Social Status – Behavioral sciences explore the cognitive processes within organisms and the behavioral interactions between organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behavior through the study of the past, controlled and naturalistic observation of the present and disciplined scientific experimentation and modeling.
It attempts to accomplish legitimate, objective conclusions through rigorous formulations and observation. Generally, behavior science deals primarily with human action and often seeks to generalize about human behavior as it relates to society.
Social Status
Social status refers to the honor or prestige attached to one’s position in society. It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, such as son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc. One’s social status is determined in different ways.
One can earn his or her social status by his or her own achievements; this is known as achieved status. Alternatively, one can inherit his or her position on the social hierarchy; this is known as ascribed status. An ascribed status can also be defined as one that is fixed for an individual at birth, like sex, race, and socioeconomic background.
Social status is most often understood as a melding of the two types of status, with ascribed status influencing achieved status. For example, a baby born into a high-income household has his family’s high socioeconomic status as an achieved status and is more likely to be exposed to resources like a familial emphasis on education that will make it more likely for him or her to get into an elite university. Admission, therefore, is an achieved status that was heavily influenced by resources made available by the person’s ascribed status.
Definition of Social Status
According to Kingsley Davis:
“Status is the position in the general institutional system recognized and adopted by the entire society spontaneously evolved rather than deliberately created rooted in the folkways and customs.”
According to MacIver, R.M. & Page :
“Status is the position that determines for its possessor, apart from his personal attribute, as social services, a degree of respect, prestige and influence.”
According to Ogburn & Nimkoff:
“The simplest definition of status is that it represents the position of the individual in the group.”
According to H. T. Majumdar:
Status means the location of the individual within the group his place in the social network of reciprocal obligations and privileges, rights and duties.”
According to Lundberg,
Social status is the “comparative amount of prestige, deference or respect accorded to persons who has been assigned different roles in group or community.”
Nature/Characteristics of Social Status
- The status is determined by cultural situation of a society.
- Status is determined only in relevance of other members of the society (relative concept)
- Every individual has to play certain roles in accordance with status.
- Status is not only a part of society as a whole of the society or the society as a whole.
- As a result of status society is divided into various groups.
- Every status carries with it some prestige (joking and avoidance relationship).
- Status is an important aspect of society thus on the basis of the status, Society is divided into groups.
- According to status people may be divided into different categories. These categories or statuses are not imposed from above. Some of these statuses are earned or achieved while other are ascribed.
- Status has nothing to do directly with the temperament of character of the individual but every individual is assigned a status on the bases of membership of group and placement in the group.
Importance of Social Status
- Status is important in society because it is the fundamental unit of analyses of social structure.
- A large number of interactions in society are status interactions and which is based on the status of an individual.
- A large number of relationships of individual are also based on their status
- A status which contributes to interactions patterns and indolently harmonious interaction among people this contributes to the stability of society.
- Status is important because it entitle an individual certain right and responsibility.
- Status prepare a person to perform some role. Statues help in the development of personality of the individual and teach the person a normative aspect with pattern of behavior.
- The structure of society is made up of network of status and these statuses contribute to fundamental order of society.
Types of social Statuses
Two types of Status – 1. Achieved Status & 2. Ascribed Status
Ascribed Status : Ascribed status is one that is assigned to a person at birth or at different stages in the life cycle. For Example, being male and female.
Ascribed Status: Achieved Status are those which the individual acquires during his or her lifetime as a result of the exercise of knowledge, ability, skill and/or perseverance. For Example, Being a professional athlete is an achieved status, as is being a lawyer, college professor, or criminal.
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