A person, being a part of society, is inevitably covered with a persistent coating of social statuses that determine his duties and privileges. You can get rid of some of them by replacing them with more suitable ones, while others will haunt their owner until death. For example, having been born a boy, a child cannot somehow change this fact, remaining a male all his life. Each person has a whole bunch of social statuses that belong to different groups and may vary depending on the situation. The role of these "labels" is fundamental in modern society.

social status. Concept. Kinds

Naturally, the assignment of labels occurs in different ways. Therefore, social statuses are divided into prescribed and achieved. A person receives a prescribed status at birth, having almost no opportunity to change it during life. The individual makes no effort to acquire such a social status. Examples: gender, race, title of nobility, age, etc. From early childhood, a person is taught to comply with the prescribed status: “a man should not cry”, “a girl should be beautiful” and other behavioral stereotypes are designed to grow a harmonious member of society.

The status of a person is the result of efforts aimed at obtaining it. Often any kind of social status reflects the merits of a person in a certain area. For example: a master of sports, a candidate of sciences, a professor, a husband, an alcoholic, a ballerina, etc. Often, it is one of the achieved statuses that is fundamental in a person’s life, most fully reflects his aspirations and talents.

Group social status

Not only individual people, but also entire groups of people have their status in society. Castes, estates, all kinds of associations and professions are by no means equal to each other - each of them occupies its own unique niche in the hierarchy. No matter how much modern cultural and political figures shout about equality, this is just a sweet lie, designed to hide the harsh reality. After all, no one will argue that the social status of miners is immeasurably lower than that of politicians or businessmen.

As soon as a person becomes a member of any group, he immediately receives a lot of rights and obligations inherent in it. For example, when joining the police, an employee receives a number of privileges that are not available to ordinary citizens, but such a status obliges him to act if he sees an offense, even if he is not in the service. To this he is obligated by the status of a social group. Many groups are on the same rung in the hierarchical ladder, while some are unattainably high for mere mortals. At the same time, the benefit that representatives of a profession or association bring to society does not affect the rank in it.

Individual social status

Not only groups and associations of people have their own rank and weight. Within each of them there is a ranking system that determines the relationship between people. School experience teaches us that each class has its own bully, its own nerd, an excellent student, a joker, a leader - all this is the social status of an individual. However, each student has more than one status. Coming to school, children are primarily students, but at home each of them also becomes a son, sister, nephew, etc. Throughout life, everyone tries on a huge number of roles, the social status of the individual constantly changes depending on the team, in which the person turned out to be, and his personal qualities.

In different circles, the same individual may occupy a different position. A strict and domineering boss, holding his subordinates in an iron fist, can be under the heel of a strict wife. It also happens the other way around, when a weak and indecisive person, unable to stand up for himself in a team, turns into a ruthless tyrant as soon as he crosses the threshold of his house. If the statuses of a person in different groups differ significantly, then an internal contradiction arises, which often becomes the cause of conflicts.

Role conflict

In cases where a person occupies a high rank in one group, and in another is at the very bottom of the hierarchical ladder, conflict is inevitable. It can be internal, when the individual silently experiences discomfort, or it can develop into a clash with colleagues. Examples of role conflict are ubiquitous, such as when an older person is an errand boy for a young boss. Or when this boss is relaxing with friends who treat him with some disdain, not at all like his subordinates.

If the social status of a person is high, then he will do his best to maintain it. Naturally, there will always be people who are not satisfied with their rank, who want to rise higher, gain more weight in society. This gives rise to competition within the group, which allows the fittest and strongest members of society to get to the top.

Resolution of internal conflicts

Often, contradictions between roles lead to internal confrontation, which takes a lot of time and effort. For example, during a natural disaster, the rescuer will go first to save his own family, obeying the role of parent and spouse. And only after he is convinced that his relatives are safe, the time will come for the performance of official duties.

