Living in a society, one cannot be free from it. Throughout life, a person comes into contact with a large number of other individuals and groups into which they enter. Moreover, in each of them he takes his own specific place. To analyze the position of a person in each group and society as a whole, they use concepts such as social status and social role. Let's take a closer look at what it is.
Meaning of the term and general characteristic
The very word "status" originates from ancient Rome. Then it bore a legal connotation rather than a sociological one, and denoted the legal status of an organization.
Now social status is a person’s position in a specific group and society as a whole, endowing him with certain rights, privileges, as well as duties in relation to other members.
It helps people interact better with each other. If a person of a certain social status does not fulfill his duties, then he will be responsible for this. So, an entrepreneur who sews clothes to order, in case of failure to meet the deadlines, will pay a penalty. Moreover, his reputation will be spoiled.
Examples of the social status of one person are a schoolboy, son, grandson, brother, member of a sports club, citizen, and so on.
This is a certain characteristic of a person according to his professional qualities, material and family status, age, education and other criteria.
A person can simultaneously enter several groups at once and, accordingly, play not one, but many different roles. Therefore, they talk about status sets. Each person is unique and individual.
Types of social statuses, examples
Their range is wide enough. There are statuses received at birth, and there are acquired during life. Those that are attributed to man by society, or those that he achieves through his own efforts.
Allocate the basic and passing social status of a person. Examples: the main and universal, in fact, the man himself, then the second comes - this is a citizen. The list of basic statuses also includes kinship, economic, political, religious. The list goes on.
Occasional is a passer-by, a patient, a participant in a strike, a buyer, a visitor to an exhibition. That is, such statuses in the same person can change quite quickly and periodically repeat.
Prescribed Social Status: Examples
This is what a person receives from birth, biologically and geographically defined characteristics. Until recently, it was impossible to influence them and change the situation. Examples of social status: gender, nationality, race. These set parameters remain with the person for life. Although in our progressive society we have already swung at the change of gender. So one of the listed statuses to some extent ceases to be prescribed.
Most of what is related to kinship will also be considered a prescribed species. This is father, mother, sister, brother. And husband and wife are already acquired statuses.
Status Achieved
This is what a person achieves himself. Making efforts, making choices, working, studying, each individual in the end comes to certain results. His successes or defeats are reflected in the assignment of a well-deserved status to him by the society. Doctor, director, company president, professor, thief, homeless person, tramp.
Almost every achieved social status of an individual has its own insignia . Examples:
- among the military, security forces, and internal troops — uniforms and uniforms;
- Doctors have white coats;
- people who break the law have tattoos on their bodies.
Roles in society
To understand how this or that object will behave, a person’s social status will help. We find examples and confirmation of this constantly. Expectations in the behavior and appearance of an individual, depending on his belonging to a particular class, are called a social role.
So, the status of a parent obliges you to be strict, but fair to your child, bear responsibility for him, teach, give advice, prompt, help in difficult situations. The status of a son or daughter is, on the contrary, a certain subordination to parents, legal and material dependence on them.
But, despite some patterns of behavior, each person has a choice of what to do. Examples of social status and its use by a person do not fit one hundred percent into the proposed framework. There is only a scheme, a certain template that each individual implements according to his abilities and ideas.
It often happens that combining several social roles for one person is difficult. For example, the first role of a woman is mom, wife, and her second role is a successful business woman. Both roles involve an investment of energy, time, full return. There is a conflict.
Analysis of the social status of a person, an example of his actions in life, allows us to conclude that it reflects not only the person’s internal position, but also affects his appearance, manner of dressing, and speaking.
Consider examples of social status and standards attached to it in appearance. So, the director of the bank or the founder of a reputable company cannot appear in the workplace in sweatpants or rubber boots. And the priest is to come to the church in jeans.
The status that a person has achieved makes him pay attention not only to appearance and behavior, but also to choose a circle of communication, place of residence, training.
Prestige
Not the last role in the fate of people is played by such a concept as prestige (and positive, from the point of view of the majority, social status). Examples in the questionnaire, which are written by students of all senior classes before entering higher education institutions, can be found with ease. Often they make their choice based on the prestige of a particular profession. Now few of the boys dream of becoming an astronaut or a pilot. And once it was a very popular profession. Choose between lawyers and financiers. So time dictates.
Conclusion: a person develops as a person in the process of mastering various social statuses and roles. The brighter the dynamics, the more adapted the individual will become to life.