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Theoretical Observations on Applied Behavioral Science

Role Taking and the Study of Majority/Minority Relationships

Department of Sociology and Social Work at the University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203

This article presents the major theoretical issues concerning "role taking" and "role making," particularly as these relate to relationships between majority and minority groups. The author examines the barriers researchers and others face when seeking to take the roles of others, and finds that we must recognize how ethnic and/or gender differences affect role taking. Three problem areas are examined: circumstances in which one group has more power than another, unexamined roles, and contradictory role expectations. The author concludes that role taking and role making have major methodological implications, and that further analysis of these concepts is essential to our understanding of the relationships among persons from different sectors of society.

The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 25, No. 2, 175-186 (1989)
DOI: 10.1177/0021886389252007


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