Social status
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Social status is the "standing", the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society. Note that social status is influenced by social position.
In modern societies, occupation is usually thought of as the main determinant of status, but even in modern societies other memberships or affiliations (such as ethnic group, religion, gender, voluntary associations, fandom, hobby) can have an influence. A doctor will have higher status than a factory worker, for instance, but in some societies a white Protestant doctor will have higher status than a non-White, immigrant doctor of minority religion.[citation needed] In pre-modern societies, status differentiation is widely varied. In some cases it can be quite rigid and class based, such as with the Indian caste system.
In other cases, status exists without class and/or informally, as is true with some Hunter-Gatherer societies such as the Khoisan, and some Indigenous Australian societies. In these cases, status is limited to specific personal relationships. For example, a !Kung man is expected to take his mother-in-law (his wife's mother) seriously; though the mother-in-law has no "status" over anyone except her son-in-law--and only then in specific contexts. All societies have a form of social status.
Status is an important idea in social stratification. Max Weber distinguishes status from social class[citation needed], though some contemporary empirical sociologists add the two ideas to create Socio-Economic Status or SES, usually operationalised as a simple index of income, education and occupational prestige.
Status inconsistency is a situation when an individual's social positions have both positive and negative influences on his social status. For example, a teacher has a positive societal image (respect, prestige) which increases his status but may earn little money, which simultaneously decreases his status. In contrast, a drug dealer, may have low social position though have a high income.
Statuses based on inborn characteristics, such as gender, are called ascribed statuses, while statuses that individuals gained thorough their own efforts are called achieved statuses. Specific behaviors are associated with social stigmas which can affect status.
[edit] Books
- Michael Marmot (2004), The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity, Times Books
- Botton, Alain De (2004), Status Anxiety, Hamish Hamilton
