THE ROLE CONCEPT, A BRIDGE BETWEEN PSYCHIATRY AND SOCIOLOGY

Abstract

The concept underlying this approach is the recognition that man is a role player, that every individual is characterized by a certain range of roles which dominate his behavior, and that every culture is characterized by a certain set of roles which it imposes with a varying degree of success upon its membership(21). In contrast to the theories presented by psychologists and sociologists "psychiatric role theory" developed largely out of clinical contexts, methods of prevention, treatment of psychoses and neuroses, of marriage and family groups, of interpersonal relations, of problems of industrial adjustment, of the fields of mental hygiene and education. Role research and role therapy are still in their infancy. Psychodrama presents a valuable vehicle for experimental and control studies of roles. It permits the observation of individuals in live situations in which they are concretely involved.