The same happens with dealers who sell alcohol or other drugs. As a parent, he does not want his child to be poisoned by this muck, but as a businessman, this person is unable to resist the sweet call of profit. Types of social statuses differ in their significance for the owner. The main thing is to choose the role that is the main one at the moment, thereby destroying the impending internal contradictions in the bud.

Family social status

Not only does a single person occupy his rank in the social hierarchy, each family also has its own status. Usually the position of a cell of society depends on material well-being, but this is not always the case. The family of a military or official occupies a special position in society, even if they are not burdened with wealth. In those countries where titles of nobility or castes have been preserved, belonging to a noble dynasty decides a lot.

In ancient times, wealthy merchants often entered into marriages with representatives of a poor but titled family in order to share the high social status of the family with them. Such a far-sighted move opened for the wealthy merchant many doors that were closed to the common people.

The influence of social status on personality

Roles in society are rarely superficial. Such can only be those types of social statuses that are assigned for a short period of time: a passerby, a patient, a buyer.

Basically, belonging to a certain role leaves a deep imprint on a person’s whole life. The status to which the subject attaches the greatest importance has a special influence. For example, a professor, a musician, an athlete, a serial killer, etc. Having taken on a serious role, a person gradually begins to change, acquiring the character traits and skills necessary to fulfill it.

A doctor, if he has worked in this field for a long time, evaluates people in a completely different way than a policeman. The surgeon will evaluate the person according to his parameters, formed by his professional activity. Likewise, an investigator, having worked for years among hardened criminals, will never be the same again.

Expectations of others

Taking on a certain role, we in some way become its hostages. Since the social status of the individual is fixed, others know what to expect from this person. The stereotype will cling like a tick, not allowing you to take a single step to the side. After all, as soon as your behavior goes beyond the expected, pressure will begin to return the lost sheep to the flock. A great tool to keep people on track is a system of rewards and punishments.

Unfortunately, certain types of social status are unavoidable. There is no way to get rid of the status of a child, an old man, a man or a woman. From childhood, girls are taught to clean, cook, run a household, take care of themselves, instill the idea that she can take place as a person only by successfully marrying. If a young lady dreams of becoming a boxing or racing star, then she will immediately face misunderstanding or ridicule, few people will take her dream seriously. The same is true with age. No one will take seriously a child's attempts to go into business, and an old man trying to meet a young girl will arouse the disapproval of others.

The meaning of social status

Today it is very fashionable to talk about how everyone around is equal, that everyone has the same rights and obligations. Of course, this is not true. Until now, social status has been decisive in the life of every member of society. Examples of this are found all over the place.

Therefore, all types of social statuses - both group and personal - are as relevant today as they were a thousand years ago. However, do not forget that society hangs labels on you, so they are valid only where there are people. Compliance with social status is only one of the quirks of the modern world, and not the monumental law of the universe. You can only play your role without getting used to it. From childhood, we are taught that achieving prestige and high status in society is a thing of paramount importance. But it is not at all necessary to accept such rules of the game. A person of low social status will go to jail for petty theft, while a banker can rob millions of people with only a formal warning.

Living in a society, one cannot be free from it. During life, a person comes into contact with a large number of other individuals and groups to which they belong. At the same time, in each of them he occupies a certain place. To analyze the position of a person in each group and society as a whole, they use such concepts as social status and Let's take a closer look at what it is.

The meaning of the term and general characteristics

The very word "status" originates from ancient Rome. Then it had more of a legal connotation, rather than a sociological one, and denoted the legal status of an organization.

Now social status is the position of a person in a particular group and society as a whole, endowing him with certain rights, privileges, and duties in relation to other members.

It helps people communicate better with each other. If a person of a certain social status does not fulfill his duties, then he will be responsible for this. So, an entrepreneur who sews clothes to order, if the deadlines are missed, will pay a penalty. In addition, his reputation will be damaged.

Examples of the social status of one person are a schoolboy, son, grandson, brother, member of a sports club, citizen, and so on.

This is a certain one according to his professional qualities, material and age, education and other criteria.

