What is social status. Social status and its types

Status - is a certain position in social structure group or society, linked to other positions through a system of rights and obligations.

Sociologists distinguish two types of status: personal and acquired. Personal status is the position of a person that he occupies in the so-called small, or primary, group, depending on how his individual qualities are evaluated in it. On the other hand, in the process of interaction with other individuals, each person performs certain social functions that determine his social status.

The social status is general position individual or social group in society, associated with a certain set of rights and obligations. Social statuses are prescribed and acquired (achieved). The first category includes nationality, place of birth, social origin, etc., the second - profession, education, etc.

In any society, there is a certain hierarchy of statuses, which is the basis of its stratification. Certain statuses are prestigious, others are vice versa. Prestige is an assessment by society of the social significance of a particular status, enshrined in culture and public opinion. This hierarchy is formed under the influence of two factors:

a) the real usefulness of those social functions that a person performs;

b) the system of values characteristic of a given society.

If the prestige of any statuses is unreasonably high or, on the contrary, underestimated, it is usually said that there is a loss of status balance. A society in which there is a similar tendency to lose this balance is unable to ensure its normal functioning. Authority must be distinguished from prestige. Authority is the degree to which society recognizes the dignity of an individual, a particular person.

The social status of a person primarily affects her behavior. Knowing the social status of a person, one can easily determine most of the qualities that he possesses, as well as predict the actions that he will carry out. Such expected behavior of a person, associated with the status that he has, is commonly called a social role. A social role is actually a certain pattern of behavior that is recognized as appropriate for people of a given status in a given society. In fact, the role provides a model showing exactly how an individual should act in a given situation. Roles vary in their degree of formalization: some are very clearly defined, such as in military organizations, others are very vague. A social role can be assigned to a person both formally (for example, in a legislative act), or be informal.

Any individual is a reflection of the totality of social relations of his era. Therefore, each person has not one but a whole set social roles which he plays in society. Their combination is called the role system. Such a variety of social roles can cause an internal conflict of the individual (in the event that some of the social roles contradict each other).

Scientists offer various classifications of social roles. Among the latter, as a rule, the so-called basic (basic) social roles are distinguished. These include:

a) the role of the worker;

b) the role of the owner;

c) the role of the consumer;

d) the role of a citizen;

e) the role of a family member.

However, despite the fact that the behavior of an individual is largely determined by the status that it occupies and the roles it plays in society, it (the individual) nevertheless retains its autonomy and has a certain freedom of choice. And although in modern society there is a tendency towards unification and standardization of the individual; fortunately, its complete leveling does not occur. The individual has the opportunity to choose from a variety of social statuses and roles offered to him by society, those that allow him to better realize his plans, to use his abilities as efficiently as possible. The acceptance of a particular social role by a person is influenced by both social conditions and his biological and personal characteristics (health, gender, age, temperament, etc.). Any role prescription outlines only a general scheme of human behavior, offering to make a choice of ways to fulfill it by the personality itself.

In the process of achieving a certain status and performing an appropriate social role, a so-called role conflict may arise. A role conflict is a situation in which a person is faced with the need to satisfy the requirements of two or more incompatible roles.

concept

The concept in the sociological sense was first used by the English historian and lawyer Henry Maine.

Social status - the place or position of the individual, correlated with the position of other people; this is the place of the individual in a hierarchically organized social structure, his objective position in it; it is an inexhaustible human resource that gives a person the opportunity to influence society and through it to receive privileged positions in the system of power and distribution of material wealth. Each person occupies a number of positions in society, each of which implies a number of rights and obligations. Social statuses are structural elements of the social organization of society, providing social ties between the subjects of social relations. Society not only creates social positions - statuses, but also provides social mechanisms for the distribution of members of society in these positions.

Status types

Each person, as a rule, has not one, but several social statuses. Sociologists distinguish:

natural status- the status received by a person at birth (sex, race, nationality). In some cases, birth status may change: the status of a member of the royal family - from birth and as long as the monarchy exists.
acquired (achieved) status- the status that a person achieves by his own efforts (position, post).
prescribed (assigned) status- the status that a person acquires regardless of his desire (age, status in the family), it can change over the course of life. Prescribed status can be congenital or acquired.

Status incompatibility

Status incompatibility occurs under two circumstances:

when an individual occupies a high rank in one group, and a low rank in the second;
when the rights and obligations of the status of one person contradict or interfere with the fulfillment of the rights and obligations of another.

Examples: a scientist had to leave to work as a seller in a commercial kiosk, an elderly person is used as an errand boy, a policeman has to go to racketeering, a minister has to participate in negotiations with terrorists. A highly paid official (high professional rank) will most likely also have a high family rank as a person who ensures the family's material well-being. But it does not automatically follow from this that he will have high ranks in other groups - among friends, relatives, colleagues!

Literature

In English

Warner W.L., Heker M., Cells K. Social Class in America. A Manual co Procedure for Measurement of Social Status. Chicago, 1949.
Linton R. The Study of Man. N.Y., 1936

In Russian

2.2. Social statuses and roles(S. 54-59) in the book: Shkaratan, Ovsei Irmovich. Sociology of inequality. Theory and reality; National research University "Higher School of Economics". - M.: Ed. House high school Economics, 2012. - 526 p. - ISBN 978-5-7598-0913-5

Notes

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The term sociology was first introduced by O. Comte in 1839.

Sociology (from Latin socius - public; other Greek lgpt - science) is the science of society, the systems that make it up, the laws of its functioning and development, social institutions, relationships and communities. According to Anthony Giddens, sociology is "the study of the social life of man, the study of groups and societies." According to the definition of Yadov V. A., sociology is the science of the functioning of society, of the relationship of people.

Sociology is particularly interested in social life in modern world, the rapid changes in human societies that have taken place in the last two centuries. It remains the leading discipline in which the analysis of the nature of these changes is carried out. Today our world is radically different from the past; the task of sociology is to help us understand this world and its future possibilities. Continuity and change in social life can be thought of as a "mixture" of intended and unintended consequences of human actions. The task of sociology is to explore the resulting balance between social reproduction and transformation. Social reproduction refers to how societies "keep themselves alive" over time, transformation refers to the changes that societies are subject to.

