Table of Contents
Definition of Role Performance
(noun) The actual behavior and expression of an individual occupying a role.
Example of Role Performance
- A student is expected to come to class on time and be prepared for each lesson, but the student fails to attend regularly and is poorly prepared for each lesson.
Role Performance Pronunciation
Syllabification: role per·for·mance
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /rOHl puhr-fOR-muhns/
- British English – /rOHl puh-fAWm-uhns/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /roʊl pərˈfɔrməns/
- British English – /rəʊl pəˈfɔːməns/
Usage Notes
- Plural: role performances
- The terms “role performance” and “social role performance” are used interchangeably in a sociological context.
- Role performance is contrasted to role expectation.
- Variant spelling: role-performance
Related Video
Additional Information
- Role Theory Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “role” and “performance” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- behavior
- group
- individual
- norm
- role
- role conflict
- role distancing
- role expectation
- role reversal
- role taking
- role theory
Works Consulted
Ferrante, Joan. 2011. Seeing Sociology: An Introduction. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.
Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Hughes, Michael, and Carolyn J. Kroehler. 2011. Sociology: The Core. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Kimmel, Michael S., and Amy Aronson. 2012. Sociology Now. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Shepard, Jon M. 2010. Sociology. 11th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Shepard, Jon M., and Robert W. Greene. 2003. Sociology and You. New York: Glencoe.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Role Performance
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “role performance.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved September 14, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/role-performance/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
role performance. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/role-performance/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “role performance.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/role-performance/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“role performance.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 14 Sep. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/role-performance/>.