A person can simultaneously enter several teams at once and, accordingly, play not one, but many different roles. Therefore, they talk about status sets. Each person is unique and individual.

Types of social statuses, examples

Their range is quite wide. There are statuses acquired at birth, and there are statuses acquired during life. Those that society ascribes to a person, or those that he achieves through his own efforts.

Allocate the main and passing social status of a person. Examples: the main and universal, in fact, the person himself, then comes the second - this is a citizen. The list of basic statuses also includes consanguinity, economic, political, religious. The list goes on.

Episodic is a passer-by, a patient, a striker, a buyer, an exhibition visitor. That is, such statuses in the same person can change quite quickly and periodically repeat.

Prescribed social status: examples

This is what a person receives from birth, biologically and geographically given characteristics. Until recently, it was impossible to influence them and change the situation. Examples of social status: gender, nationality, race. These given parameters remain with a person for life. Although in our progressive society they have already threatened to change the sex. So one of the listed statuses to some extent ceases to be prescribed.

Much of what pertains to kinship will also be considered as prescribed father, mother, sister, brother. And husband and wife are already acquired statuses.

Achieved status

This is what a person achieves on his own. Making efforts, making choices, working, studying, each individual eventually comes to certain results. His successes or failures are reflected in the society giving him the status he deserves. Doctor, director, company president, professor, thief, homeless person, vagabond.

Almost every achievement has its own insignia. Examples:

• the military, security officials, employees of the internal troops - uniforms and epaulettes;
• doctors have white coats;
• people who have broken the law have tattoos on their bodies.

Roles in society

To understand how this or that object will behave, the social status of a person will help. We find examples and confirmations of this all the time. Expectations in the behavior and appearance of an individual, depending on his belonging to a certain class, is called a social role.

So, the status of a parent obliges to be strict, but fair to your child, to be responsible for him, to teach, give advice, prompt, help in difficult situations. The status of a son or daughter is, on the contrary, a certain subordination to parents, legal and material dependence on them.

But, despite some patterns of behavior, each person has a choice of how to act. Examples of social status and its use by a person do not fit one hundred percent into the proposed framework. There is only a scheme, a certain template, which each individual implements according to his abilities and ideas.

It often happens that it is difficult for one person to combine several social roles. For example, the first role of a woman is mother, wife, and her second role is a successful business woman. Both roles involve the investment of effort, time, full return. There is a conflict.

An analysis of the social status of a person, an example of his actions in life, allow us to conclude that it reflects not only the internal position of a person, but also affects the appearance, manner of dressing, speaking.

Consider examples of social status and standards associated with it in appearance. So, the director of a bank or the founder of a reputable company cannot appear at the workplace in sports trousers or rubber boots. And the priest - to come to church in jeans.

The status that a person has reached makes him pay attention not only to appearance and behavior, but also to choose a social circle, place of residence, training.

Prestige

Not the last role in the fate of people is played by such a concept as prestige (and positive, from the point of view of the majority, social status). We can easily find examples in the questionnaire, which all students write before entering higher educational institutions. Often they make their choice focusing on the prestige of a particular profession. Now few of the boys dream of becoming an astronaut or a pilot. It used to be a very popular profession. Choose between lawyers and financiers. So the time dictates.

Conclusion: a person develops as a person in the process of mastering different social statuses and roles. The brighter the dynamics, the more adapted to life the individual will become.

Social status: concept, types, elements.

Today we are conducting a lesson on summarizing the material of the topic “Social Status”. The purpose of our lesson is to clarify and consolidate the knowledge you have gained. To do this, we must reveal the essence of the concept of status, characterize its types and elements.

1) Before you is a diagram resembling a crystal lattice, or a honeycomb. Cells are statuses. Please provide an explanation for this diagram.

This diagram shows the social structure. Social structure is the anatomical skeleton of society. The structure is understood as a set of functionally interconnected elements that make up the internal structure of society, in this case, statuses. Social status is an element of social structure. If we fill each cell with people, we will get large social groups.

