In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society (one's social position). Sociology (from Latin: socius "companion" and the suffix -ology "the study of" from Greek λόγος lógos "knowledge" Anthropology (/ˌænθɹəˈpɒlədʒi/ from Greek grc ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos, "human" -λογία -logia) is the study of A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions Social position is the position of an Individual in a given Society and Culture. The stratification system, which is the system of distributing rewards to the members of society, determines social status. Social status, the position or rank of a person or group within the stratification system, can be determined two ways. One can earn their social status by their own achievements, which is known as achieved status, or one can be placed in the stratification system by their inherited position, which is called ascribed status.
Status in different societies
Status refers to the relative rank that an individual holds; this includes attendant rights, duties, and lifestyle, in a social hierarchy based upon honor or prestige. Status has two different types that come along with it: achieved, and ascribed. The word status refers to social stratification on a vertical scale.
In modern societies, occupation is usually thought of as the main determinant of status, but other memberships or affiliations (such as ethnic group, religion, gender, voluntary associations, fandom, hobby) can have an influence. The term profession is applied to those persons who have specialized and technical skill or knowledge which they apply for a fee to certain tasks that ordinary and unqualified people cannot A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Gender comprises a range of differences between men and women extending from the biological to the social Fandom (from the noun fan and the affix -dom, as in kingdom, dukedom, etc A hobby is a spare-time Recreational pursuit Etymology A Hobby horse is a wooden or Wickerwork toy made to be The importance of social status can be seen in the peer status hierarchy of geeks, athletes, cheerleaders, nerds, and weirdos in American high schools. The word geek is a Slang term noting individuals as "a peculiar or otherwise odd person especially one who is perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things A sportsperson ( British and American English) or athlete (principally American English is any person who participates regularly in a Sport. Cheerleading is a Sport that uses organized routines made from elements of Tumbling, Dance, jumps and stunting to direct spectators of events Nerd is a term often bearing a derogatory connotation or Stereotype, that refers to a person who passionately pursues Intellectual activities Esoteric As part of education in the United States, Secondary education usually covers grades 5 6 7 8 or 9 through 12 [1][2] Achieved status is when people are placed in the stratification structure based on their individual merits or achievements. Achieved status is a sociological term denoting a social position that a person acquires on the basis of merit This status can be achieved through education, occupation, and marital status. America most commonly uses this form of status with jobs. The higher up your are in rank the better off you are and the more control you have over your co-workers.
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. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Castes are Hereditary systems of occupation, Endogamy, social culture, Social class, and Political power. 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. A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild Foraging and Hunting Khoisan (increasingly commonly spelled Khoesan or Khoe-San) is the name for two major Ethnic groups of Southern Africa. Indigenous Australians are descendants of the first known human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. In these cases, status is limited to specific personal relationships. For example, a Khoisan man is expected to take his wife's mother quite seriously (a non-joking relationship), although the mother-in-law has no special "status" over anyone except her son-in-law--and only then in specific contexts. Khoisan (increasingly commonly spelled Khoesan or Khoe-San) is the name for two major Ethnic groups of Southern Africa. All societies have a form of social status.
Status is an important idea in social stratification. In Sociology, social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of Social classes Castes and strata within a Society. Max Weber distinguishes status from social class, though some contemporary empirical sociologists add the two ideas to create Socioeconomic status or SES, usually operationalised as a simple index of income, education and occupational prestige. Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (maks 'veːbɐ (21 April 1864 &ndash 14 June 1920 was a German political economist and sociologist who was considered Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions (or stratification) between individuals or groups in Societies or Cultures. Socioeconomic status (SES is a combined measure of an individual's or family’s economic and social position relative to others based on Income, Education, and Income, refers to consumption opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame which is generally expressed in monetary terms Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency
Income and status
Status inconsistency is a situation when an individual's social positions have both positive and negative influences on his social status. Status inconsistency is a situation where an individual's Social positions have both positive and negative influences on his or her 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 Education, a teacher is one who helps Students or pupils often in a School, as well as in a Family, religious or Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. In contrast, a drug dealer, may have low social position though have a high income. The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global Black market consisting of the cultivation manufacture distribution and sale of illegal Drugs However, a drug dealer may have high status within his or her own reference group (e. g. , inner city gangs) and may be indifferent to his "low status" within the larger society. For example, a wealthy drug dealer who flaunts the proceeds of his trade may have the highest social status on the "street. " Thus, "status inconsistency" applies to situations where members of the in-group judge the status of members of an out-group and may not apply to cases of status attainment on all criteria within an in-group. Economic status occurs when one’s position in the stratification structure is based on their economic status in the world. This is based on income, education, and occupation. Also you must take into consideration inherited wealth, savings, occupational benefits, and ownerships of homes or vehicles.
