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ROLE

Sociologyindex, Sociology Books 2012

A position, or status, within a social structure that is shaped by relatively precise behavioral expectations (norms).

A role has been described as the active component of status. The individual, placed within a status in a social structure, performs their role in a way shaped by normative expectations.

Individuals have varying ideas about normative standards and their own unique values.

Role behavior is not standardized, however radical departure from expected role behavior will usually result in social sanctions.

An Examination of Functional Role Behavior and Its Consequences for Individuals in Group Settings - Peter E. Mudrack, Genevieve M. Farrell 
Adult members of 68 ongoing small groups evaluated their peers' functional role behaviors (i.e., task, maintenance, individual) in classroom settings. These three role categories generally emerged from these group ratings and were interrelated as predicted. Group members who played task roles also tended to play maintenance roles. Individual role behaviors were largely unrelated to task role adoption but were inversely associated with maintenance role behaviors. Perceptions of group cohesiveness were positively linked with both task and maintenance role activity but were lowest among individual role players. Task roles were seen as valuable and as contributing to the group effort, whereas both maintenance and individual roles were viewed neutrally in this regard. Implications of these results for both researchers and group members are addressed. - sgr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/542

DEVIANT GENDER ROLE BEHAVIOR IN CHILDREN 
Deviant gender role behavior, reviewed in this issue by Bakwin, presents the practicing pediatrician with an infrequent but generally difficult, frustrating clinical problem–difficult because so little is known about the genesis of such disorders and frustrating because the effectiveness of one's therapeutic efforts is so difficult to assess.
There are no data on the incidence of such gender role problems as effeminacy in boys; indeed, there are few reports of any kind related to this problem. Although it is suggested that there is a significant relationship of adult homosexuality to deviant gender role behavior in children, there are no hard data to support this inference. - pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/41/3/548

Chance, Time Allocation, and The Evolution of Adaptively Flexible Sex Role Behavior
Patricia Adair Gowaty and Stephen P. Hubbell
An alternative to classic sexual selection hypotheses for sex differentiated pre-mating behavior is that time available for mating—as individuals experience it—along with fitness differences among alternative potential mates, induces choosy versus indiscriminate mating behavior. This alternative hypothesis says that selection has acted so that all individuals flexibly express fitness-enhancing choosy, indiscriminate, and competitive mating behavior, induced by time-varying life histories, environmental and social cues. Key predictions of DYNAMATE, the formal model of adaptively flexible sex role behavior of individuals of both sexes within dynamically changing populations, include: (1) All individuals regardless of sex assess likely fitness outcomes from mating with alternative potential mates before expressing choosy or indiscriminate behavior. (2) Males and females express adaptively flexible, choosy and indiscriminate behavior so that individuals may change their behavior—from moment to moment—to fit dynamically changing circumstances. (3) Indiscriminate behavior of males and (4) choosy behavior of females would often be maladaptive even in species with greater female than male parental investment, when females have longer latencies to receptivity to re-mating than males, and when the relative reproductive rate of males is greater than in females. (5) Whether or not females show choosy behavior will not affect whether or not males exhibit choosy or indiscriminate behavior, and vice versa. (6) When other model parameters are equal, the proportion of individuals of a given sex expressing choosy or indiscriminate mating behavior is a function of the distribution of fitness ratios (a distribution of all fitness differences that would be conferred on an individual by mating with any two sequentially or simultaneously encountered alternative potential mates). (7) Whether same-sex individuals behaviorally compete is a function of the fitness that would be conferred if the strategist won access to a potential mate, but not a function of relative reproductive rate or its proxy, the operational sex ratio. We call for re-evaluation of sex differences in choosy, indiscriminate, and competitive behavior under strong experimental controls that level the ecological playing fields of males and females, i.e., under experimental conditions informing the mechanisms of phenotypic expression. We end with comments on the classic question of questions: why are the sexes as they are? - icb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/45/5/931

The Relationship of Role-Related Variables to Job Satisfaction and Commitment to the Organization in a Restructured Hospital Environment - Rosalie B Lopopolo 
Background and Purpose. Many factors in today's hospitals can influence how physical therapists view their work experience. Changing roles, with the accompanying stress, and professionalism may contribute to a therapist's perception of his or her job and the organization in which he or she works. In this study, the relationship between changes in physical therapist role behaviors following hospital restructuring and 2 work-related outcomes—job satisfaction and commitment to the organization—was studied. The influence of stress and occupational commitment on these outcomes also was examined. Subjects and Methods. Through a survey of 273 hospital-based physical therapists, changes in physical therapist role behaviors, levels of stress, occupational commitment, job satisfaction, and commitment to the organization following restructuring were identified and examined. Results. Six role behavior dimensions reflecting professional and organizational responsibilities were identified from the data. After controlling for sample demographics, the professional role behaviors, specifically those reflecting interaction and integration with other practitioners, appeared to exert a small, but positive, influence on job satisfaction and commitment to the organization. In addition, occupational commitment had a positive influence, whereas stress had a negative influence on job satisfaction and commitment to the organization. Discussion and Conclusion. Multiple aspects of a clinician's role could influence job satisfaction and commitment to the organization following hospital restructuring. The most influential factor was stress, which often accompanies organizational change. However, the positive influence of occupational commitment and the role behaviors that involve increased interaction with other people were noted and reflect professional role characteristics described in the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice. - ptjournal.org/cgi/content/abstract/82/10/984

Understanding Extra-Role Behavior in Schools: The Relationships between Job Satisfaction, Sense of Efficacy, and Teachers' Extra-Role Behavior. 
Somech, Anit; Drach-Zahavy, Anat 
Abstract: Explored the construct of extra-role behavior in schools, examining relationships between extra-role behavior and job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and collective efficacy. Surveys of elementary teachers highlighted three facets of extra-role behavior corresponding to three levels of the school system (student, team, and organization). There were positive relations between job satisfaction and extra-role behavior at all three levels. - eric.ed.gov 

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