What is social status - types and can it be increased

Greetings, friends!

A person, unconsciously, or at the suggestion of others, always strives to be an authority for others. Possessing respect and “weight” in society, an individual can dictate his own rules of the game to others, encourage them to take certain actions and exert influence. Otherwise, it can be called social status; it determines a person’s place in life. In this article we will analyze: what social status is, examples and types of social status, and by what criteria it is formed.

Status value

As for the general meaning of status, it is the legal position of people, activities or organizations in society. What is status and what is it compared to? Status can be compared with other statuses according to various criteria, correlated with the dominant value system, as well as determining social prestige. But what is status? Status is the position of an individual in the system of interaction between people, which determines his rights, responsibilities and privileges, as well as the degree of authority among other individuals.

Criteria for the formation of social status

A person’s social position is determined in conjunction with his internal value system, and by comparing his “achievements” with the status of others. A lot can be said about an individual by his material condition (whether he is rich or poor), career, image and lifestyle, relationships with other people, education, political beliefs, innate parameters (gender, nationality and race, appearance, character, etc.) . Based on these factors, a person can be awarded several statuses at once.

However, how a person is perceived by others and how he perceives himself are two different things, which, however, can overlap with each other. For example, a person who comes from an aristocratic or wealthy family may consider traveling on public transport unacceptable. Representatives of lower social strata, I will consider this the appearance of snobbery, although a particular person initially did not put such meaning into his attitude. A person is able to perceive his status based on his own lifestyle, that is, an aristocrat is not a deliberately bad and rude person, he is simply accustomed to a certain way of life. Social circle and level of education also greatly influence a person’s perception of his own position in society.

High social status in modern society is ensured by five main criteria: income, wealth, education, power and prestige. In principle, these criteria have always played an important role in a person’s life, however, previously origin could be added as a sixth point. Today, to occupy a high position in the social hierarchy, you do not have to be a representative of blue blood.

Types of status

There are a small number of types of positions, but the most common types are:

• Personal state is the position occupied by people in small groups, which determines their individual qualities.
• Social state is a position that concerns an individual objectively in society. It is defined by responsibilities and rights that vest individuals regardless of their individual traits.

Within the limits of a person’s position and regardless of race, social origin, education, merit, the position is:

• Prescribed is a position in society occupied by a person regardless of his consciousness, desires, will, aspirations, which he does not control.
• Achieved is a social status acquired by an individual through his own efforts. It is like an individual’s reward for his talent, work, and determination.

There are several other types of provisions, but we will consider them separately.

Main characteristics of a social role

The main characteristics of a social role are highlighted by American sociologist Talcott Parsons.
He suggested the following four characteristics of any role. 1. By scale. Some roles may be strictly limited, while others may be blurred. 2. By method of receipt. Roles are divided into prescribed and conquered (they are also called achieved). 3. According to the degree of formalization. Activities can take place either within strictly established limits or arbitrarily. 4. By type of motivation. The motivation can be personal profit, public good, etc.

The scope of the role depends on the range of interpersonal relationships. The larger the range, the larger the scale. For example, the social roles of spouses have a very large scale, since the widest range of relationships is established between husband and wife. On the one hand, these are interpersonal relationships based on a variety of feelings and emotions; on the other hand, relations are regulated by regulations and, in a certain sense, are formal.

The participants in this social interaction are interested in a variety of aspects of each other’s lives, their relationships are practically unlimited. In other cases, when relationships are strictly defined by social roles (for example, the relationship between a seller and a buyer), interaction can be carried out only for a specific reason (in this case, purchases). Here the scope of the role is limited to a narrow range of specific issues and is small.

The way a role is acquired depends on how inevitable the role is for the person. Thus, the roles of a young man, an old man, a man, a woman are automatically determined by the age and gender of a person and do not require special efforts to acquire them. There can only be a problem of compliance with one’s role, which already exists as a given. Other roles are achieved or even won during the course of a person's life and as a result of targeted special efforts. For example, the role of a student, researcher, professor, etc. These are almost all roles related to the profession and any achievements of a person.

