The status social corresponds to the position that each group plays in social dynamics . Differentiation generally implies some degree of hierarchy and, even if it occurs in the social order, it impacts the economic and legal order, all influencing each other. This historical construction changes over time, with greater or lesser intensity. The greater the flexibility to change, the greater the chance that social mobility pathways will develop within it.
Also read: Social inequality – badly perpetuated by a fixed social structure
What is social status?
Social status, as a sociological concept, is a position occupied by each individual in the range of relationships in the social structure in which he lives. This position can be elevated, average, discredited. It is, first of all, a classification that delimits society’s expectations of a person and outlines for him the possible paths of social mobility . It has an organizational function based on a hierarchy, more or less rigid according to the location and historical period.
Social status organizes groups in social dynamics.
This concept is worked on by sociologists who have dedicated themselves to studying the social stratification by which societies are organized. The position of each individual within this hierarchy is their social status , which determines not only their behavioral repertoire, the relationship with other people, but their opportunities, their access to cultural, material resources and their decision-making capacity .
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Social status is related to the different roles we play in the organization of the society of which we are a part. It can be assigned or acquired and determines our position based on the articulation of several characteristics, such as the job position, sex, formal education level, family nucleus, economic condition, etc. In addition, it outlines social roles by which the conduct of each person will be modulated. It is not rigid, but changeable, just like culture .
Also read: Karl Marx – theorist who proposed a model that aimed to transform the social structure
Max Weber and social status
Max Weber was a great scholar of social stratification. The word stratification is derived from stratum, which in turn means layer. To visualize the concept, we can imagine a pyramid with different bands in its base to the top , each representing a social layer as its concentration of assets, as wealth, formal knowledge and ability to influence important decisions. Therefore, the study of social stratification in the context of Sociology makes it possible to understand how the social hierarchy is configured and how inequalities are structured and reproduced.
Max Weber, one of the fathers of Classical Sociology.
For Weber, social stratification is multidimensional , that is, it involves multiple aspects, such as income, status and power. These three mechanisms shape the process of domination among unequal, socially differentiated classes, castes or estates. Its structuring is not only in economic terms, but also in terms of power , which he defines as the ability of an individual or group of individuals to impose his will on others.
Weber coined the concept of status groups or estates . These constitute communities within society characterized by respectability, honorability and social esteem . Unlike social class, its legitimation does not derive from economic power, but from education, its own culture and a specific lifestyle of those who participate in this community through family relationships, friendship, marriage or political activities. Status groups distribute power within a community. The more stable the economic stratification, the greater the preponderance of the distinction based on social honors.
For Weber, social status does not involve exclusively the economic factor , but the search for honors, distinction and prestige, which can also be achieved by political power, by lifestyle, by the cultural framework. The way in which honors are distributed determines the social order and influences the distribution and use of goods and services. For more information about this important author of Sociology, read: Max Weber .
Types of social status
- Assigned social status:regardless of the will of its owner, it is granted to him by circumstances beyond his control, such as the family he is born in, whether he is a man or a woman, an older or younger brother. The social status attributed is also prior to its owner, that is, before he is born, this valuation is already delegated to his family, the region where he was born, his economic range, due to a social and historical construction previous to him.
- Acquired social status:in turn, it depends on individual action, personal efforts, to be achieved. Continuing the parallel made above, being an obedient son, being a woman with a higher education, being a politician. For this status, the way in which the social role is played to climb and maintain a certain position is crucial. Therefore, the acquired social status is directly related to the performance of the social roles of each individual.
Examples of social status
From the Weberian theory, three examples of social group and how social status operates in each one will be pointed out.
- State societies
Weber built his concept of status groups on the basis of state societies, such as the former European feudal societies . The advantaged, as the nobility , in addition to the cultural tradition monopoly, was also awarded the monopoly of the opportunities and privileges s , denied to those who were not part of them.
William Hogarth’s Marriage Contract, representing the nobility of the feudal period.
The estate involved prestige, power, cultural habits considered refined, lineage, social belonging, tradition, vassalage. These assets served to classify people and arbitrate their relationships. The social status could be changed, but the possibilities for social ascension were very limited . The groups that enjoyed prestige considered themselves worthy of it and attributed it to a glorious past, while the less prestigious groups postponed to a future determined by God the honor that they also wanted to possess in this world or after death.
- Caste societies
In caste societies, such as India, status groups are closed with sets of duties and rights defined by Hinduism. The social position of each caste is linked to a historical configuration, which involves elements such as lineage, heredity, religious function.
In the rigidity of the caste system, social distance is practiced based on the distinction between pure and impure , a valid differentiation for people and also for food, thus, a certain variety cannot relate to people considered impure or to eat food considered impure, soon, hostilities developed from social position develop.
Marriages only take place between people of the same origin , that is, belonging to the same caste. The conduct of the members of each caste is prescribed by the gods, therefore, the divine will is decisive in the socialization process. Customs are passed down from generation to generation and have little variation over time. There is no social mobility, as caste positions are determined by birth and cannot be modified via marriage, formal study, occupation or any other resource.
- C social lasses
Social classes, unlike state or caste societies, are defined by the economic component and its variables , such as income, ownership of property, service offered in the labor market, consumption capacity. Here, there is no fixed position , it is possible to move between classes and even belong to more than one.
Weber typifies the social class, which is generational , like the petty bourgeoisie and the proletariat; the profitable class, whose goods and services are valued, such as professionals, bankers, traders, industrialists, entrepreneurs; and the proprietary class, whose prestige depends on the size and importance of the property, from service monopolists and owners of large assets to indebted ones, who only have their labor force as an object of property.
The social position is invariably pervaded by the world of work . Thus, the hierarchy is defined based on the labor market. Social status here, among other factors, interlacing it to formal education, job skills that are valued and the ability to influence in important decisions .
We, for example, call doctors, as a sign of deference, those who study for years at higher education institutions; we call doctors doctors, whose mission is to save lives, and we call doctors judges who enjoy a position of influence in the state. If you want to know more about this important sociological concept, visit: social class .
Differences between social status and social role
As we have already seen, social status determines our position within a society. The social role defines our rights and duties , which demarcate the position we occupy in relation to other people, in other words, what is expected of us, what kind of actions must we take to correspond to that status , what is the appropriate behavior for the role we play in the social group of which we are a part. For example: what are my rights and duties as a woman? And as a mother? And as a daughter? And as a sociologist? Each of these questions corresponds to a social role. And social status is made up of the sum of these functions.
The social role is a concept that has a close relationship with the theater.
Social role is an expression that alludes to the theater. Just as characters act according to each scene and their interlocutors, social roles are played according to the occasion, the context and the interlocutor. Our conduct is different when we are at home than when we are at work, at school, in a public place. It also changes depending on the person with whom we relate and our position in relation to him: spouse, boss, employee, father, son, religious leader, teacher, student, etc.
We are socially constrained to follow a standard of conduct and, if we deviate from it, there will be sanctions, from a warning to expulsion or even imprisonment. The rights and duties attributed to each social role end up forming patterns of behavior that delimit what is acceptable or not as an attitude practiced .
The status and the social role classify, within a social structure, the functions of each person, in order to organize the relations according to the sets of expected actions , in a cohesive, productive arrangement with low potential for conflict. In capitalist societies, professions, according to the valuation of their social function and their ability to produce material gain, are directly related to the value of the position that an individual occupies, therefore with his social status.