Inborn & acquired status
Statuses based on inborn characteristics, such as gender, are called ascribed statuses, while statuses that individuals gained through their own efforts are called achieved statuses. Ascribed status is the Social status a person is given from birth or assumes involuntarily later in life Achieved status is a sociological term denoting a social position that a person acquires on the basis of merit Specific behaviors are associated with social stigmas which can affect status. Social stigma is severe social disapproval of personal characteristics or Beliefs that are against cultural norms.
Ascribed Status is when one’s position is inherited through family, racially, ethnically, and religiously serve as basis for ascribed status. Ascribed status is the Social status a person is given from birth or assumes involuntarily later in life Monarchy is a widely-recognized use of this method, to keep the rulers in one family. A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or This usually occurs at birth without any reference as to how that person may turn out to be a good or bad leader.
Social Mobility and Social Status
Status can be changed through a process of Social Mobility. See also Economic mobility Social mobility is the degree to which in a given society an individual's family's or group's social status Social mobility is change of position within the stratification system. A move in status can be upward (upward mobility), or downward (downward mobility). Social mobility allows a person to move to another social status other than the one he or she was born in. Social mobility is more frequent in societies where achievement rather than ascription is the primary basis for social status.
Social mobility is especially prominent in the United States in recent years with an ever-increasing number of women entering into the workplace as well as a steady increase in the number of full-time college students. [3][4] This increased education as well as the massive increase in multiple household incomes has greatly contributed to the rise in social mobility obtained by so many today. With this upward mobility; however, comes the philosophy of "Keeping up with the Joneses" that so many Americans obtain. " Keeping up with the Joneses " is a popular Catchphrase in many parts of the English -speaking world Although this sounds good on the surface, it actually poses a problem because millions of Americans are in credit card debt due to conspicuous consumption and purchasing goods that they do not have the money to pay for. Conspicuous consumption is a term used to describe the lavish spending on goods and services acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying Income or Wealth. [5]
Social Stratification
Social stratification describes the way in which people are placed with society. In Sociology, social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of Social classes Castes and strata within a Society. It is associated with the ability of individuals to live up to some set of ideals or principles regarded as important by the society or some social group within it. The members of a social group interact mainly within their own group and to a lesser degree with those of higher or lower status.
Groups:
- Wealth and Income (most common): Ties between persons with the same personal income
- Gender: Ties between persons of the same sex and sexuality
- Political Status: Ties between persons of the same political views/status
- Religion: Ties between persons of the same religion
- Ethnicity/Race: Ties between persons of the same ethnic/racial group
- Social Class: Ties between persons born into the same group
Max Weber's Three Dimensions of Stratification
The German sociologist Max Weber developed a theory proposing that stratification is based on three factors that have become known as “the three p’s of stratification”: property, prestige and power. Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (maks 'veːbɐ (21 April 1864 &ndash 14 June 1920 was a German political economist and sociologist who was considered He claimed that social stratification is a result of the interaction of wealth, prestige and power. In Sociology, social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of Social classes Castes and strata within a Society.
- Property refers to one’s material possessions and their life chances. If someone has control of property, that person has power over others and can use the property to his or her own benefit.
- Prestige is also a significant factor in determining one’s place in the stratification system. The ownership of property is not always going to assure power, but there are frequently people with prestige and little property.
- Power is the ability to get people to do what one wants, without having much property. This refers to two different types of power, which are possession of power and exercising power. For example, some people in charge of the government have an immense amount of power, and yet they do not make much money.
Max Weber developed various ways that societies are organized in hierarchical systems of power. These ways are social status, class power and political power.
- Social Status: If you view someone as a social superior, that person will have power over you because you believe that person has a higher status than you do.
- Class Power: This refers to unequal access to resources. If you have access to something that someone else needs, that can make you more powerful than the person in need. The person with the resource thus has bargaining power over the other.
- Political Power: Political power can influence the hierarchial system of power because those that can influence what laws are passed and how they are applied can exercise power over others.
