THE IMPACT OF PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES. HUMAN QUALITIES AND PRIMORDIAL TIES ON ROLE BEHAVIOUR
Abstract
This study is intended as a preliminary attempt to explore precisely those attributes of the individual which are in a way prior to the formal definitions of roles and are at the same time not only starting points for individuals' motivation for role taking and role performance, but may also influence the very processes of crystallization of social behavior into roles and the differentiation of roles on the basis of their respective content. We began this study by delineating the area for exploration. At first, we could only point to a number of phenomena which did not fit into accepted sociological categories and constituted a residual category, including different aspects of social behavior with a vague common denominator. We then specified three kinds of attributes for preliminary investigation: biological attributes, group membership qualities, and personal traits. These may be looked upon as certain aspects of an individual's human image. Their common denominator is that they reflect some qualities of man as givens or primordials, that is to say, as evaluations of man's possible resources, or his potential. The human image is not conceived here as an isolated psychological variable but, rather, as a pattern (or system), of attributes toward basic aspects of man and human activity which is significant in regulating the meeting point between personality and social roles and groups. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1962
- Accession Number
- AD0290680
Entities
People
- H. Rieger Shlonsky
Organizations
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem