Social structure is a web that holds us together
at different points of the web different things happen
you dont act the same way in every situation ( home vs school vs church )
certain behaviors arent appropriate in certain settings
Another way to think about dramatugry is that we hold positions in society, and these positions have, attached to them, expected behaviors. One of her statuses is being her teacher, and one of ours is being her student. Teachers are expected to: Educate, be present, grade classwork, take attendance, do lesson plans. Students are expected to:
we all have a status set, our set of statuses hers; teacher mom wife sister friend
just because shes in the classroom doesnt mean she is no longer a mom the situation is just asking for one specific status to come forth and be seen
my status set: friend tech support employee son coworker white man
roles attached to status are telling you what to do
a status is a socially recognized position - it has to be seen by others.
a status symbol guides your behavior
a police officer has many symbols of their status ( flashing lights, the outfit, etc ), and their role is to enforce the law.
jerry is a mechanical engineer jerry is on the construction site jerry is also a woman
jerry will be perceived as a woman before being perceived as a mechanical engineer
thursday new student joining 8 years old genius want us to take care of him
we will treat him like a kid
this is status inconsistency, he is a kid, but he is also a fellow college student
what are the roles of the best friend?
- nice
- caring
- willing to listen
- honest
- emotionally supportive
role strain is when you are expected to do x y and z but have trouble figuring out how in your current status
she expects her husband to be loving, faithful, supportive, and honest
she has put him in situations where she has asked him a question and did not want honesty. Am I gaining a lot of weight? no.
role conflict is when 2 or more statuses roles compete against eachother
role conflict work and school: you have to deal with it by prioritizing one or the other
role overload and role burnout are bad