Status Group
Max Weber also developed the idea of status groups. Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (maks 'veːbɐ (21 April 1864 &ndash 14 June 1920 was a German political economist and sociologist who was considered Status groups are communities that are based on ideas of proper lifestyles and the honor given to people by others. These groups only exist because of people's ideas of prestige or dishonor. Also, people in these communities are only supposed to associate with people of like status, and all other people are looked at as inferiors.
Pierre Bourdieu's theory on class distinction
I. Summary
The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu developed theories of social stratification based on aesthetic taste in his work Distinction. Pierre Bourdieu ( August 1, 1930 – January 23, 2002) was an acclaimed French Sociologist and writer known for his In Sociology, social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of Social classes Castes and strata within a Society. Bourdieu claims that how one chooses to present one’s social space to the world, one’s aesthetic dispositions, depicts one’s status and distances oneself from lower groups. Specifically, Bourdieu hypothesizes that these dispositions are internalized at an early age and guide the young towards their appropriate social positions, towards the behaviors that are suitable for them, and an aversion towards other lifestyles.
II. Theory
Pierre Bourdieu theorizes that class fractions teach aesthetic preferences to their young. Pierre Bourdieu ( August 1, 1930 – January 23, 2002) was an acclaimed French Sociologist and writer known for his Class fractions are determined by a combination of the varying degrees of social, economic, and cultural capital. Society incorporates “symbolic goods, especially those regarded as the attributes of excellence, […as] the ideal weapon in strategies of distinction” (Bourdieu 66). Those attributes deemed excellent are shaped by the interests of the dominating class. He emphasizes the dominance of cultural capital early on by stating that “differences in cultural capital mark the differences between the classes” (Bourdieu 69). Aesthetic dispositions are the result of social origin rather than accumulated capital and experience over time. The acquisition of cultural capital depends heavily on “[t]otal, early, imperceptible learning, performed within the family from the earliest days of life” (Bourdieu 66). This article is about the sociological term See also European Capital of Culture. Bourdieu hypothetically guarantees that the opinions of the young are those that they are born into, the accepted “definitions that their elders offer them” (Bourdieu 477).
He asserts the primacy of social origin and cultural capital by claiming that social capital and economic capital, though acquired cumulatively over time, depend upon it. This article is about the sociological term See also European Capital of Culture. Social capital is a concept in business economics, Organizational behaviour, Political science, Public health, Sociology and natural In Finance, mainly for financial services firms economic capital is the amount of Risk capital, assessed on a realistic basis which a firm requires to cover the Bourdieu claims that “one has to take account of all the characteristics of social condition which are (statistically) associated from earliest childhood with possession of high or low income and which tend to shape tastes adjusted to these conditions” (Bourdieu 177).
According to Bourdieu, tastes in food, culture and presentation, are indicators of class, because trends in their consumption seemingly correlate with an individual’s fit in society (Bourdieu 184). Each fraction of the dominant class develops its own aesthetic criteria. A multitude of consumer interests based on differing social positions necessitates that each fraction “has its own artists and philosophers, newspapers and critics, just as it has its hairdresser, interior decorator or tailor” (Bourdieu 231-32).
Bourdieu does not wholly disregard the importance of social capital and economic capital in the formation of cultural capital. Social capital is a concept in business economics, Organizational behaviour, Political science, Public health, Sociology and natural In Finance, mainly for financial services firms economic capital is the amount of Risk capital, assessed on a realistic basis which a firm requires to cover the This article is about the sociological term See also European Capital of Culture. In fact, the production of art and the ability to play an instrument “presuppose not only dispositions associated with long establishment in the world of art and culture but also economic means…and spare time” (Bourdieu 75). However, regardless of one’s ability to act upon one’s preferences, Bourdieu specifies that “respondents are only required to express a status-induced familiarity with legitimate…culture” (Bourdieu 63).
“[Taste] functions as a sort of social orientation, a ‘sense of one’s place’, guiding the occupants of a given…social space towards the social positions adjusted to their properties, and towards the practices or goods which befit the occupants of that position” (Bourdieu 466). Thus, different modes of acquisition yield differences in the nature of preferences (Bourdieu 65).
These “cognitive structures…are internalized, ‘embodied’ social structures”, becoming a natural entity to the individual (Bourdieu 468). Different tastes are thus seen as unnatural and rejected, resulting in “disgust provoked by horror or visceral intolerance (‘sick-making’) of the tastes of others” (Bourdieu 56).