2) Social statuses are the result of the social division of labor. What it is? What are the components of the division of labor?

In principle, a person can perform all kinds of activities on his own. But at the same time, he will not have enough time or skills to perform each function effectively. Separation occurs when different functions are assigned to different groups of specially trained people. This is called specialization. Specialists have to somehow cooperate with each other, they cannot do without each other, they exchange the products of their labor. For example, a baker exchanges his products for the results of the work of a shoemaker, a doctor, a builder.

In this way, specialization and labor cooperation are the essence social division of labor.(curtains open)

Social division of labor

Specialization Cooperation

1 function - 1 group1 2

Let's make a conclusion with you, how are the statuses related?

First of all, the performance of social functions. Functions include rights and obligations..

3) Social status can be considered as the primary element, or "brick" of the building of social structure. (enter parallelepipid). This first brick has 3 faces:

FROM

"cement"?

"fixing cement"

Sign 3 facets of status.

« Width" - rights, "length" - duties, "height" - responsibility. Thanks to the 3-dimensional shape, the statuses - the first bricks fit closer to each other, forming a single whole. The edges of the bricks are connected by strong cement - social norms. Social norms are rules, patterns of behavior developed by society, expressing the requirements, expectations of society in relation to a person of a given status. Society monitors the observance of these norms; social institutions function for this.

So, can you already conclude what a status is? Give as complete a definition as possible.

And now let's compare your options with what A. I. Kravchenko's sociology textbooks give:

Status is the position of a person in the social structure of society (group), a place in the system of social division of labor associated with other statuses, social functions, mutual rights and obligations.

4) (spotlight and pen) One person has many statuses, because he participates in many groups and organizations. The totality of all statuses occupied by 1 person is called a status set (this is the concept of the American sociologist Robert Merton). But even in the status set, different types of statuses can be distinguished. Add a diagram.

Statuses?

defines the lifestyle

by belonging to a group

by way of purchase

Now let's describe in more detail every kind status. ("spotlight")

The main one is the status by which the individual is distinguished by others, determines the lifestyle, the circle of acquaintances, the manner of behavior with which a person is identified by other people or with which he identifies himself. For men, most often - the status associated with work, profession, for women - a housewife, mother. Although other options are possible. The main status is relative: it is not unambiguously connected with gender, profession, race. The main thing is the status, which determines the style and lifestyle, the circle of acquaintances, the manner of behavior.

Social - the position of a person in society as a representative of a large social group. Personal - in the small, depends on how he is evaluated and perceived by the members of this group in accordance with his personal qualities. For example, a leader, an outsider, the soul of a company in a group. Social status plays a leading role among strangers, and personal status among acquaintances.

Assigned status is a position in society over which a person has no control and which he occupies regardless of his will, desire, efforts.

Attributable may be the inborn status in which a person was born and which received reinforcement in public opinion (sex, nationality, race). Biological, but not inborn, is the age status. The kinship system gives a number of inborn and ascribed statuses: son, daughter, grandfather-grandmother, aunt, etc. Relatives in law are ascribed, but not born (mother-in-law, father-in-law, stepdaughter). What is achieved is acquired as a result of free choice, personal efforts, is under the control of a person, requires the adoption of independent decisions and independent actions. In an open society, there are more achieved statuses.

Mixed has the features of ascribed and achieved.

5) Here is a list of statuses: determine which of the 3 types - attributed, achieved, mixed - the following positions belong to: (1 student at the blackboard - “pen”)?

leader

Ukrainian

police officer

graph

astronaut

pope

Professor

woman

father-in-law

people's deputy

emperor.

