Role

Role is a set of expectations, behaviors, rights, and obligations attached to a particular position or function within a larger system, such as a family, workplace, community, language, or culture. Roles arise from social structures and help organize interaction by prescribing how individuals should think, feel, and act in specific situations. A role is not a fixed identity; it can be performed, negotiated, and adapted over time as relationships and norms evolve.

In social contexts, roles include family positions such as parent or child, occupational duties, and civic responsibilities. The study of how roles are assumed and challenged is known as role theory, which examines role expectations, role performance, role conflict when conflicting demands arise, and role strain when a single role becomes difficult to fulfill.

In linguistics, semantic roles (also called theta roles) describe participants in a situation, such as agent, patient, instrument, or experiencer, mapping to grammatical structure. In organizations, roles define responsibilities and access rights; role clarity reduces ambiguity, while role conflict and role ambiguity can hinder performance. In information technology, role-based access control assigns permissions based on user roles to manage security and duties.

In arts and media, a role is a character portrayed by an actor, while in role-playing games a player adopts a character with defined traits. The concept is dynamic, with roles shifting as individuals change jobs, cultures, or relationships, and with contemporary trends toward flexible work arrangements, cross-functional teams, and increasing emphasis on diverse and evolving social roles.