Which of the following is an example of role strain in social psychology?

• A. A teacher struggling to balance grading papers, preparing lessons, and providing emotional support to students all within their role as a teacher
• B. A nurse who disagrees with a doctor's orders but must follow them due to hospital policy
• C. A parent who is also a manager at work and finds it difficult to meet the demands of both roles
• D. A student who feels conflicted between the expectations of being a student and the responsibilities of being a part-time employee

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the concept of role strain: Role strain occurs when there are conflicting demands or pressures within a single social role, making it difficult for the individual to fulfill all expectations of that role effectively.
2. Identify the key characteristic of role strain in the options: Look for a situation where the conflict or difficulty arises from multiple demands within the same role, rather than between different roles.
3. Analyze the example of the teacher: The teacher is struggling to balance grading papers, preparing lessons, and providing emotional support, all of which are responsibilities within the single role of being a teacher. This fits the definition of role strain.
4. Compare with other options: The nurse's conflict involves following orders versus personal disagreement, which is more about role conflict with external authority; the parent/manager and student/employee examples involve conflicts between two different roles, which is role conflict, not role strain.
5. Conclude that the example of the teacher best illustrates role strain because the tension arises from multiple demands within one role rather than between multiple roles.