And now let's see the correct answers, do they match the student's answers:

Assigned statuses	Achievable statuses	mixed type
Ukrainian	police officer	leader
woman	astronaut	Professor
father-in-law	pope	American-Chinese
graph	people's deputy	emperor

6) Sometimes a situation may arise in society that the statuses of a person contradict each other: for example, the president of the country is an average tennis player, a woman who successfully makes a career cannot cope with the role of a mother, wife, housewife. This phenomenon is called status incompatibility (or status mismatch). One person participates in many groups and organizations, each of them has its own hierarchy, and a person can occupy a different position in this hierarchy: he is called the status rank. Status mismatch occurs under two circumstances. Please complete the sentences you see on the screen: ("feather")

A) Status mismatch occurs when 1) an individual occupies …………. in one group and ………... in another, 2) rights and obligations of one status …………. or …………… exercising the rights and fulfilling the obligations of another status.

B) Status incompatibility is not only a personal problem, but also a social one: a person experiences a feeling of…………….., and it is precisely such people, united, who commit ……. .……. in society.

C) Status incompatibility makes a person change his profession, country, way of life, i.e., it can become a factor …………., resulting in the phenomenon of ………., when a person broke away from one layer and did not stick to another.

Give your examples of status incompatibility.

7) Status implies the presence of a number of elements that characterize it. We call the definitions of these elements in turn: ("curtain")

status role;

A model of behavior in accordance with the rights and obligations assigned to this status; dynamic characteristic of the status.

Each role is a special manner of behavior and communication with people, a kind of social relations. Society prescribes requirements and norms to the status. The people around build relations with the carrier of the status, corresponding to the correct performance of the status role.

status rights and obligations;

Rights are a measure of possible behavior; duty is a measure of proper conduct. The higher the status, the greater the scope of rights and the greater the range of duties, the more stringent the requirements for status duties.

The higher the rank, the stronger the punishment. In a closed society, control over observance of duties is stricter than in an open society.

status range;

a free manner of behavior, suggesting options for behavior in the implementation of a status role.

status symbols;

external insignia to distinguish between holders of different statuses.

This may be uniform, insignia, style of dress, housing, language, gestures, demeanor. Status symbols are significant primarily in formal organizations.

status image;

a set of ideas that have developed in public opinion about how a person should behave in accordance with his status, how his rights and duties should correlate.

status identification;

identification of oneself with one's status and status image. The higher the status rank, the stronger the identification with it.

It shows to what extent a person brings himself closer to his status and status image. The more rigidly the inter-status distance is kept. The lower the personal status, the more often the benefits of social status are emphasized. Status identification may or may not coincide with professional and job identification: official - drives without a company car - low identification with status.

status vision of the world.

features of the vision of the world, social attitudes that have developed in accordance with the status.

Criteria for classifying social statuses

Definition 1

Social status refers to the position that an individual or social group occupies in society.

There is a classification of social statuses: for example, statuses are divided into prescribed (which a person got at birth, regardless of his will) and achieved (which a person acquired as a result of his volitional initiative actions), personal and group (according to position in a small or large social group ), into formal and informal (officially fixed in documents or not).

We can talk about a number of criteria by which social status is determined:

• economic (the position of the family in society, the level of wages of the individual, etc.),
• national,
• age,
• sexual,
• ethnic,
• political (attitude towards the current government, political activity or absenteeism, etc.).

However, there is also a mixed social status, which is a special kind of it.

Examples of mixed social status

Definition 2

Mixed social status is a status that simultaneously combines the signs of both prescribed and achieved, but not achieved by the will of the person himself.

Example 1

Mixed social status will be the status of a refugee, disabled person, unemployed, emperor, etc.

Major social changes (economic crisis, revolution, war, change of political regime, etc.) can change the status of a huge number of people against their will or will.

As a result of serious economic crises, a very large number of people are left without work. The status of the unemployed is not desirable, but its receipt does not depend on the person due to global factors that the individual cannot control. Such factors, in addition to the economic crisis, include the restructuring of society, and mass layoffs in a particular industry, and the ruin of a company, etc.

Another striking example of mixed social status is the status of a disabled person. If a person at the age of 35 became disabled for reasons beyond his control, his social position has changed dramatically: previously he could provide for himself on his own, but now he is in the care of the state. This status cannot be called achievable, since a person would hardly want to become a disabled person of his own free will, and at the same time, it cannot be called prescribed, since from birth this person did not have limited opportunities. Thus, this social status is defined as mixed.

