Figure 1. Status Set and Role Set

Figure 1 illustrates the status set and corresponding role sets of one individual. Four statuses are presented, each linked to a different role set. First this woman occupies the status of “wife.” Corresponding to this status is a role set that includes her behaviour towards her husband (the “conjugal role”) and her responsibilities in maintaining the household (the “domestic role”). Second, she also holds the status of “mother.” Part of this role set is the care of children (the “maternal role”) and her activities in various organizations (the “civic role”). Third, as a teacher, she interacts with students (the “teaching role”) and other professors (the “colleague role”). Fourth, as a researcher, she gathers information (the “laboratory role”) that is the basis for her publications (the “author role”). Figure 1 is, of course, only a partial listing of this individual's status set and role sets; a person generally occupies dozens of statuses at one time, each linked to a role set.

Strain and Conflict

The several roles that are linked to any particular status are not always easily integrated, so an individual can feel pulled in several directions at once. Role strain is defined as incompatibility among the roles corresponding to a single status. When several roles linked to a single status make competing demands a person may not always be able to live up to social expectations. A parent, for example, may have difficulty with simultaneous responsibilities to discipline a child and to be the child's trusted confidant.

In addition, roles attached to different statuses often demand incompatible patterns of behaviour. The concept of role conflict refers to incompatibility among the roles corresponding to two or more statuses. Single parents often experience role conflict in their attempt to be both parents and bread winners — each status demands considerable time and energy. Consequently, the individual may find that both roles cannot be fully performed simultaneously.