THE LOGIC OF ROLE THEORY: ROLE CONFLICT AND STABILITY OF THE SELF-CONCEPT
James D. Montgomery · Journal of Mathematical Sociology · 2004
Non-monotonic logic offers a useful framework for modeling human reasoning in social settings where role conflict arises from contradictions among roles, norms, and constraints. This paper uses non-monotonic logic to specify the processes by which an individual chooses actions (based on self-concept and norms) and observers then make attributions about the individual (based on actions and norms). By linking the choice and attribution processes together with the assumption that the individual gradually internalizes attributions, we obtain a feedback loop governing change in the self-concept. Analysis of this feedback loop reveals that the self-concept may reach a stable long-run state–an “absorbing self” – only if the normative system is logically consistent.