The main goal of sociology is "the analysis of the structure of social relations in the form in which they develop in the course of social interaction." Linton in the 30s of the 19th century. introduced the concept of “social status” into sociological knowledge, defining it as the place that an individual occupies in the system of social relations and which is associated with a set of rights and obligations. Their implementation forms the role as prescribed and expected behavior from a person occupying a certain position in society. The concept of "social status" and "social role" are interconnected as statistical and dynamic (functional) characteristics of the individual in the system of social relations.

Each person, performing his functions, becomes necessary to others. Functional interconnection forms the "framework" of society. These are social statuses and roles that are functionally related due to the social division of labor. Social status - "driver", "mother", "president", "journalist", "man", "athlete", etc. are empty cells. Each of them is filled with a certain number of people, but they are constantly changing: someone dies, someone quits and goes to another job. But the cells remain. They are needed by society. Without them, it cannot function. They are useful to him: a doctor is needed to heal, a teacher - to teach, and so on ad infinitum. Each cell in its place performs a certain important social function.

The word "status" came into sociology from the Latin language. In ancient Rome, it denoted the state, the legal status of a legal entity.

At the end of the 19th century, the English historian G.D.S. Main gave it sociological significance. Status - the social position of a person in society. Social status - a generalized characteristic that covers the profession, economic situation, political opportunities, demographic properties of a person. "Driver" - profession; "employee with an average income" - an economic parameter; "member of the democratic party" - a political characteristic; "a man at the age of 40" is a demographic indicator (nationality also belongs to them). All these characteristics describe the social position of the same person, but from different positions.

Any person occupies several positions, as he participates in various groups and organizations. Thus, each person is characterized by a status set (the term was introduced by R. Merton). Status set - the totality of all statuses occupied by a given individual.

Social status, providing certain rights and opportunities, and obliges a lot. With the help of statuses, relations between people are ordered and regulated. Social statuses are reflected both in external behavior and appearance - clothing, jargon, manners, and in the internal position of the individual - attitudes, value orientations, motives. Each status requires and gives people the opportunity to achieve the social expectations of people from their modification, if it does not create conditions for the realization of these expectations. In this sense, the well-known Polish sociologist F. Znaniecki (1882-1958) is right, who believed that the sociologist should take the human individual not only as he “really is” organically and psychologically, but as he is “made” by others and by himself in them and his own experience of social life.

An important characteristic of each of the statuses is the range and freedom of other statuses. In any society, there is a certain hierarchy of statuses, which is the basis of its stratification. Certain statuses are prestigious, others are vice versa. Prestige is an assessment by society of the social significance of a particular status, enshrined in culture and public opinion.

This hierarchy is formed under the influence of two factors:

- the real usefulness of those social functions that a person performs;
-system of values characteristic of a given society.

If the prestige of some statuses is unreasonably high or, conversely, underestimated, it is usually said that there is a loss of status balance. A society that tends to lose this balance cannot function normally.

There are statuses assigned (born) and achieved (acquired). A person receives the assigned status automatically - by ethnic origin, place of birth, family status - regardless of personal efforts (daughter, Buryat, Volzhanka, aristocrat). Achieved status - writer, student, spouse, officer, laureate, director, deputy. It is acquired by the efforts of the person himself with the help of certain social groups - families, brigades, parties.

Assigned status does not coincide with innate. Only three social statuses are considered natural: sex, nationality, race. The Negro is a born status that characterizes the race. A man is an innate status that characterizes gender. Russian is an innate status that determines nationality. Race, gender and nationality are given biologically, a person inherits them against his will and consciousness.

IN Lately scientists began to question whether birth status even existed if sex and skin color could be changed through surgery. The concepts of biological sex and socially acquired have appeared.

When parents are persons of different nationalities, it is difficult to determine what nationality the children should be. Often they themselves decide what to write in the passport.

Age is a biologically determined trait, but it is not an innate status, since during a person’s life a person moves from one age to another, and people expect quite specific behavior from a specific age category: from the young, for example, they expect respect for the elders, from adults - care for children and old people.

The kinship system has a whole set of assigned statuses. Only some of them are natural. These include the statuses: “son”, “daughter”, “sister”, “nephew”, “grandmother” and some others expressing consanguinity. There are also non-blood relatives, the so-called legal relatives, who become as a result of marriage, adoption, etc.

Achieved status. Significantly different from the assigned status. If the assigned status is not under the control of the individual, then the status achieved is under control. Any status that is not automatically given to a person by the very fact of birth is considered to be achieved.

A person acquires the profession of a driver or engineer through his own efforts, training and free choice. He also acquires the status of world champion, doctor of science or rock star thanks to his own efforts, great work.

Achieved status requires making an independent decision and independent action. The status of a husband is achievable: in order to get it, a man makes a decision, makes a formal proposal to his bride, and performs a host of other actions.

Achievable status refers to the positions that people occupy due to their efforts or merit. "Postgraduate student" - the status that university graduates achieve by competing with others and showing outstanding academic success.

The more dynamic a society is, the more cells in its social structure are designed for achieved statuses. The more statuses achieved in a society, the more democratic it is.

Statuses can also be formalized or non-formalized, which depends on whether one or another function is performed within the framework of formalized or non-formalized social institutions and more widely - social interactions (for example, the status of a plant director and a leader of a company of close comrades).

Social status is the relative position of an individual or group in a social system. The concept of social status characterizes the place of the individual in the system of social relations, his activities in the main areas of life and the assessment of the individual's activities by society, expressed in certain quantitative and qualitative indicators (salary, bonuses, awards, titles, privileges), as well as self-esteem.

Social status in the sense of a norm and a social ideal has great potential for solving the problems of socialization of the individual, since the orientation towards achieving a higher social status stimulates social activity.

If a person's own social status is misunderstood, then he is guided by other people's patterns of behavior. There are two extremes in a person's assessment of his social status. Low status self-esteem is associated with weak resistance to external influence. Such people are not self-confident, more often subject to pessimistic moods. High self-esteem is more often associated with activity, enterprise, self-confidence, life optimism. Based on this, it makes sense to introduce the concept of status self-assessment as an essential personality trait that cannot be reduced to individual functions and actions of a person.

Personal status - the position that a person occupies in a small (or primary) group, depending on how he is assessed by his individual qualities.

