Editing Role (section)

== Role theory ==
{{Main|Role theory}}
Role theory is the sociological study of role development, concerned with explaining what forces cause people to develop the expectations of their own and others' behaviors.<ref name="Biddle">
{{cite journal
 | last=Biddle | first=B.J.
 | year=1986
 | title=Recent Developments in Role Theory
 | journal=Annual Review of Sociology
 | volume=12
 | pages=67–92
 | doi=10.1146/annurev.so.12.080186.000435
}}
</ref> According to sociologist Bruce Biddle (1986), the five major models of role theory include:<ref name="Biddle"/>
#Functional Role Theory, which examines role development as shared social norms for a given social position. These social positions may include leadership.
#Symbolic Interactionist Role Theory, which examines role development as the outcome of individual interpretation of responses to behavior,
#Structural Role Theory, which emphasises the influence of society rather than the individual in roles and utilizes mathematical models,
#Organizational Role Theory, which examines role development in organizations, and
#Cognitive Role Theory, which is summarized by Flynn and Lemay as "the relationship between expectations and behaviors"<ref>{{cite book | first = Robert John | last = Flynn |author2=Raymond A. Lemay  | title = A Quarter-Century of Normalization and Social Role Valorization: Evolution and Impact | publisher = University of Ottawa Press | year = 1999 | isbn = 0-7766-0485-6 | page = 224 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=n14-2xhMz2cC&q=%22Structural+Role+Theory%22+definition&pg=PA224 }}</ref>

===Role in functionalist and consensus theory===
The [[Functionalism (sociology)|functionalist]] approach to role theory, which is largely borrowed from [[anthropology]], sees a "role" as the set of expectations that [[society]] places on an individual. By unspoken consensus, certain behaviors are deemed "appropriate" and others "inappropriate". For example, an appropriate [[Physician|doctor]] dresses fairly conservatively, asks a series of personal questions about one's health, touches one in ways that would normally be forbidden, writes [[Medical prescription|prescriptions]], and shows more concern for the personal [[Quality of life|wellbeing]] of his or her clients than is expected of, say, an [[electrician]] or a [[shopkeeper]].

"Role" is what the doctor ''does'' (or, at least, is expected to do) while status is what the doctor  ''is; ''in other words, "status" is the position an actor occupies, while "role" is the expected behavior attached to that position.  Roles are not limited to occupational status, of course, nor does the fact that one is cast in the role of "doctor" during working hours prevent one from taking on other roles at other times: spouse, friend, parent, and so on.

===Role in interactionist or social action theory===
In interactionist social theory, the concept of role is crucial. The interactionist definition of "role" pre-dates the functionalist one. A role, in this conception, is not fixed or prescribed but something that is constantly negotiated between individuals in a tentative, creative way. [[philosophy|Philosopher]] [[George Herbert Mead]] explored roles in his seminal 1934 work, ''Mind, self and society''.<ref>
{{cite book
 | last=Mead | first=George H.
 | author-link=George Herbert Mead
 | year=1934
 | title=Mind, Self, and Society
 | url=https://archive.org/details/mindselfsocietyf00mead | url-access=registration | publisher=University of Chicago Press
 | location=Chicago
}}</ref> Mead's main interest was the way in which children learn how to become a part of society by imaginative ''role-taking'', observing and mimicking others. This is always done in an interactive way: it's not meaningful to think of a role for one person alone, only for that person as an individual who is both co-operating and competing with others. Adults behave similarly: taking roles from those that they see around them, adapting them in creative ways, and (by the process of social interaction) testing them and either confirming them or modifying them. This can be most easily seen in encounters where there is considerable [[ambiguity]], but is nevertheless something that is part of all social interactions: each individual actively tries to "define the situation" (understand their role within it); choose a role that is advantageous or appealing; play that role; and persuade others to support the role.

===Social norms theory===
[[Social norms approach|Social norms theory]] states that much of people's behavior is influenced by their perception of how other members of their [[Ingroups and outgroups|social group]] behave. When individuals are in a state of [[deindividuation]], they see themselves only in terms of group identity, and their behavior is likely to be guided by group norms alone. But while group norms have a powerful effect on behavior, they can only guide behavior when they are activated by obvious reminders or by subtle cues. People adhere to social norms through enforcement, internalization, the sharing of norms by other group members, and frequent activation.<ref>{{Harv|Smith|2007}}</ref> Norms can be enforced through punishment or reward. Individuals are rewarded for living up to their roles (i.e. students getting an "A" on their exam) or punished for not completing the duties of their role (i.e. a salesperson is fired for not selling enough product).

Social norm theory has been applied as an environmental approach, with an aim of influencing individuals by manipulating their [[Social environment|social and cultural environments]]. It has been widely applied using [[social marketing]] techniques. Normative messages are designed for delivery using various media and promotional strategies in order to effectively reach a target population. Social norms theory has also been successfully applied through strategies such as curriculum infusion, creating press coverage, policy development, and small group inventions.<ref>(Main Frame 2002)</ref>

====The theory of planned behavior====
People display [[reactance (psychology)|reactance]] by fighting against threats to their freedom of action when they find norms inappropriate. [[Propositional attitude|Attitudes]] and norms typically work together to influence behavior (directly or indirectly). The [[theory of planned behaviour|theory of planned behavior]] intentions are a function of three factors: attitudes about the behavior, social norms relevant to the behavior, and perceptions of control over the behavior. When attitudes and norms disagree, their influence on behaviour will depend on their relative accessibility.

====Team role theory====
As described in ''Working in Groups'' by Engleberg and Wynn, team role theory is when "members assume roles that are compatible with their personal characteristics and skills". [[Meredith Belbin]], a psychologist, first explored the concept of team-role theory in the 1970s when he and his research team went about observing teams and wanted to find out what made teams work and what did not. According to Belbin and his research team "the research revealed that the difference between success and failure for a team was not dependent on factors such as intellect, but more on behavior".<ref>(Belbin)</ref> They began to identify separate clusters of behaviors and found that behavior was more influential on a team than anything else. These separate clusters of behaviors are known as the "Team Roles".  The nine "team roles" are as follows: coordinator/chairperson, shaper, innovator, resource investigator, monitor/evaluator, implementer, teamworker, completer/finisher, and specialist.