SOC 3750 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Job Security, Role Theory, Total Institution
6 Apr 2018
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Role theory: (social roles are)an adoption of behavioural patterns to meet social expectations (merton 1957) Particular roles in society have specific expectations and behaviours. As we learn these roles we fall into a particular pattern of behaviour. What makes social order possible is the way we are willingly and able to give into social roles. Our adoption of societal roles creates a idea of predictable behaviour; an thus social order will prevail; if someone breaks free there will be a moment of social disorder. You are taking on these roles from the time we become socially aware; processes of socialization are important as this is how become to understand the social roles. Formal training: you encounter organizations that will go into detail of what your social role is to be; instrumental to social order. When we adopt many roles the obligations of the different roles may conflict and one may make it hard to fulfill another (role tension)