Social status plays a dominant role among strangers, and personal - among familiar people. Acquaintances make up the primary, small group. introducing himself strangers, especially for employees of any organization, institution, enterprise, we usually name the place of work, social status and age. For familiar people, these characteristics are not important, but our personal qualities, that is, informal authority.

Each of us has a set of social and personal statuses, because we are involved in many large and small groups. The latter include family, circle of relatives and friends, school class, student group, interest club, etc. In them, a person can have a high, medium or low status, that is, be a leader, an independent, an outsider. Social and personal status may or may not coincide.

mixed status. Sometimes it is very difficult to determine what type this or that status belongs to. For example, being unemployed is not a position that most people aspire to. On the contrary, they avoid it. Most often, a person finds himself unemployed against his will and desire. The reason is factors beyond his control: the economic crisis, mass layoffs, the ruin of the company, etc. Such processes are not under the control of an individual. It is in his power to make efforts to find work or not to do so, resigned to the situation.

Political upheavals, coups d'etat, social revolutions, wars can change (or even cancel) some statuses of huge masses of people against their will and desire. After the October Revolution of 1917, the former nobles turned into emigrants, remained or became officials, engineers, workers, teachers, having lost the attributed status of a nobleman, which had disappeared from the social structure.

Dramatic changes can also occur at the individual level. If a person becomes disabled at the age of 30, his socio-economic situation has changed significantly: if earlier he earned his own bread, now he is completely dependent on state assistance. It is difficult to call it an attainable status, since no one wants to become disabled of their own free will. It could be considered as ascribed, but a 30-year-old cripple is not born disabled.

The title of academician is at first an attainable status, but later it turns into an ascribed one, as it is considered lifelong, although not hereditary. The cases described above can be attributed to mixed statuses. A person who has received a doctorate in science cannot pass it on to his son, but he can enjoy certain advantages if he decides to advance along the scientific path. A mixed status is a combination of an achieved or prescribed status with a position in society that an individual occupies against his own will, his choice, or if social and demographic restrictions are imposed on the occupation of a particular position, as a result of which the position occupied ceases to act as an achieved status.

There are also formal and informal statuses, basic and episodic, independent and dependent statuses.

social status- the social position occupied by a social individual or social group in society or a separate social subsystem of society. It is determined by characteristics specific to a particular society, which can be economic, national, age and other characteristics. Social status is characterized by power and / or material capabilities, less often by specific skills or abilities, charisma, education.

concept

The concept in the sociological sense was first used by the English historian and lawyer Henry Maine.

Social status is the place that an individual occupies in the social system (society) and which is characterized by a certain set of rights and obligations.

Status types

Each person, as a rule, has not one, but several social statuses. Sociologists distinguish:

natural status- the status received by a person at birth (sex, race, nationality, biological stratum). In some cases, birth status may change: the status of a member of the royal family - from birth and as long as the monarchy exists.
acquired (achieved) status- the status that a person achieves due to his mental and physical efforts (work, connections, position, post).
prescribed (assigned) status- the status that a person acquires regardless of his desire (age, status in the family), it can change over the course of life. Prescribed status can be congenital or acquired.

Criteria for determining the social status of a person or group

Most sociologists take a multidimensional approach, taking into account signs such as:

own
income level
Lifestyle
relations between people in the system of social division of labor
distribution ratios
consumption relationship
place of a person in the hierarchy of the political system
the level of education
ethnicity, etc.

In addition, in sociology there is a so-called main status, i.e. the most characteristic status for a given individual, with which he identifies himself or with which other people identify him. It determines the style, lifestyle, circle of acquaintances, demeanor. For representatives of modern society, the main status is most often associated with professional activities.

Status incompatibility

Status incompatibility occurs only under two circumstances:

when an individual occupies a high rank in one group, and a low rank in the second;
when the rights and obligations of one status of a person contradict or interfere with the fulfillment of the rights and obligations of his other status.

social status

Each person occupies a certain position in society. This position in sociology is denoted by the concept of status. This term was first used by an English historian G. Maine , and it was introduced into sociology by an American sociologist R. Linton . Describing the social status of a person, they usually indicate his rights and obligations, as well as his position in the social hierarchy.

social status- this is a certain position in the social structure of society, associated with other positions through a system of rights and obligations. Social statuses are interconnected, but do not interact with each other. Only carriers of statuses interact and enter into relations with each other, that is, people. Each person has many statuses, as he participates in many groups and organizations. The totality of all statuses occupied by one person is status set. Among the many social statuses, as a rule, one stands out, which determines the position of a person in society. It is called the main or integrated status. The main status is the most characteristic status for a given person, with which he is identified by other people or by himself. The main status is relative, but it is he who determines the style and lifestyle, social circle and behavior, for example, for men, the main status, as a rule, is determined by the place of work, profession or position. There are also social and personal statuses. If social is the position of a person in society, which he occupies as a representative of a large social group (profession, class, nationality, gender, age), then personal status is the position of an individual in a small group from the point of view of members of this group.

Social group- this is the position of the individual in society, which he occupies as a representative of a large social group (race, nation, gender, class, stratum, religion, profession, etc.). Personal status is the position of an individual in a small group (family, school class, student group, peer community, etc.). Social group status depends on the position of a particular social group in the social stratification of society. Personal status is determined by the individual qualities of the individual and depends on how it is assessed and perceived by members of a small group.

Sociologists distinguish prescribed (ascriptive) and acquired (achieved) statuses. The prescribed status is imposed by society regardless of the efforts and merit of the individual, it is determined by ethnic origin, place of birth, family, and so on. The acquired status, that is, achieved, is determined by the efforts of the person himself, it is acquired by the individual as a result of free choice and purposeful efforts.

There are also natural and professional status .

natural status personality presupposes existing and relatively stable characteristics of a person. Professional and official - this is the basic status of the individual. For an adult, it is most often the basis of an integrated status; it fixes the socio-economic and production-technical position (banker, lawyer, engineer).

social status denotes the specific place that a person occupies in a given social system. The totality of the requirements imposed on the individual by society in accordance with his specific status forms the concept of a social role.

social role is a set of actions that a person holding a given status in the social system must perform. Thus, a social role is a model of behavior focused on a given status and characterized by prescribed rules of behavior (social norms).

