychologist made a great contribution to the development of the social typology of personality E. Fromm(1900-1980), who created the concept of social character. By E. Fromm's definition, social character is the core of the character structure, common to most members of a particular culture. E. Fromm saw the value of the social character in the fact that it allows you to most effectively adapt to the requirements of society and gain a sense of security and security. Classical capitalism, according to E. Fromm, is characterized by such features of a social character as individualism, aggressiveness, and the desire for accumulation. In modern bourgeois society, a social character is emerging, oriented towards mass consumption and marked by a feeling of satiety, boredom and preoccupation. Accordingly, E. Fromm singled out fourtype of social character:receptive(passive), exploitative, accumulative and market He considered all these types to be unfruitful and opposed them with the social character of a new type, which contributes to the formation of an independent, independent and active personality.

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

1. Traditionalists are mainly focused on the values ​​of duty, order, discipline, law-abidingness, and such qualities as independence and the desire for self-realization are very weakly expressed in this type of personality.
2. Idealists, on the contrary, have strong independence, a critical attitude towards traditional norms, attitudes towards self-development, and neglect of authorities.
3. 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 relations in various spheres of public life stimulates the manifestation of certain personal qualities and types of behavior. So, market relations contribute to the development of entrepreneurship, pragmatism, cunning, prudence, 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, the search for harmony.

Relationship, interdependence of the individual and society

Consider the different concepts presented by M. Weber and K. Marx.

M. Weber sees in the role of the subject of public life only certain individuals that act intelligently. And such social totalities as “classes”, “society”, “state”, in his opinion, are entirely abstract and cannot be subjected 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, the state, the family and the 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 epochs, such a subject is put forward as a decisive one, which is the main driving force of a given historical period.

Nevertheless, it must be borne in mind that in Marx's concept, all subjects of social development act in line with the objective laws of the development of society. They can neither change these laws nor repeal them. Their subjective activity either helps these laws to operate freely and thereby accelerates social development, or hinders their operation and then slows down the historical process.

How is the problem of interest to us represented in this theory: the individual and society. We see that the individual here is recognized as the subject of social development, although it is not brought to the fore and does not fall into the number of driving forces of social progress. According to Marx's concept, personality Not only subject, but also society object. It is not an abstract inherent in the individual. In its 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 vital activity of the individual in the concept of Marx is comprehensively determined by society in the form of the social conditions of its existence, the legacy of the past, the objective laws of history, etc., although there is still some space for its social action. According to Marx, history is nothing but the activity of a man pursuing his goals.

And now let's get back to reality, the life of modern Russians in the 21st century. The Soviet totalitarian state collapsed. New social conditions and values ​​emerged. And it turned out that many people cannot perceive, master, assimilate them, find their new way 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 gave rise to a vacuum of existence, breaking traditions, estates, and so on, and she will also teach how to fill it. In the West, people are already making some progress in this direction - they have studied longer. Very interesting ideas on this subject are expressed by the Austrian scientist Dr. V. Frankl. He believes that it is natural for a person to strive to ensure that his life is meaningful. If there is no meaning, this is the most difficult state of the individual. There is no common meaning of life for all people, it is unique for everyone. The meaning of life, according to Frankl, cannot be invented, invented; it must be found, it exists objectively outside of man. The tension that arises between a person and an external meaning is a normal, healthy state of the psyche.

Despite the fact that the meaning of each life is unique, 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 terms of experiences, values); what position do 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, the meaning of life can also be given by an experience, for example, love. Even a single brightest experience will make the past life meaningful. But deeper is the third group of values ​​- the values ​​of attitude. 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 liberty, 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 in many people of the modern world, there will still be a way out of this state as people master new free forms of life, opportunities for self-realization of their abilities, 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 activities and goals together create a kind of long-term orientation system for the individual. 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:

1. life well-being strategy - the desire to create favorable living conditions, earn another million;
2. life success strategy - the desire to get the next position, the next title, conquer the next peak, etc .;
3. strategy of life self-realization - the desire to maximize their abilities in certain activities.

The choice of a particular life strategy depends on three main factors:

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

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 well-being. AT democratic society with developed market relations the most popular is life success strategy. In a social society(state), in which the overwhelming majority of citizens have solved the main social problems, it can be very attractive life self-realization strategy.

A life strategy can be chosen by an individual once and for life, or it can change depending on certain circumstances. So, the individual has fully implemented 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.).