A ROLE is a stereotyped behavioral pattern predetermined by the social position of a person in the public and personal relationship system. A role is determined by: 1) its name; 2) the individual\'s social status; 3) the function performed in the social relationship system; 4) expectations of other people.
This is a scientific definition but it\'s a bit too complicated for understanding and practical application in real situations.
Let us make our own definition or several definitions of a role based on our common sense and experience (yours and mine)! This will definitely help to make most complicated things simpler and find solutions for most of our problems.
We\'ll begin with the question: what happens to us when we change one role for another?
Does our appearance change? Certainly, not!
Do we change inside? Most probably, we do. We have different feelings, our emotional state changes. We begin thinking and acting differently (see Thesis 4).
DEFINITION 1.
A ROLE is something that changes our way of thinking, behavior and emotional state when the context changes.
By the way, in the previous chapter I promised to tell you about actualizing situations. Now it is the right time for that.
So a qualitative change in the situation or an actualizing situation implies one of the following conditions:
1. Changing of a name of a role (at your will or at any other person\'s will).
– You are a man . Men don\'t cry!
– After all I am your wife ! And you must take care of me.
– If you are an honest man you must vote for…!
2. Changing of subjective environment and/or surroundings.
1) When you get home you are no more an Employee or a Colleague, – you area Family member ( a Loving parent, a Child, a Relative, a Spouse , etc.)
2) In a situation when you are supposed to behave in accordance with certain rules you change your behavior (at the customs, at a detention facility, at the hospital, in a church etc.)
3. Changing of physical or psychological condition .
1) Disease which prevents a person from leading an active life.
2) Depression, grief, fear, etc.
All these events can trigger a person\'s transition from one role into another. An actualizing situation is necessary for role transformation .
What else changes after a role transition?
All these events can trigger a person\'s transition from one role into another. An actualizing situation is necessary for role transformation.
What else changes after a role transition?
Thesis 5. When a person transits from one role into another his/her self perception and, probably, self-esteem changes as well.
A very confident Sportsman , a Tough guy may easily get embarrassed at the strict gaze of a girl which he likes very much. A self-assured Housewife/Young mother can feel very unconfident as a Young specialist on probation . High self-esteem of a Scientist/Big head of science can differ greatly from the self concept of an Elderly man with health concerns .
Thesis 6. When a person transits from one role into another there is a change in his/her internal representation of the world (personal model of reality) .
For example, a Successful Businessman sees the reality as quite «friendly» and «comfortable». He feels he is a Child of Fortune, Lucky Thing . Suddenly, after some troublesome negotiations or a plentiful table he feels cardiac pain, – his concept of the world immediately changes. Now he is a Helpless patient fearing for himself and his life. He forgets that he was a « Lucky thing » some time ago and what\'s more he doesn\'t trust the reality anymore.
Now we can make up a broader definition of a role.
DEFINITION 2.
A ROLE is the system of a person\'s inner representations of him/herself (role self-conception[Conception (Lat. conceptio – understanding, common idea, key notion) – system of views reflecting a certain representation («point of view»), understanding, interpretation of certain matters, phenomena, processes.]) and the surrounding reality (world conception) at a given moment of time (period of time) and in the given circumstances .
Once again I would like to draw your attention to the fact that one and the same person has different concepts of him/herself and the world at different moments of time and in different circumstances. It is very important to understand that!
In other words,
Thesis 7. A person being in one role differs from the same person being in the other role.
As we\'ve already discussed in Chapter 1, the phrase «He is like a new man!» is absolutely justified from the point of view of the role personality structure theory. If yesterday you were partying hard at your friends\' house, «having a blowout», and today you are kicking yourself for that and can\'t believe you behaved like that, you should understand that you can be different persons at different moments of time. Yesterday you were a Happy-go-lucky fellow , today you are a Serious adult . And the Adult criticizes the « Ugly drunk ». If you want you can correct your role. If you can\'t – accept what you have. You can be different and that\'s normal.