As human being we have multiple statuses that we are labeled with. Some of these statuses and roles we are born into, having it be a natural and quick transition. Other roles and statuses were gain later on through life activities of socialization. These roles and statuses are broken into two categories; ascribed and achieved. Ascribed statuses are roles we are born into, one that was prechosen for us before birth. Achieved statuses are statuses that you earn as you go through life and common socialization exercises. The ascribed and achieves statuses make up a persons being. I am made up of many ascribe statuses stemming from my culture, my religion and my whole life in general. First and foremost I am a daughter. I was born from my mother …show more content…
Most important of these statuses are friend, student and girlfriend. These are the most important achieved statuses because they show the impact we will make on our society as we age and mature. A friendship is based on common interest and values that each person finds important in his or her lifestyle. My friendships are based on honesty, loyalty and family values. This interprets my personality and how I deal with other people, which is important for a growing community and society. Becoming a university student is a achieved status because you earn the privilege to move forward toward your education and a career. An education and career are important experiences for every person in a growing society as they help contribute economically and materially. Lastly on my list is my achieve status as a girlfriend. As human beings it is in our nature to try to find someone to mate and partner with in life with the final goal of reproduction. I have achieved in beginning my dating and mating process, which in time may become a marriage and build a family unit for …show more content…
When looking at things from a functionalist point of view we see that these statuses come with rules and proper ways of behaving. This goes for ascribed ad achieved statuses. In the ascribed status category we learn that we develop health and proper habits of dealing with and living through what we were born into. For example, as a daughter you are to respect your parents and obied by their rules and regulations of their household. When thinking of achieved statuses in this category we begin to think of proper etiquette and behavior for the position we have earned. For example, proper etiquette for a university student would be coming to class on time. When looking at societal roles from a symbolic integrationist’s point of view we begin to see the meaning of our status and actions that brought us to the title of our status. Being a daughter from a symbolic interactionism perspective has great meaning and significance. This means we have a legacy and people who care about us, therefore we as people relate to it and find it important. Being a student from this point of view helps us see the importance of education and the happiness and security it will bring
Give an example from your life that exemplifies how intersections of some of your multiple statuses (e.g., gender, race, class, age, etc.) affect your social experience.
Paul Fussell wrote; Class a Guide through the American Status System in 1983. Fussell introduces interesting points that suggests how we, as Americans are viewed through social class. This book will have you contemplate about where you fall in line in terms of the social hierarchy system. As I read, the book I analyzed how our social status is revealed not only in terms of money, but other significant characteristics that define our habitas. As humans we are social beings, and we all make assumptions about the people around us or label them. Fussell argues that social class and social status can be defined in many ways. In fact, he enlists the nine American class structures that according to his opinion American society are comprised. He investigates
Everyone had influenced by their surrounding. Your personal identities and choices in life are based on the role of the relationship you have with others. This helps you to realize who you are and what you need in the life. The combination of all you learns come together to give you a clear idea of what your needs, values, and belief in this life. Finally, it is clear that the role of relationship play an important role in the framework of our personal identities.
In the movie “Crash” an example of Achieved Status is Brendan Fraser's character. In the movie he shows favoritism towards the blacks to get a vote for a position higher in the judicial system. This shows the decision he had to make in order to achieve the likelihood of his voters.
In learning about different ways that we as a society categorize and divide people, it is essential to understand what about people it is that we feel the need to label and differentiate between. When a person is born into this world, there are certain statuses that they automatically obtain, called ascribed statuses (Henslin 98). These statuses determine each person’s social location in society. This includes gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and ability. Each person has their own unique social location, and is affected in a different way than the next person may be. As a white, queer, cisgender, middle class, female, in relatively good health, I have always been relatively privileged.
Your economic category will have a bearing on your social position known as class. This can be shown in terms of wealth, property ownership or your working and living environment. Identity is formed by two elements, one of which is external influences and experiences such as language, upbringing and the society you live in. The other element of identity you actively participate in shaping, such as social groups in which you mix, with their symbols and characteristics.
The master status is “…a status that has special importance for social identity, often shaping a person’s entire life” (Macionis, 2013, p. 97). The master status that I most identify with as having the biggest impact in my social identity is always being physically connected with my future wife Kaisha as allowed by society either by holding hands, or other innocent ways of physically being together, and the title of this particular description of a master status is, “one who is a part of that couple that never lets go” (as labeled by others). There are many role sets that are attached to my master status such as playing the loving partner role, future husband role, caring friend role, and protective partner role. Role sets are “...a number of roles that are attached to a single status” (Macionis, 2013, p. 98). I was not born into the decision of finding a partner who I would never let go of (to the best of my abilities) so this is an achieved status because Kaisha and I made a personal choice to do this because of the overwhelming feeling for us to be unified and to be as close as can be.
In this paper I will be focusing on Erikson’s Theory mainly about identity versus role confusion. Finding one’s identity is not always an easy task. Everyone at some point in his or her life has had, as Erikson puts it, an identity crisis. Everyone experiences different struggles that can have either a positive or negative impact on their identity. On my path to identity, I have reached identity achievement, which means I have explored and made commitments. I will also be focusing on two articles highlighting a fifth possible outcome regarding identity and looking at identity statuses as developmental trajectories.
The class system places the individual in the social system based on his achieved status. This status is earned or chosen. This includes educational level, careers, and spouses.
In conclusion, the formation of one’s identity has many components. Beginning at the onset of adolescence and continuing to expand, grow and form and reform as we live through the struggles or success of life. Many theorists have endeavored to clarify the development of identity formation. However, Erik Erickson offered one significant theory involving the formation of one’s identity. Expounding on Erickson theory, Marcia developed his Identity Status Model according to the existence or absence of crisis and commitments. These four statuses, diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium and achievement can combine in various ways to produce a self. One’s sense of identity is determined largely by the choices and commitments made, therefore, having a well-developed sense of self can provide an individual with insight to their strengths, weaknesses, and individual uniqueness. An individual that finds themselves
A sociologist will also find this topic interesting because of how the individual believes he is of a higher status than others. Status is defined as a prestige a person or group feels that could be formed through education, money, background, popularity etc. When someone who feels that their better background ...
Social Interaction is an essential element when understanding the role of a human in society and how a human conducts himself or herself. A key term for this interaction is a person’s status(a recognizable social position that an individual occupies. Page 128) in that society. Each person within that status has a role (the duties and behaviors expected of someone who holds a particular status. Page 128) to complete during their social interactions. However, if a person cannot complete the roles that are assigned to them in that individual status then they experience role strain (the incompatibility among roles corresponding to a single status. Page 128). One example from the book is a professor who needs to keep writing research and lectures
Socialization is learning what is expected from us by the people we are interacting with. We learn what is considered normal and how to interact with others. Socialization also gives us the ability to learn what is not acceptable behavior and the negative treatment that can come along with behaving outside of the norm (New York University Department of Sociology, 2013). It is beneficial to reflect on educational experience as a site of socialization because for the majority of us, this is our first real, complete, and honest experience of socialization. We may receive leniency or special treatment from our parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles because we are younger and cute. They do not expect the same level of standards for behavior as peers who
Status- Pg. 96: The position that someone occupies in a social group (also called social status.)
A Social Status is defined as “a social position that a person holds” (J. Maconis., 2010). This shapes your identity, meaning who you are as an individual and in the society, and is most commonly thought as your role. For instance, something as simple as an occupation. Generally, your job or how you make a living defines your social status. Everyone holds multiple