A role is the behavior expected of a person in a given status. A status is a position. A role is what you do in that position. A teacher has the status of teacher. The role includes preparing lessons, grading papers, managing a classroom, and advising students.

Roles are learned through socialization. They come with scripts, props, and audiences. Erving Goffman used the theater as a metaphor: social life is a performance. We play roles on a front stage, where we manage impressions, and relax on a back stage, where we can be ourselves.

Types of roles

• Ascribed roles: assigned at birth, like son or daughter
• Achieved roles: earned, like doctor or spouse
• Formal roles: clearly defined, like judge or soldier
• Informal roles: loosely defined, like class clown or peacemaker

Roles can conflict. A woman who is both a mother and a surgeon may struggle to meet the demands of both. Roles can also be strained. A single role, like caregiver, can have too many demands for one person to handle. These tensions are normal, not personal failures.