Social Role

Social role is one of the basic terms of the social psychology. It is defined as the behavior expected from the holder of a given social position, by others and as a set of duties associated with the position.

In relation to a particular role, the individual may hold a variety of attitudes and behavior which form a complete acceptance of the role to its absolute rejection. If the individual does not behave according to the expectations bound to the role, he gives to others, consciously or unconsciously, many of signals and the interpratation may be different (uniqueness of the individual, acceptable nonconformance, the complete unacceptability of such behavior…).

The role conflict occurs when different roles are in the conflict:

• Mother’s role × Top manager’s role
• Superior’s role × Friend’s role