Social roles and social norms refer to the system of interaction and describe the dynamics of society. And social statuses are associated with social relations and characterize the statics of society. Like a status set, there is also a role set - a set of roles that is associated with a certain status. The role set describes all types and variety of roles (behavior patterns) assigned to one status.

People identify themselves to varying degrees with their statuses and their respective roles. Sometimes they literally merge with their role and automatically transfer the stereotype of their behavior from one status to another. So, a woman who holds the position of a boss at work, when she comes home, continues to communicate in a commanding tone with her husband and other relatives. The maximum fusion of an individual with a role is called role identification.

But not with all roles a person identifies himself equally. Research shows that with personally significant roles (associated most often with the main status), identification is also carried out more often. Other roles are nothing significant for a person. Often there is also distancing from the role, when a person deliberately behaves contrary to the requirements of the norms and expectations of people.

Example: if the boss comes to work in a strict suit - he associates himself with the role, if in a tracksuit and allows subordinates to call themselves on you - then this is distancing from the role. If a person does not play a role in accordance with expectations, then he enters into a certain conflict with a group or society. For example, parents should take care of children, a close friend should be not indifferent to our problems. If a parent does not show such concern, then society condemns him, if we turn to a close friend for help or sympathy and do not receive them from him, then we are offended and may even break off relations with him.

The term "reduction of the inter-status distance" characterizes the relationship between carriers of different, but functionally related statuses, for example, a boss - a subordinate. Each person has their own set of roles, but not all roles identify in the same way. With some (socially significant) more strongly, with others there is a distancing from the role. Identification with the role or distancing from it was studied by the great directors who created their schools of play: K. Stanislavsky, B. Brecht.

E. Bern in the acclaimed bestselling book Games People Play, People Who Play Games, examines in detail how people perceive roles, identify with them, and shape their own destiny based on the role they choose. Some adapt the role to themselves, build their own destiny according to the principle "I am a hero, I am a prophet", others adapt to the role - "amoeboid personality".

Examples of a person's social status

Living in a society, one cannot be free from it. During life, a person comes into contact with a large number of other individuals and groups to which they belong. At the same time, in each of them he occupies a certain place. To analyze the position of a person in each group and society as a whole, such concepts as social status and social role are used. Let's take a closer look at what it is.

The meaning of the term and general characteristics

The very word "status" originates from ancient Rome. Then it had more of a legal connotation, rather than a sociological one, and denoted the legal status of an organization.

Now social status is the position of a person in a particular group and society as a whole, endowing him with certain rights, privileges, and duties in relation to other members.

It helps people communicate 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, if the deadlines are missed, will pay a penalty. In addition, his reputation will be damaged.

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 marital status, age, education and other criteria.

A person can simultaneously enter several teams 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 quite wide. There are statuses acquired at birth, and there are statuses acquired during life. Those that society ascribes to a person, or those that he achieves through his own efforts.

Allocate the main and passing social status of a person. Examples: the main and universal, in fact, the person himself, then comes the second - this is a citizen. The list of basic statuses also includes consanguinity, economic, political, religious. The list goes on.

Episodic - this is a passerby, a patient, a striker, 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 given characteristics. Until recently, it was impossible to influence them and change the situation. Examples of social status: gender, nationality, race. These given parameters remain with a person for life. Although in our progressive society they have already threatened to change the sex. So one of the listed statuses to some extent ceases to be prescribed.

Much of what pertains to kinship will also be regarded as a prescribed species. This is father, mother, sister, brother. And husband and wife are already acquired statuses.

Achieved status

This is what a person achieves on his own. Making efforts, making choices, working, studying, each individual eventually comes to certain results. His successes or failures are reflected in the society giving him the status he deserves. Doctor, director, company president, professor, thief, homeless person, vagabond.

Almost every achieved social status of a person has its own insignia. Examples:

the military, security forces, employees of the internal troops - uniforms and epaulettes;
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, the social status of a person will help. We find examples and confirmations of this all the time. Expectations in the behavior and appearance of an individual, depending on his belonging to a certain class, is called a social role.

So, the status of a parent obliges to be strict, but fair to your child, to be responsible for him, to 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 how to act. 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, which each individual implements according to his abilities and ideas.

It often happens that it is difficult for one person to combine several social roles. For example, the first role of a woman is mother, wife, and her second role is a successful business woman. Both roles involve the investment of effort, time, full return. There is a conflict.

An analysis of the social status of a person, an example of his actions in life, allow us to conclude that it reflects not only the internal position of a person, but also affects the appearance, manner of dressing, speaking.

Consider examples of social status and standards associated with it in appearance. So, the director of a bank or the founder of a reputable company cannot appear at the workplace in sports trousers or rubber boots. And the priest - to come to church in jeans.

The status that a person has achieved makes him pay attention not only to appearance and behavior, but also to choose the 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). We can easily find examples in the questionnaire, which is written by students of all senior classes before entering higher educational institutions. Often they make their choice focusing on the prestige of a particular profession. Now few of the boys dream of becoming an astronaut or a pilot. It used to be a very popular profession. Choose between lawyers and financiers. So the time dictates.

Conclusion: a person develops as a person in the process of mastering different social statuses and roles. The brighter the dynamics, the more adapted to life the individual will become.

/ sociology

Non-state educational institution

Higher professional education

"University of the Russian Academy of Education"

Chelyabinsk branch

Faculty of Humanities

Department of Foreign Languages

Abstract on the topic:

"Social status and social role"

Performed: student gr. LP-131

Goncharenko Valentina

Checked by: Ermakov V.I.

Chelyabinsk

Introduction

1. The concept and definition of social status

2. Concept and definition of social role

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The topic "The concept of social status and social role" in this work was considered on the basis of a textbook edited by Professor A.G. Efendiev "General Sociology", which provides an opportunity for an accessible (understandable) presentation of the fundamental analysis of the basic branch of social science - modern sociological science.

Every day we communicate and interact with various people and social groups (family, work collective, etc.). It is difficult to imagine the same interaction in different social groups and with different people, of course, we behave differently, since in different interactions our position depends on relationships with others, we select behavior options, mastering to some extent the required qualities.

