Role Conflict Defined

Everyone who is part of a society, no matter the size, has a role to play. Most, in fact, have multiple roles to fill that befit their jobs, families, friends and other aspects of their lives. When these roles clash it is a psychological and sociological event called role conflict.

Roles

• Roles are the various masks and positions people fill throughout their lives. They can be a father or mother, a child, a lawyer or doctor, or a even a prison detainee.

Conflict

• When two social roles of a person conflict with each other, it is called role conflict. One example is a lawyer who needs to be represented in a trial.

Status

• Role conflict exists only when the two roles are involved with different statuses. Statuses are various levels in society, such as rich and poor, male and female, or child and adult. In the previous example, the lawyer role is on one level as an integral part of the legal system, while the role of someone who needs representation is a "lesser" status that relies on the help of that same legal system.

Organizations

• In an organization, groups of people work together to form one role of an organization. When these groups are conflicted, there is said to be organizational role conflict.

Effects

• Role conflict can create added stresses in a person's life, which can pull them away from their duties in any roles involved.