Formalization as a descriptive characteristic of a social role is determined by the specifics of interpersonal relationships of the bearer of this role. Some roles involve the establishment of only formal relationships between people with strict regulation of rules of behavior; others, on the contrary, are only informal; still others may combine both formal and informal relationships.

It is obvious that the relationship between a traffic police representative and a traffic rule violator should be determined by formal rules, and relationships between close people should be determined by feelings. Formal relationships are often accompanied by informal ones, in which emotionality is manifested, because a person, perceiving and evaluating another, shows sympathy or antipathy towards him. This happens when people have been interacting for a while and the relationship has become relatively stable.

Motivation depends on the needs and motives of a person. Different roles are driven by different motives. Parents, caring for the well-being of their child, are guided primarily by a feeling of love and care; the leader works for the sake of the cause, etc.

Legal status

Legal (legal) - the position of subjects in a community, which is legally enshrined, falling within certain sets of their rights and obligations. With the help of this provision, the legal relations of individuals and society, citizens and the state, and individuals with the environment are reflected. Legal status expresses the legal boundaries of individual freedom, the scope of their rights, obligations and other legal possibilities.

State position

GOST status – standards that are adopted by the standardization bodies of a member state of the Eurasian Economic Union. More broadly, this is a standard that has been adopted by the national standardization body in all states; it is accessible to a huge number of people. Each country has its own special standardization bodies that approve certain products for GOST.

Document status

This type of position is characterized by an information object corresponding to its essential feature, properties and functions. A distinctive feature is its form - the form, structure of the record and information on a tangible medium. In general, the status of a document has several definitions, there are many opinions, so there is no single concept. Based on all this, we will try to figure it out. Some sociologists argue that the position of a document is a state of information objects that has a regulated form that has legal force and is used as a tool of evidence and rational action. Various documents may lose their condition, depending on the circumstances of their use. They can also acquire this condition back.

Documents exist in different forms, for example, a “work” has the status of a document, but its stage is an autograph manuscript or an original signed in print - this is the only documentary fact confirming its authenticity. In the process of preparing for printing, the “work” loses this position and acquires a new one, which is called the state of publication. If the author of the book signed an autograph on this book, then the publication status is again lost and the status of a document is acquired. Why - you ask. But because an autograph is one of the acts of giving. A donation is considered to be a document.

In this article we have given some examples of what the status of various things looks like. We learned about how status can be acquired and lost, its types and the structure of these types. We are confident that our article gave you what you were looking for.

How it works

The operating principle of the whatsapp status function in the software is simple. The algorithm includes several main stages:

1. Installing a mobile application on a smartphone or tablet.
2. Linking a mobile phone number to your account after the initial launch.
3. Go to the services menu.
4. Click on the status display function - in the upper right corner under the avatar.
5. Indication of personal status in the form of a text message or graphic image.
6. Confirm the entry of the status by pressing the “Save” button.

Please note that when using the software function, careful attention is required.

How long does it last?

The storage period stated by the developer for the status assigned to the account is unlimited. The rule is relevant for text messengers. Graphic displays are valid for 24 hours, after which they are automatically deleted.

Who sees

By default, the status is available to all software users. The profile owner has the right to independently configure publicity. The procedure includes the following steps:

1. Go to the software services menu.
2. Selecting the section for making settings.
3. At the next stage, a subcategory of publicity settings is selected.
4. The function of user access to status in the account is activated.

Users can grant access to all users or select a group of subscribers to whom to share information.

Video length for statuses

The software allows you to indicate animation videos in the status. To familiarize yourself with the rules in detail, it is recommended to study the “FAQ” section of the mobile application. To add animation, the user needs:

1. Launch the mobile application.
2. Go to my services.
3. Click on the status entry form in your account.
4. At the next stage, at the bottom of the opened form, press the key with the image of a paper clip.
5. A video of interest is selected from the gallery of a smartphone or tablet.
6. At the next stage, the function of saving the result is pressed.

The software automatically makes additional publicity settings. If you receive a system error notification on the screen, it is recommended to replace the animated image with another one.