The world consists of many positions that are in constant self-renewable interactions. And entering this world, each person seeks to establish himself in a certain social position. Let us consider how and to what extent the system of social interactions influences human behavior.

Each person, being included in the system of social interactions, must perform certain social functions: a teacher - to teach, a student - to study, an entrepreneur - to organize production and manage it, etc.

To perform specific functions in the course of social interactions, certain (functional) duties are imposed on a person; at the same time, a person is endowed with certain rights, privileges, powers of authority. A person, performing a particular function, within the framework of a system of interactions, occupies (or claims to) a certain social position - this position is called social status.

1. The concept and definition of social status

Status (from Latin - position, state)

E. Giddens: " Status (status). Social recognition or prestige that a certain group of individuals receives from the rest of society. Status groups usually differ in their lifestyle - ways of behaving characteristic of the individuals of this group. Status privileges can be both positive and negative.

Social status is a characteristic of the social position in the social system of interactions. The social status has an internal content side, a dispositional-spatial dimension and an external nomination form.

The presence of an internal content side means that social status characterizes what rights, duties, privileges, powers are assigned to those who perform a particular function.

Knowledge of these rights, obligations of privileges, as well as with whom a person is obliged to interact, to whom he is subordinate, and who is subordinate to him, will help us determine the disposition (location) of a particular status in the coordinate system of a given social space.

The presence of an external nomination form means that the social status has its own nomination: teacher, doctor, president, artist, grandfather, grandson, etc. But in sociology, these nominations take on a different meaning, for example, the status of a daughter is a nomination not just of kinship, but also of a certain subordination to parents, the obligation to listen to their opinion, material, legal dependence on parents.

Therefore, in sociology, any social-positional name (position, profession, kinship position) is comprehended in unity with internal content aspects and receives a dispositional dimension (horizontally or vertically): what are the rights of the individual, duties, dependencies, privileges, powers, to whom he obeys, who is subordinate to him and in what, etc.

Another characteristic of status is the status-role theory of personality. This is the corresponding theory describing social behavior personality. It was developed by American sociologists R. Minton, R. Merton, T. Parsons, and describes the social behavior of an individual with two basic concepts: “social status” and “social role”. The American researcher R. Linton, one of the authors of the concept of social status and social role, emphasized that for science the concept of "status" is inseparable from the concept of "role" - these are essentially two sides of the same coin. If status is a fixation of a certain social position (its substantive, dispositional, nominative aspects), i.e. status is static, then a role is a dynamic characteristic that determines how a person with a particular status should behave. In other words, the status is a set of rights, privileges and duties, while the role is an action within this set of rights and duties.

Status, as a static characteristic at the same time, gives rise to many social problems of personal collisions. People are not indifferent to their status; striving to obtain a certain status, they deeply experience their failures along the way.

Since social statuses are unequal (located differently in the "coordinate system"). Depending on the position of social status in society relative to the position of other statuses, a person (personality) is given the opportunity to determine rights and obligations. For example, the status of parents arises only when the status of children exists.

Thus, a person is included in many social institutions, interacting with other people on various occasions, performing different functions each time.

The world of statuses is diverse, let's consider only the typology.

Statuses can be formalized or non-formalized.

The former, as a rule, are better secured, protected by law (the status of a factory director, a city governor, etc.). A person holding such a status has precisely defined rights, privileges, advantages and duties. Such a status arises within the framework of formal institutions, groups and has tangible advantages over non-formalized statuses (the status of a leader of a group of friends, an informal leader of a team, etc.), which are, as a rule, diffuse in nature, they may or may not arise. The rights, duties, powers of such a status are based not on laws, instructions, but on public opinion, which often makes them unsteady. Hence the desire of people to “protect themselves” with formalized statuses – so a scientist strives to confirm his qualifications with a scientific degree, title, in order to gain legal rights and privileges.

But besides them, there are many, so to speak, non-basic, episodic, statuses temporarily acquired by a person for the implementation of certain actions. Such are the statuses of a pedestrian, a passer-by, a patient, a witness, a reader, a listener, a TV viewer, a demonstrator, a striker, a crowd, and so on. As a rule, these are temporary conditions. The rights and obligations of holders of such social statuses are often not registered in any way. They are generally difficult to identify, say, a passerby. But they are. Although they do not affect the main, but the secondary features of behavior and thinking. So the status of a doctor of science determines a lot in the life of a given person, but his temporary status of a passerby does not. Thus, a person has basic (determining his life activity) and non-basic (affecting the details of behavior) statuses.

Statuses can be prescribed (ascriptive) and achieved (acquired) statuses.

The prescribed (ascriptive) social status is determined by society, regardless of the efforts and merits of the individual. It is determined by ethnic origin, place of birth, family, etc. For example, a person born with black skin acquires the status of a Negro. Children who grew up in very wealthy (rich) families acquire the status of "golden youth".

That is, the prescribed social status (along with all rights, duties and privileges), as a rule, is acquired from birth - nationality, gender, relationship status, age characteristics, etc. There may be other prescribed statuses - a disabled person. It is obvious that the prescribed social status can greatly influence the personality of a person.

The achieved, acquired social status is determined by the efforts of the person himself, his actions (writer, director, academician, spouse, officer, emigrant), i.e. status to achieve which requires special efforts.

The example of an emigrant illustrates very clearly the principle of achieved status. A person who has emigrated (that is, who has made certain efforts and performed certain actions) to live in another country acquires the achieved status of an emigrant.

Some statuses combine prescribed and achieved elements. For example, earning a Ph.D. in mathematics is an achievement. But once received a new status remains forever, defining all the intentions and goals of a person as a prescribed status.

In a traditional society, whose social institutions are characterized by ascriptivity, the main statuses of society are ascriptive, inherited (and not achieved) in nature.

In such societies, ascriptivity, as an initial motivational principle, is recognized by all sections of society as the main basis for social status claims. And the king, and the shepherd, and the plowman, and the blacksmith consider their position justified and prepare their children to take their place.

The spectrum and freedom of different statuses are an important characteristic of each of the statuses. Any individual decision regarding one's own destiny lies in the constant choice of ways to overcome specific social inequality and in the desire to have the appropriate conditions that ensure its competitiveness in life.

