How Does Ascribed Status Positions Play A Role In One's Achieved Status

Andrea Castro
1) Which of your statuses are ascribed and which are achieved? (Make sure you illustrate your understanding of the difference between them).

Ascribed status can be described as something that is known when a person is born into the world. One example would be the children of Prince William and Kate Middleton. They were born into royalty. My status’ that are ascribed would be the fact that I am a Caucasian female. I was born into a lower class family. I was born a daughter, a sister and a granddaughter.
Achieved status can be seen as what someone does with their life or ‘achieves’ for a better word. For instance, when someone graduates college and becomes a doctor, a teacher, or police officer these are all things they have gained later on in life. Becoming a president could also fall into the achieved status category. I am a non-traditional student who has an AA. I am a mother to a 9-month old little girl and I want to someday publish short stories as a hobby

2) In the U.S., how does ascribed status positions play a role in one's achieved status and success?

The example I will use here will be someone being born into a rich/celebrity family.

Being born into a wealthy or celebrity family would definitely impact the child as they grew up. As a child they may not understand all of the cameras, and people that may run up and talk to them, but as they get older they will start to suck in some of that information and realize that their life is going to be different than the average kids. Their lives will be more luxurious and they will have contacts so they become successful faster. In this instance their ascribed status (wealthy celebrity) will coincide with their achieved status (their student status, career, etc). The two will work together, not against each

other.

2a) What are some statuses (achieved and ascribed) that can greatly impact how an individual is perceived or treated?

Because of inequality, those who do not grow up as white males could face discrimination. This could be someone who is African American, someone who is Female, or someone who is Hispanic. This could affect their careers, their personal life, or even their mental health. Someone who is born into a celebrity family as I mentioned above could be treated very well because others know their family has money. Based on their parents’ social status and career life, the child(ren) could be pushed into the same jobs as their parents as an expectation.

3) How does the social construction of reality perpetuate or breed to ethnocentrism? First,define ethnocentrism and the social construction of reality. Then, explain the process of the social construction of reality and the inherent relationship between these concepts. (A degree of ethnocentrism is healthy and is also a natural 'by-product' of the social construction of reality).

Ethnocentrism is “the practice of judging another culture by the standard of one’s own culture”. (Pearson Custom Sociology pg. 519) This means that a person looks at another culture and judges that culture by what their own culture ideas are. Social construction of Reality “is the process by which people creatively shape reality through social interaction.” (Pearson Custom Sociology pg. 179) This is based on what people know and how they live their lives. Their experiences will guide them to how they react at certain situations. Social construction starts from social interaction. Each individual has their own construction built ultimately from their everyday lives. From the way they talk to friends and family, how they act, and how they respond. There are three stages to social construction of reality. Society will implement an idea. Then that idea will circulate and become normal as it becomes part of their culture.