The following will also be a mixed social status: an academician is an attainable status that is acquired after a long and painstaking scientific work related to a person’s desire and will, however, since this status becomes lifelong later, it turns into a prescribed one. A person who has reached the degree of doctor of science cannot pass it on to his son, but he can enjoy certain advantages if he decides to follow the scientific path. The father's colleagues will always patronize the young man, he acquires the attributed status of the son of a doctor of sciences. Thus, this is also a rare, but an example of mixed social status.

Finally, the title of Olympic champion is for life (an athlete will remain an athlete who won an Olympic medal for the rest of his life), however, his title of champion can be selected by new athletes who will show better results in the new Olympic Games. As a result, such a title is transferable, and this social status is also mixed.

social status- the position of the individual or social group in the social system.

status rank- the position of the individual in the social hierarchy of statuses, on the basis of which the status worldview is formed.

status set- a set of several status positions that an individual simultaneously occupies.

Conceptions of social status

The concept of "social status" was first used in science by the English philosopher and lawyer of the 19th century. G. Main. In sociology, the concept of status (from Latin status - position, state) is used in different meanings. The dominant idea is the social status as the position of an individual or a social group in the social system, which is characterized by certain distinctive features (rights, duties, functions). Sometimes social status refers to a set of such distinguishing features. In ordinary speech, the concept of status is used as a synonym for prestige.

In modern scientific and educational literature, they are defined as: the position of the individual in the social system, associated with certain rights, duties and role expectations;

• the position of the subject in the system of interpersonal relations,
• defining his rights, duties and privileges;
• the position of the individual in the system of interpersonal relations, due to his psychological influence on the members of the group;
• the relative position of the individual in society, determined by his functions, duties and rights;
• the position of a person in the structure of a group or society, associated with certain rights and obligations;
• an indicator of the position occupied by an individual in society;
• the relative position of an individual or a social group in a social system, determined by a number of features characteristic of the given system;
• the position occupied by an individual or a social group in society or a separate subsystem of society, determined by characteristics specific to a particular society - economic, national, age, etc.;
• the place of an individual or group in the social system in accordance with their characteristics - natural, professional, ethnic, etc.;
• a structural element of the social organization of society, which appears to the individual as a position in the system of social relations;
• the relative position of an individual or group, determined by social (economic status, profession, qualifications, education, etc.) and natural characteristics (gender, age, etc.);
• a set of rights and obligations of an individual or a social group associated with the performance of a certain social role by them;
• prestige that characterizes the position of an individual or social groups in a hierarchical system.

Each person in society performs certain social functions: students study, workers produce material goods, managers manage, journalists talk about events taking place in the country and the world. To perform social functions, certain duties are imposed on the individual in accordance with social status. The higher the status of a person, the more duties he has, the more stringent the requirements of society or a social group for his status duties, the greater the negative consequences of their violation.

status set is a set of status positions that each individual occupies simultaneously. In this set, the following statuses are usually distinguished: ascriptive (assigned), achieved, mixed, main.

The social status of the individual was relatively stable due to the class or caste structure of society and was fixed by the establishment of religion or law. In modern societies, the status positions of individuals are more mobile. However, in any society there are ascriptive (assigned) and achieved social statuses.

Assigned status- this is a social status received "automatically" by its carrier due to factors beyond his control - by law, birth, sex or age, racial and national origin, consanguinity system, socio-economic status of parents, etc. For example, you can not get married, participate in elections, get a driver's license before reaching the required age for this. Assigned statuses are of interest to sociology only if they are the basis for social inequality, i.e. affect social differentiation and the social structure of society.

Achieved status - it is a social status acquired by its bearer through his own efforts and merits. The level of education, professional achievements, career, title, position, socially successful marriage - all this affects the social status of the individual in society.

