Title: Role theory - Wikipedia
Headings: Role theory
Role theory
Contents
Role
The construction of roles
The relationship between roles and norms
Cultural roles
Social differentiation
Role behaviour
In public relations
Role conflict, strain or making
Criticism and limitations
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
External liks

Content: The theory posits the following propositions about social behaviour: The division of labor in society takes the form of the interaction among heterogeneous specialized positions that we call roles; Social roles included "appropriate" and "permitted" forms of behavior, guided by social norms, which are commonly known and hence determine expectations; Roles are occupied by individuals, or " actors "; When individuals approve of a social role (i.e., they consider the role " legitimate " and " constructive "), they will incur costs to conform to role norms, and will also incur costs to punish those who violate role norms; Changed conditions can render a social role outdated or illegitimate, in which case social pressures are likely to lead to role change; The anticipation of rewards and punishments, as well as the satisfaction of behaving in a prosocial way, account for why agents conform to role requirements. In terms of differences among role theory, on one side there is a more functional perspective, which can be contrasted with the more micro-level approach of the symbolic interactionist tradition. This type of role theory dictates how closely related individuals' actions are to the society, as well as how empirically testable a particular role theory perspective may be. Depending on the general perspective of the theoretical tradition, there are many types of role theory, however it may be divided into two major types, in particular: