Each person has more than one status in society. Role conflict occurs when the role a person assumes in one social status competes and becomes incompatible with the role he or she holds in another social status. A high school student may be a member of the basketball team, relatively popular with his or her peers, and manager of the wait staff at a local coffee shop. Role conflict may occur when the teenager hires a teammate who is also a friend to work at the shop. Back Group Membership Membership in a group is open to those who share a goal.
Some groups perform task functions and others perform social functions.
Most task-oriented groups are formal and are organized around accomplishing a specific project or objective. Most social-oriented groups are informal and temporary and are motivated by social satisfaction. Members of any group have a status within the group, assume a role, and bring value or expectations of conduct to the situation. Each member's role differs depending on his or her status and his or her values. The director of the project has the highest status of the group and therefore the value of that position is perceived as high.