Social status, both providing certain rights and privileges, and imposes a significant number of obligations. With the help of statuses, relations between people are ordered and regulated.

Inequality of statuses is subject to change, so in the 90s in our society there was a change in significance - some social statuses, such as qualifications, education, skill, creativity, and an increase in the significance of others, such as wealth, financial resources, the ability to "live beautifully" .

In modern society, the achieved statuses acquire leading importance, the mastery of which is not inherited, but requires education, victory over competitors. An increase in the role of achieved statuses in the organization of social life is an increase in the demand for energetic, competent people, an increase in the dynamics of social processes.

At the same time, a person sometimes achieves the achieved status with the help of non-achieving principles; in this case, great importance is attached not to the abilities, knowledge of a person, but to his loyalty, personal devotion to the leader, and the presence of connections.

Traditionalist-ascriptive culture resists, forces social life to mimic, as a result of which statuses are achievable in form, and ascriptive motivations play a leading role in mastering them.

A person can have several statuses, but most often only one predetermines his position in society - the main status, which is reflected both in the external behavior and appearance of a person, and in his internal position.

It is a difficult task to determine the main status of a person, but it is the main status that first of all determines and, no less important, self-determines a person socially (“who am I, what have I achieved?”).

In most cases, the status of the individual associated with work, profession, is of particular importance, property status can be of considerable importance. However, the features listed above in an informal company of friends may be of secondary importance - here the cultural level, education, and sociability can play a decisive role.

Therefore, one should distinguish between the main, general hierarchy of personality statuses, which works in most situations in a given society, and the specific one, used in special conditions, for special people.

Having a specific hierarchy can lead to serious conflicts. The status of a person, defined by society as the main one for a given person, does not always coincide with the status, focusing on the generally accepted hierarchy, considered by the person himself to be the main one. For example, an entrepreneur, being sure that the main thing in his social characteristics is his property, financial situation, he encounters rejection by the higher circles, where he seeks to get into, for other components, such as his “gentility”, level of education, culture.

You can consider a place in the hierarchy of statuses, called rank. This is a place in the invisible hierarchy of social relations, characterized by public opinion in which, over time, it is developed, transmitted, supported, but, as a rule, no documents register a hierarchy of statuses and social groups, where some are valued and respected more than others. The rank is high, medium or low.

A highly paid official (high professional rank) is likely to be the owner of the same high family rank as the person providing the family's material well-being. But it does not automatically follow from this that he will have high ranks in other groups - among friends, relatives, colleagues.

In addition to the main status, primarily associated with the profession, work (more precisely, its prestige), it is permissible to talk about a generalized status, otherwise called the index of social position, the value of which helps to make a holistic assessment of the social position of both one's own and others in the system of social coordinates.

Often, the wealth status of an educated person elected to a high political post is immeasurably lower than the wealth status of those who quickly made a lot of money by engaging in economic scams, transactions, etc.

The index of social position to some extent allows a more comprehensive, comprehensive assessment of the social position.

It is possible to consider natural and professional-official social statuses.

The natural social status of a person implies significant and relatively stable characteristics of a person (for example, a woman, a man, a child, a young man, an old man, etc.)

Professional and official social status is the basic status of the individual, for an adult, most often, which is the basis of the acquired status. It fixes the social, economic, organizational and production status (banker, politician, teacher, technical director). The perception of the accepted managerial decisions is connected with the professional and official social status. Decisions that are identical in form and content can be perceived differently by subordinates (performers) depending on the authority and social status of the subject of the decision. The higher the social status and authority of the person (or management body, colleague) who makes the decision, the more responsible the attitude of the performer to his instructions.

People have many social statuses, but the concept of "social status" is applied, also in relation to the profession. In this case, the concept of "social status" acts as a generalized indicator of the comparative position of this profession among other professions.

The social status of a profession is characterized by official and (or) unofficial recognition of its necessity and popularity. There are two forms of profession status: economic and prestigious.

The economic component of the social status of a profession (economic status) depends, first of all, on the level of material remuneration assumed when choosing and implementing a professional path (choosing a profession, professional self-determination).

The prestigious component of the social status of the profession (prestigious status, prestige of the profession) is determined by the content (share of creative functions, creative nature) of this type of work, the degree of popularity of the profession, the possibility of self-realization of the individual (success, career). On the socio-psychological plane, the fashion for "new professions" plays a certain role (sometimes significant) in asserting the prestige of the profession.

Statuses, entering into social relations not directly, but only indirectly (through their carriers), mainly determine the content and nature of social relations. A person looks at the world and treats others in accordance with his status. The poor despise the rich, and the rich despise the poor. Dog owners do not understand people who love cleanliness and order on lawns. A professional investigator, albeit unconsciously, divides people into potential criminals, law-abiding and witnesses. A Ukrainian is more likely to show solidarity with a Ukrainian than with a Chinese or a Tatar, and vice versa.

2. Concept and definition of social role

Role (French role) - the image embodied by the actor

A role is an expected behavior determined by a person's status (Linton, cited in Merton, 1957).

A social role is an expectation (expectation) imposed by society on a person occupying a particular status. It does not depend on the personality itself, its desires, and exists, as it were, apart from and before the personality itself.

In other words: a social role is an expected model of behavior that corresponds to a certain social status and does not depend on the individual.

For each social role, behavioral characteristics are different. The limits are limited, but the very fulfillment of the role of any status is a creative process. The status of children is usually subordinate to adults, who expect children to play the role of subordinates. The status of soldiers is different from that of civilians; the role of soldiers is associated with risk and fulfillment of the oath, which cannot be said about other groups of the population.

Each social status usually includes a number of social roles. The set of roles corresponding to a given status is called a role set (R. Merton, 1957). So the teacher has one status, but the roles in relation to the head of the department, the student are different, that is, with one status, you can have many roles. Talcott Parsons introduced the concept of role pluralism. This is a combination of important long-term roles and temporary, situational roles.

An equally important issue is role training. The development of roles occurs in the process of socialization, and their number is constantly increasing.

Socialization is a fairly broad process that includes both the acquisition of skills, abilities, knowledge, and the formation of values, ideals, norms and principles of social behavior.

