Definition of role

Role

William Shakespeare in his drama, 'As You Like It', (Act 7) has given an example of role which is as below : "All the world is a stage,
And all the man and women merely players, they have their exit and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts".

Every individual plays its role in the society. He gets the script from the culture. The difference in stage and world is that, on stage script is fixed and the characters cannot be changed by the effect of other actors and visitors' attitude and reactions whereas in the real world at every movement we change our character, behaviour and action on the basis of reaction of other people. Role is our action arranged according to a specific occasion with our mental preparation which we make wilfully according 13 the expectation of the society so that we may coincide with our social status. According to sociologists, role is an express:on of rights and duties and culturally devised expectations which help in understanding the culture and social life of a society. That is why, apart from sociologists, anthropologist, psychologists. and social psychologists, start the study of social life from the beginning of role study.

Definitions of Role 

1. R.T. Schaefer :
"A Social Role a is set of expectations of people who occupy a given social position or status."

2. C.H. Persell :
"Culturally prescribed behaviour associated with particular social position."

3. Harton and Hunt :
"The doing of duty related to a status is called role."

4. F.E. Merill :
"That character of an individual that he does as a result of his status is called a role."

Role is always related to status or there are expectations related to status. The examples of this are given below :

Status                     Role 

Son                  Obedience of parents
Husband               Rights of wife
Father             Bringing up of children
Doctor              Treatment of patients

President of Professor Association Safety of Rights of Professors