What is status? Describe its types.
What is status ? Describe its types.I. Meaning of Status :
(a) In simple words we can say that status is a position occupied by an individual in a group or in a society.
(b) Birth and Achieved Status :
(i) Interaction among the members in a social situation takes place on the basis of identity of each participant. This identity of an individual is established either or the basis of his birth or on the basis of his achievements, which refers to his position of status in a group or in a society.
(ii) Every society and every group has many such positions and all individuals occupy many such positions. The status of an individual differs with the type of the group or community.
(iii) For example, your position in a college or in a school is different from that at home. In college or school your status is that of a student but at home you may be son or daughter and brother or sister.
II. Types of Status :
(a) Status may be achieved or ascribed.
(i) Ascribed status is assigned to an individual either on the basis of his birth and biological characteristics such as sex, age and race or the status is assigned to an individual by the social system which remains unchangeable.
(ii) For example, a person born in a royal family becomes prince or princess. Similarly in India caste plays an important role in determining the status of an individual, which is an example of ascribed status.
(iii) Achieved status is a position which an individual attains through personal efforts. For example, one can become a doctor, engineer or lawyer by one's own efforts.
(iv) Persons occupying the status may be replaced but the positions will continue to exist in the social structure.
(b) Higher and Low Status : Each person holds several different statuses, but some status may be ranked higher than the others in a society. Totality of stauses of an individual is known as status set.
(c) Master Status : However, a person is also known by a master status. For instance, a teacher in a university is known as professor, though he may also be an occupant of many other statuses. Such as members of a club. President of teachers association and a citizen. However, a key (or main) status (or position), namely professor is his master status.
(d) Prestige and Esteem : Prestige is determined by the position that a person occupies whereas esteem is evaluated on the basis of role performance. Since a person's ability to carry out roles varies, occupants of a similar or the same position may be held in different degrees of esteem. For instance, school principals have the same prestige but their differential role performance earns them different degrees of esteem.
