Define status and discuss ascribed and achieved status. Provide examples

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A status is a socially defined position in a group or society characterized by certain expectations, rights, and duties. Statuses exist independently of the specific people occupying them. Your social identity is derived from the statuses you occupy and is based on your status set. A status set comprises all the statuses that a person occupies at a given time. Statuses are distinguished by the manner in which we acquire them.

An ascribed status is a social position conferred at birth or received involuntarily later in life, based on attributes over which the individual has little or no control, such as race/ethnicity, age, and gender. An achieved status is a social position that a person assumes voluntarily as a result of personal choice, merit, or direct effort. Achieved statuses (such as occupation, education, and income) are thought to be gained as a result of personal ability or successful competition. Most occupational positions in modern societies are achieved statuses. Ascribed statuses have a significant influence on the achieved statuses we occupy. Race/ethnicity, gender, and age affect each person's opportunity to acquire certain achieved statuses.