In early childhood, a person performs one role - a child who is instilled with certain rules of the game. Then the role of the pupil is added to it kindergarten and a member of the primary social group for joint play, pastime, recreation, etc. In the future, the child plays the role of a student, a member of a youth group, a participant in social activities, a member of various interest groups.

Returning to the fact that each individual can have a large number of statuses, and others have the right to expect him to perform roles in accordance with these statuses. In this sense, status and role are two sides of the same phenomenon: if status is a set of rights, privileges and duties, then a role is an action within this set of rights and duties.

The social role consists of:

Role expectation and

Role performance (games).

Note that there is no complete coincidence between role expectation and role performance. The quality of the performance of the role depends on many conditions, among which the correspondence of the role to the needs, interests and individual qualities of the individual is crucial.

Role expectations are formal and informal. The most striking example of formal role expectations are laws. For example, the law on criminal liability for actions causing harm to other people. Other less formal expectations—such as table manners, dress code, and courtesy rules—are informal, but also place a lot of emphasis on our behaviour.

Our roles are defined by what others expect of us. In our society (and most others) it is expected that parents should take care of their children, that the employee should do the work assigned to him, that close friends are not indifferent to our problems. If there is a non-fulfillment of the role in accordance with our expectations, there is a role conflict. The discrepancy between the role expectation and the performance of roles, the contradiction of the role expectations of several roles (at least two) causes the appearance of a role conflict. For example, parents and peers expect different behavior from a teenager, and he, performing the roles of a son and a friend, cannot simultaneously meet their expectations. Even more often this conflict - mismatch of roles - accompanies the life of an adult.

When a person's actions correspond to role expectations, he receives social rewards (money, respect), non-compliance with role expectations entails punishment (deprivation of material wealth, freedom, public attention, etc.). Taken together, rewards and punishments are called sanctions. Applied by one or more interacting individuals or someone else, sanctions reinforce the rules that determine what behavior is appropriate in a given situation (Good, 1960).

Social roles can be institutionalized and conventional. institutionalized: the institution of marriage, family (social roles of mother, daughter, wife)

Conventional: accepted by agreement (a person may refuse to accept them).

Cultural norms are acquired mainly through role training. For example, a person who masters the role of a military man joins the customs, moral norms and laws that are characteristic of the status of this role. Only a few norms are accepted by all members of society, the adoption of most norms depends on the status of a particular person.

What is acceptable for one status is unacceptable for another. Thus, socialization as a process of learning the generally accepted ways and methods of action and interaction is the most important process of learning role-playing behavior, as a result of which the individual really becomes part of society.

The types of social roles are determined by the variety of social groups, activities and relationships in which the individual is included. Depending on social relations, social and interpersonal social roles are distinguished.

Social roles are associated with social status, profession or type of activity (teacher, pupil, student, seller). These are standardized impersonal roles based on rights and obligations, regardless of who fills these roles. Allocate socio-demographic roles: husband, wife, daughter, son, grandson ... Man and woman are also social roles, biologically predetermined and involving specific ways of behavior, enshrined in social norms and customs.

Interpersonal roles are associated with interpersonal relationships that are regulated on an emotional level (leader, offended, neglected, family idol, loved one, etc.).

In life, in interpersonal relationships, each person acts in some kind of dominant social role, a kind of social role as the most typical individual image familiar to others. It is extremely difficult to change the habitual image both for the person himself and for the perception of the people around him. The longer the group exists, the more familiar the dominant social roles of each member of the group become for others and the more difficult it is to change the stereotype of behavior familiar to others.

Characteristics of roles

An attempt to systematize social roles was made by Talcott Parsons and his colleagues (1951). They believed that any role can be described using five main characteristics:

1. Emotionality.

2. Method of receipt.

3. Scale.

4. Formalization.

5. Motivation

1. Emotionality. Some roles (for example, nurse, doctor, or funeral home owner) require emotional restraint in situations that are usually accompanied by a violent manifestation of feelings (we are talking about illness, suffering, death). Less restrained expression of feelings is expected from family members and friends.

2. Method of receipt. Some roles are conditioned by prescribed statuses - for example, child, youth or adult citizen; they are determined by the age of the person playing the role. Other roles are being won; when we talk about the doctor of medicine, we mean a role that is not achieved automatically, but as a result of the efforts of the individual.

3. Scale. Some roles are limited to strictly defined aspects of human interaction. For example, the roles of physician and patient are limited to matters that directly relate to the health of the patient. Between a small child and his mother or father, a larger relationship is established; Every parent is concerned about many aspects of a child's life.

4. Formalization. Some roles involve interacting with people in accordance with established rules. For example, a librarian is required to lend out books for a specified period and demand a fine for each day late from those who delay the books. In the performance of other roles, special treatment is allowed for those with whom you have developed a personal relationship. For example, we do not expect a brother or sister to pay us for a service rendered to them, although we could take payment from a stranger.

What is the social status of a person and how is it determined?

Social status - the position occupied by an individual or a social group in society or a separate subsystem of society. It is determined by characteristics specific to a particular society, which can be economic, national, age and other characteristics. Social status is divided by skills, abilities, education.

alexsalekss

It is determined by your attitude in society - that is, your position,
how do you define yourself in this big world"adults" in which you entered ...
do you think you are unique?
may be.. .
it may not be.. .
you are not the navel of the earth, and there are the same freaks and handsome men around ... .
same people... and so we all have to live together in one lake

All kinds of roles of a person in society as a person cannot arise without an appropriate predetermining factor. In this case, it is the position of the individual in society, which is a complex system. At the same time, it is quite simple to understand what social status is, how it is related to the previous aspects.

The role of man in society

Any modern inhabitant endowed with many rights and responsibilities, and hence a certain number of certain roles. If we are talking about a child, then his main functions will be those that are included in the terms of reference in the family, school, public transport, circles, etc. If we consider the social status of a woman, then she tends to simultaneously play the role of wife, mother, daughter , employees, students, customers, girlfriends and be in other equally important guises. However, one cannot deny the fact that it would be somehow strange and unnatural to see an adult wealthy man sitting at the school bench, and a first grader driving a trolleybus. Such actions are contrary to the corresponding position occupied by a person in the world around him.

