Social roles in pyschology
Social roles in pyschologyRunning head: SOCIAL ROLES IN SOCIETY
Who We Choose To Be Defined By Our Social Roles
Social psychology, as defined by the Microsoft Bookshelf, is the branch of human psychology that deals with the behavior of groups and the influence of social factors on the individual. Social roles are one of the many sub - categories of social psychology. I believe social roles to be the way we, as individuals, act in certain situations; such as home life, educational and economic statue, peer groups, etc. The Prison Simulation by Haney, Banks & Zimbardo is just one of the vast studies in this area. In this study we will see how people take roles in life, and in simulated life situations. Social roles are not fictitious, it is in fact a very real occurrence that many people deal with ever day, whether it be with them selves or with other individuals.
The Prison Simulation, studied by Haney, Banks & Zimbardo is quite impressive as to how extensive the study actually is. Due to lack of length in this paper the synopsis dealing with this study will be brief. The experiment consisted of 24 voluntary men who were divided into two groups: Guards and Inmates. Both groups were given uniforms to encourage their roles in the prison scenario. The subjects immediately began to take on rolls as to how they thought they should act. The prison had a much greater impact on all persons than could have been anticipated. The study was supposed to last 14 days, but due to extreme emotional depression the study ended after 6 days. In the spring of 1998, my Law and Government class had the opportunity to tour a New York State Prison. When we proceeded through the cellblocks, our tour guard indicated to us which inmates were sentenced to life and for what crime. I noticed that the inmates that were sentenced to life acted out much more than the inmates that were only sentenced for a few years. At the time I took no great thought into this, but after reading this study I have recalled the prison tour in my mind to critically analyze why this would be. I have come to the conclusion that the life-sentenced prisoners have nothing to lose by acting irrational and making spontaneous decisions. On the other hand, the inmates with the shorter sentences have something to look forward to when getting out. They do not necessarily need to act out to obtain attention, that is not what they are looking for.
While looking on the Internet for yet another social role study, I came upon an old friend that also happened to be online. I decided to discuss his situation rather than one of which does not effect me as personally as this. My friend was and I guess still is a victim of alcoholism. My friend Matt is now out of the house and on his own and his parents are now divorced. Matt and I grew up together, so many of his pains I felt as well. While he was growing up his father was quite a heavy drinker and at many times became violent as well as abusive towards Matt, his two younger siblings and his mother. I can remember at times Matt telling me how his father the night before would hit him. Matt would tell me "better it be me then my mother or brothers." He said that sometimes he would have to antagonize his father to hit him, rather than the other three. This is a perfect example of social roles. My friend took on the role of the hero in his household. I cannot accurately say what he thought or felt, but I can speculate. I think he must have thought that he needed to be the head of the household, since his father could obviously not perform the task.
In two pages it is quite hard to even skim the surface of social roles in social psychology, but with the previous examples (the prison simulation and my own past accounts) you can clearly begin to see what social roles are, and how they affect individuals as well as others.
Reference Page
The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition � 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation.
The Prison Simulation
Haney, C., Banks, W.C. & Zimbardo, P.G. (1973)
Naval Research Review, 30, 4 - 17.