Structure: Order and Predictability
As we have argued in an earlier section of the Pathway, the idea that human beings do not have instincts (we do not have genetic programming that tells us how to behave) means that, as individuals involved in social behaviour, we have to develop a sense of how to behave towards each other. The fact that we have to develop and learn role play is, in this respect, strong evidence against the existence of instincts (since if we already "knew" how to behave in our relations with others there would be no point in developing the idea of role play...).
Although this is, in many ways, an important idea to note, the playing of social roles introduces two things into our life that are related to the concept of social structure.
a. A sense of order.
b. A sense of predictability.
Order and
predictability are important to us, since without them the social world
would be a very difficult, dangerous and confusing
place. For example, consider the idea that if we didn't
play certain roles how impossible life would be.
Thus, a further aspect to
role playing is the fact that we can use our knowledge of roles to organise
our behaviour so that we can deal appropriately with other
people. 
For example, when playing the role of lover, it is
appropriate in our society to kiss our loved one. Since it is not appropriate to kiss
everyone you meet, therefore, our knowledge of role play helps us to avoid embarrassing or
dangerous situations.
In this respect, role play helps us to regulate our behaviour (and that of others) and, consequently, the adoption of roles is a way of controlling people's behaviour. This is mainly because the values and norms associated with each role give us boundary markers against which to judge acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. When people play a certain role, therefore, their behaviour is being controlled because they are obeying the rules of that role. The concept of social control that this situation implies is developed in more detail elsewhere in the Pathway..
The organisation
and regulation of people's behaviour represents one of the major
advantages of role play, since it helps us to accomplish certain tasks easily and
effectively. 
For example, the teaching and learning process is made
easier if both teacher and student are behaving towards each other in ways that are
considered appropriate for their roles.
One final idea we have to note is that, for all the advantages they give us in the organisation of our lives, the wide number and variety of roles that we play occasionally causes us problems, one such problem being role conflict.