There is a direct relationship between assigned and achieved social statuses. Achieved statuses are acquired mainly through competition, but some achieved statuses are largely determined by ascriptive ones. Thus, the possibility of obtaining a prestigious education, which in modern society is a necessary prerequisite for high social status, is directly related to the advantages of family origin. On the contrary, the presence of a high achieved status largely compensates for the low ascriptive status of an individual due to the fact that no society can ignore the real social successes and achievements of individuals.

Mixed social statuses have signs attributed and achieved, but achieved not at the request of a person, but due to a combination of circumstances, for example, as a result of job loss, natural disasters or political upheavals.

Major social status the individual determines mainly the position of a person in society, his way of life.

demeanor. When talking about a stranger, we first of all ask: “What is this person doing? How does he make a living? The answer to this question says a lot about a person, therefore, in modern society, the main status of an individual is, as a rule, professional or official.

Lych status It manifests itself at the level of a small group, for example, a family, a work collective, a circle of close friends. In a small group, the individual functions directly and his status is determined by personal qualities and character traits.

group status characterizes an individual as a member of a large social group as, for example, a representative of a nation, confession or profession.

The concept and types of social status

The substantive difference between them boils down to the fact that the role is performed, but the status is. In other words, the role implies the possibility of a qualitative assessment of how the individual meets the role requirements. Social status - This is the position of a person in the structure of a group or society, which determines certain rights and obligations. Speaking of status, we abstract from any qualitative assessment of the person who occupies it, and his behavior. We can say that status is a formal-structural social characteristic of the subject.

Like roles, there can be many statuses, and in general, any status implies a corresponding role and vice versa.

Main status - the key of the entire set of social statuses of the individual, mainly determining his social position and importance in society. For example, the main status of a child is age; in traditional societies, the main status of a woman is gender; in modern society, as a rule, the main status becomes professional or official. In any case, the main status acts as a decisive factor in the image and standard of living, dictates the manner of behavior.

Social status can be:

• prescribed- received from birth or due to factors independent of its carrier - gender or age, race, socio-economic status of parents. For example, by law, you cannot get a driver's license, get married, participate in elections or receive a pension before reaching the required age for this;
• achieved- acquired in society thanks to the efforts and merits of the individual. The status of a person in society is affected by the level of education, professional achievements, career, socially successful marriage. No society can ignore the real success of the individual, so the existence of achieved status has the ability to largely compensate for the low status attributed to the individual;
• private- manifests itself at the level of a small group in which the individual functions directly (family, work team, circle of close friends), it is determined by his personal qualities and character traits;
• group- characterizes an individual as a member of a large social group - a representative of a class, nation, profession, carrier of certain gender and age characteristics, etc.

Based on sociological surveys, it has been established that the majority of Russians are currently satisfied with their position in society rather than dissatisfied. This is a very significant positive trend in recent years, since satisfaction with one's position in society is not only an essential prerequisite for social stability, but also a very important condition for people to feel comfortable in their socio-psychological state in general. Among those who assess their place in society as “good”, almost 85% believe that their lives are going well. This indicator does not depend much on age: even in the group over 55, about 70% share this opinion. Among those who are dissatisfied with their social status, the picture turned out to be the opposite - almost half of them (with 6.8% in the array as a whole) believe that their life is going badly.

Status hierarchy

French sociologist R. Boudon considers social status as having two dimensions:

• horizontal, which forms a system of social contacts and interchanges, both real and simply possible, that develop between the holder of the status and other individuals who are at the same level of the social ladder;
• vertical, which is formed by contacts and exchanges that arise between the holder of the status and individuals located at higher and lower levels.

On the basis of such a representation, Budon defines social status as a set of equal and hierarchical relations maintained by an individual with other members of society.

The status hierarchy is typical for any organization. Indeed, without nes organization is impossible; it is due to the fact that all members of the group know the status of each, there is an interaction between the links of the organization. However, the formal structure of an organization does not always coincide with its informal structure. Such a gap between hierarchies in many organizations does not require sociometric research, but is visible to a simple observer, since the establishment of a status hierarchy is the answer not only to the question “Who is the most important here?”, but also to the question “Who is the most authoritative, most competent, most popular with workers? The real status is largely determined by personal qualities, qualifications, charm, etc.