Bourdieu himself believes class distinction and preferences are “most marked in the ordinary choices of everyday existence, such as furniture, clothing or cooking, which are particularly revealing of deep-rooted and long-standing dispositions because, lying outside the scope of the educational system, they have to be confronted, as it were, by naked taste” (Bourdieu 77). Indeed, Bordieu believes that “the strongest and most indelible mark of infant learning” would probably be in the tastes of food (Bourdieu 79). Bourdieu thinks that meals served on special occasions are “an interesting indicator of the mode of self-presentation adopted in ‘showing off’ a life-style (in which furniture also plays a part)” (Bourdieu 79). The idea is that their likes and dislikes should mirror those of their class fractions.
Children from the lower end of the social hierarchy are predicted to choose “heavy, fatty fattening foods, which are also cheap” in their dinner layouts, opting for “plentiful and good” meals as opposed to foods that are “original and exotic” (Bourdieu 177, 79). These potential outcomes would reinforce Bourdieu’s “ethic of sobriety for the sake of slimness, which is most recognized at the highest levels of the social hierarchy,” that contrasts the “convivial indulgence” characteristic of the lower classes (Bourdieu 179). Demonstrations of the tastes of luxury (or freedom) and the tastes of necessity reveal a distinction among the social classes. Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions (or stratification) between individuals or groups in Societies or Cultures.
The degree to which social origin affects these preferences surpasses both educational and economic capital. In fact, at equivalent levels of educational capital, social origin remains an influential factor in determining these dispositions (Bourdieu 63). How one describes one’s social environment relates closely to social origin because the instinctive narrative springs from early stages of development (Bourdieu 78). Also, across the divisions of labor “economic constraints tend to relax without any fundamental change in the pattern of spending” (Bourdieu 185). This observation reinforces the idea that social origin, more than economic capital, produces aesthetic preferences because regardless of economic capability consumption patterns remain stable.
Social networks and the measure of status
Centrality measures such as betweenness can be used to measure the status of an actor in a social network based on his or her position in this social structure. Within Graph theory and Network analysis, there are various measures of the centrality of a vertex within a graph that determine the relative Within Graph theory and Network analysis, there are various measures of the centrality of a vertex within a graph that determine the relative A social network is a Social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency such as
American sociologist Joel M. Podolny for example defines the status of an actor in a market as the centrality of this actor. Joel M Podolny is an American Sociologist and is Dean of the Yale School of Management.
References
- ^ http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/textonlyarchive/September_1996/nerd.txt
- ^ The Effect of Middle School Extra Curricular Activities on Adolescents' Popularity and Peer Status - EDER and KINNEY 26 (3): 298 - Youth & Society
- ^ OLMIS - Women in the Labor Force
- ^ Digest of Education Statistics, 2007 - Introduction
- ^ Credit card debt statistics
- Michael Marmot (2004), The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity, Times Books
- Botton, Alain De (2004), Status Anxiety, Hamish Hamilton
- Social status. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online:
- Stark, Rodney (2007). Rodney Stark is an American sociologist of religion. He grew up in Jamestown North Dakota in a Lutheran family Sociology, 10th Edition, Thomson Wadsworth. ISBN 0-495-09344-0.
- Gould, Roger (2002). The Origin of Status Hierarchy. American Journal of Sociology, 107, Retrieved Oct. 26, 2007, from http://www.library.ohiou.edu:5334/ehost/pdf?vid=5&hid=108&sid=f177ce9d-24b5-4e01-819e-b243bd3768e1%40sessionmgr107
- Mcpherson, M. , Smith-Lovin, L. , & Cook, J. M. BIRDS OF A FEATHER. American Journal of Sociology, 27, Retrieved Sept 27, 2007, from http://www.library.ohiou.edu:5334/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=109&sid=c920800d-7008-402f-a473-219b2545f452%40sessionmgr102.
- Bolender, Ronald Keith (2006). "Max Weber 1864-1920". Retrieved November 1, 2007, from http://www.bolender.com/Sociological%20Theory/Weber,%20Max/weber,_max.htm.
- Bourdieu, Pierre. Distinction: a Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, translated by Richard Nice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1984.
See also
- Ascribed status
- Achieved status
- Conspicuous consumption
- Power
- Social class
- Socioeconomic status
- Social hierarchy
- Social stratification
- Social structure of the United States
- Status attainment
- Status class
- Status group
- Status symbol
- Pierre Bourdieu
- cultural capital
- economic capital
- social capital
- Economic mobility
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