Are role and status two separate concepts or two aspects of the same phenomenon ? Explain.
(i) Role is the expected behaviour of an individual who hold a certain status.
(ii) Status is a position occupied by an individual in a group or in society.
2. Role is the dynamic aspect of the status and it is the status which determines the behaviour pattern, obligations and privileges.
3. Each distinctive status, whether ascribed or achieved has certain role expectation. However, actual performance will differ from individual to individual.
4. Each status has its own role-set. Robert K. Merton defines role-set as “complement of role relationships which persons have by virtue of occupying a particular social status.”
For Example, as a student in the school or college you are interacting with your class teacher, with other teachers of the school, with the Principal, with office staff as well as with your fellow students and with the students from other classes. While interacting with all these people as a student in the school, your role will differ. This complex of roles that accures to a single status is your role-set as a student.
At home your role-set will be different.
A distinction can also be made between role-set and multiple-roles. The term multiple-roles refers to the complex of roles associated not with a single social status but with different statuses. The different statuses occupied by a person become his status set and each of the statuses has its distinctive role-set.