Many modern sociologists pay attention to the functional dissonance that arises from the mismatch of hierarchical and functional status. Such a mismatch can arise due to individual compromises, when the orders of the leadership acquire the character of a “stream of consciousness”, providing subordinates with a “zone of free action”. The result can be generally both positive and manifest itself in an increase in the flexibility of the organization's response, and negative, expressed in functional chaos and confusion.

Status confusion acts as a criterion of social disorganization and, perhaps, as one of the causes of deviant behavior. E. Durkheim considered the relationship between violations of the status hierarchy and the state of anomie and suggested that discord in the status hierarchy in an industrial society takes two forms.

First, the expectations of the individual in connection with the position he occupies in society and the counter-expectations of other members of society directed towards the individual become largely uncertain. If in a traditional society everyone knew what to expect and what awaited him, and in accordance with this he was well aware of his rights and obligations, then in an industrial society, due to the growing division of labor and the instability of labor relations, the individual is increasingly faced with situations that he I did not foresee and for which I am not ready. For example, if in the Middle Ages studying at a university automatically meant a sharp and irreversible increase in social status, now no one is surprised by the abundance of unemployed university graduates who agree to any job.

Second, status instability affects the structure of social rewards and the level of individual life satisfaction.

To understand what determines the status hierarchy in traditional - pre-industrial - societies, one should turn to modern societies of the East (except for caste ones). Here you can find three important elements that affect the social position of the individual - gender, age and belonging to a certain "estate", which assign to each member of society his rigid status. At the same time, the transition to another level of the status hierarchy is extremely difficult due to a number of legal and symbolic restrictions. But even in traditionally oriented societies, the spirit of entrepreneurship and enrichment, the personal favor of the ruler affect the distribution of statuses, although the legitimation of status occurs through a reference to the traditions of the ancestors, which in itself reflects the weight of the attributing elements of the status (the antiquity of the family, the personal prowess of the ancestors, etc. ).

In modern Western society, the status hierarchy can be viewed from the standpoint of either meritocratic ideology as a fair and inevitable recognition of personal merits, talents and abilities, or holistic sociologism as a result strictly determined by social processes. But both theories offer a very simplistic understanding of the nature of status, and there are points that cannot be explained in the context of either of them. For example, if status is entirely determined by personal qualities and merit, then how to explain the presence in almost any organization of formal and informal status hierarchies?

Within an organization, this duality means a mismatch of competence and power, observed in various forms and at various levels, when decisions are made not by competent and impartial experts, but by "capitalists" who are guided by the logic of self-interest, or "soulless technocrats". The discrepancy between professional qualifications and material and status remuneration is also inexplicable. Inconsistencies in this area are often denied or hushed up in the name of the meritocratic ideal of "status by merit." For example, in modern Russian society, the situation of low material remuneration and, as a result, low prestige and status of highly educated and highly intelligent people has become typical: “The profession of physics in the USSR in the 1960s. enjoyed high prestige, and the accountant - low. In modern Russia, they have changed places. In this case, prestige is strongly associated with the economic status of these occupations.

Since systems are more complex and subject to faster evolution, the mechanism for assigning status remains uncertain. First, the list of criteria involved in determining the status is very long. Secondly, it becomes more and more difficult to reduce the totality of various status attributes belonging to each individual to a single symbol, as in traditional societies, where it was enough to say “this is the son of such and such”, so that the social status of a person, his material level, circle of acquaintances and friends. In traditional societies, the individual and his status were very closely linked. Personality and status tend to diverge these days. The identity of a person is no longer set: she herself builds it with her own efforts throughout her life. Therefore, our perception of ourselves as a person is split into many aspects in which our social status is manifested. Personal identity is felt not so much through a connection with a fixed status, but through a sense of one's own value and uniqueness.