Definition of social status

Social status is the position of the individual in the social system - society, which is predetermined by the presence of appropriate opportunities, interests, knowledge, rights and obligations. As a rule, a self-sufficient full-fledged person has several statuses at the same time, realizing their components throughout his life.

Among the complex status set, one can single out the so-called superstatus, which is the main indicator of the integration of the individual into society. Often, this criterion is considered a profession, place of work or main type of employment. Getting acquainted with a person, we almost always think about how a stranger earns his living.
Other qualities and properties of the individual are also of interest. Although other points may be the decisive factor, including national, religious or racial affiliation, sexual orientation, past life experience or the presence of a criminal record.

Varieties of position in society

Trying to recognize what social status is, you should familiarize yourself with its classification. Any position of an individual in the life of society can be attributed to two fundamental types. The first type is performances prescribed to a person, regardless of his desire, capabilities and financial components. These include gender, place of birth, national characteristics, ethnic origin. The second type is the social status achieved or acquired, as it is often said about it. It is on the desire and abilities of a person that the achievement of his goals and peaks directly depends. After all, husbands, leaders, doctors of sciences, football players, writers or engineers are not born, they are made.

Prescribed social status

The modern system of society is a very complex functioning formation, the institutions of which stop working if any individual fails to fulfill a mass of duties indicated by relations in individual social groups. In order to unanimously agreed to perform the duties of prescribed status, from birth, a person goes through a long path of preparation and training for the performance of established roles. The initial stage of personality formation takes place in early childhood according to additional criteria, which often serve as a formula for achieving success in the future. Age and gender criteria serve as the basis for role prescriptions in society. They are followed by race, nationality, as well as religious and class gradations.

The first role-play learning that continues into childhood is some gender-specific socialization processes. In later life, they will have a huge impact on the formation and characteristics of the social status of an already established adult. For example, from the moment of birth, girls are prepared with pink vests, many dolls and princesses. Young girls are gradually being prepared for adult life, teaching culinary tricks and the secrets of maintaining a home. Little ladies are not usually raised in a boyish style. And although this type of upbringing can sometimes be found, it is mostly considered bad form.

Features of prescribed status

As for the education of boys, in adulthood it shows the consequences of an educational process that can be safely attributed to the opposite type. From an early age, they know that it is better to be strong than weak, because they have to protect timid girls, and then become the support and strong shoulder of their entire family. Such methods, which contribute to the formation of personality, determine the different social statuses of men and women in the future.

It should be noted that many modern professions are relevant for both sexes. Some jobs are available for women to do, and they can do them just as well as men, and vice versa. For example, in some states, girls are not taken to the position of domestic servants in wealthy homes. In particular, in the Philippines, only men are accepted to perform secretarial work, despite the fact that some hard work in the agricultural industry lends itself mainly to the weak half of humanity.

Acquired position in society

What is social status can be understood through the prism of the results achieved. Each person is given a wide range of opportunities due to prescribed statuses. Each person can acquire a new position in society using their individual abilities, preferences, diligence, or, oddly enough, luck. After all, Michael Young, the famous British sociologist, quite successfully was able to formulate such a phenomenon. He talked about how the important titles of kings, lords and princesses are prescribed social statuses that are assigned to an individual regardless of the efforts made by him to achieve high ranks.

The acquired social status of a person in society is not given from birth, only persons suitable for this can take possession of the corresponding position. Not all people who were born in a male guise can acquire the status of a husband or father. This will not happen automatically - it all depends on the actions, behavior and attitude to life of a particular individual. The formation of the desired status occurs through the use of talent, desire, determination and an active position.

The predominant importance of social statuses

Often in traditional societies, prescribed statuses are decisive, since the further type of activity and the corresponding occupation of a particular public place depend on many factors related to the moment of birth. Men often try to be like their fathers and grandfathers, imitating them and wanting to adopt their skills in professions familiar from childhood. In addition, by nature, a man is a hunter, fisherman and warrior. Naturally, in the literal sense, it is quite difficult to realize this part of the male destiny in industrial societies, but having the freedom to choose occupations to achieve one or another position, incredible opportunities open up before the current “earners”.

Placement in society according to social status

For the successful functioning of the social system, a sufficient level of mobility of labor resources is required, which leads to a priority focus on the personal characteristics of individuals, on the change of one status to another by the efforts made. Meanwhile, the movement up the status ladder is under the constant control of the entire society in order to comply with the principles of justice, which allow only those people who can truly prove themselves to acquire a high position in society. Those who could not find their successful “environment” will have to pay with non-competitiveness and failure in new roles.
This implies a huge number of people who, being in this situation, do not experience a sense of satisfaction.

How to achieve a high place in society?

Only a person who has come a long and difficult path can realize what a high-level social status is and how to use its privileges. It also happens that the acquired position in the future obliges the individual to make changes not only in work activity, but also in everyday life, place of residence, circle of acquaintances and friends. When a person has to face difficulties that are far removed from the experience of his ancestors due to significant differences between his social status and the social position of his parents, the process of accepting new roles is predetermined by the status that has arisen.

The ideal society is considered to be one where the predominant number of social statuses are acquired. Is it not fair if each person finds his place under the sun and strives for it, proving this with his abilities, work or talent? In addition, the opportunity to successfully prove oneself provides a chance to justify any significant shortcomings.

An absolutely opposite picture is a society where in most cases the position in society is prescribed, and a person does not expect an increase in his status, does not put even the slightest effort into it. People who earn little money doing non-prestigious work do not feel guilty about having a low social status. Without comparing the current state of affairs with the situation of other, more ambitious and impetuous people, such an individual is not oppressed by feelings of discontent, insecurity or fear of losing something.

What is social status. Social status and its types

concept

Status types

Status incompatibility

Literature

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Notes

see also

See what "Social status" is in other dictionaries:

Books

concept

Status types

Criteria for determining the social status of a person or group

Status incompatibility

social status

Examples of a person's social status

The meaning of the term and general characteristics

Types of social statuses, examples

Prescribed social status: examples

Achieved status

Roles in society

Prestige

/ sociology

What is the social status of a person and how is it determined?

The role of man in society

Definition of social status

Varieties of position in society

Prescribed social status

Features of prescribed status

Acquired position in society

The predominant importance of social statuses

Placement in society according to social status

How to achieve a high place in society?