Status and Role
Generally, the status of a person tries to understand someone’s status, to whom the status of any person is high or low. But when we look at society from a scientific point of view, the position that any person gets in the social system at a particular time is called the social status of that person. For example, if a person is a teacher or a doctor, it is a social situation. Each situation is associated with a number of tasks called roles. For example, a teacher’s job is to teach and test, these are the roles of a teacher. (ASupelapbelonb) Status is a scientific and important concept of sociology. It is the basis of society, in its absence, the social system cannot be imagined. This is why Beersteed said
“Society is a network of social conditions.” It is clear on the basis that society is not a group of individuals but a system of conditions. Also the dynamic role of the conditions that make up the social structure. We have tried to define it in different ways.
Beersteed wrote that society is a network of social conditions. “Many conditions combine to form the whole society systematically. Among those who reveal important ideas about social status and role Sociologists such as Linton, Hiller, Murton, Parsons and Davis are prominent.
Meaning and definition of status:
To understand the concept of status we will mention here some definitions presented by various scholars.
According to Linton, ‘under social order, the position that a person gets at a particular time is called the social status of that person.
According to John Levy, ‘in a social structure, the name of the entirety of positions in the institution of an individual or group is the status quo. ‘
According to Bearstead, “Generally a status is a position in a society or a group.”
According to Ogburn and Nimkoff, the simplest definition of status is that it represents the position of the individual in the group.
According to Elliot and Meryl, ‘status is the designation of a person that a person receives it in a group due to his gender, income, family, class, occupation, marriage or efforts etc.
According to the MacIver and page, ‘status is a social term that determines the individual’s qualities and the amount of respect, prestige and influence of a person, apart from social service.
It is clear from the above definitions that status is indicative of the position of the individual in the society. The person can get this position on the basis of their merits and abilities. The position of one person is always compared to the position of other people. Person alone has no status. That is, when we say that a person is a teacher, it means that some of his students are also.
Essential elements of status and role
1 The same situation and role is maintained by different people in their own way.
2 The concept of status and role can only be understood in the context of other people. The status and role of one person is related to the positions and roles of other people who are influenced by them.
3 Every society has a status and by factors and values related to it. Culture itself determines who will be given which status and what role it will play.
4 A person wears many situations at one time, but he is not able to maintain all with equal ability and efficiency.
5 Each situation is associated with a particular value and prestige that is determined by culture. For example, in Western countries, women have a higher reputation than India.
6 Each position and role is only one part of a person’s entire social office. A person achieves many conditions in the society simultaneously and plays his role accordingly on various occasions.
On the basis of status and role, the whole society is divided into various status groups. On the basis of these conditions – groups, we can find out the characteristics of a society.
8 There are certain statuses provided in the society which a person gives to the society itself and on the other hand some statuses are achieved by the person by his ability and efforts.
9 Due to the high and low conditions in the society, social stratification and differentiation can arise which can be in vertical (Horizontal) or Horizontal form.
Essential Elements and characteristics of Status
1 Situation cannot be separated from role (Status can not be Isolated Form Role Status is defined as role if society does not have requirements. Situations are not required to perform roles. Access to computers in tribal villages No, and this is because they do not need to be tall, and therefore do not require computer engineers or programmers in this society. This means that any situation is like two aspects of imagination.
2 Status is Relative. Any situation in itself is of no importance, it is always relative. Relative because the relation of status related tasks to society and its groups
Happens with. The status of the doctor is linked to the disease. If he is not ill, then what is the meaning of the doctor, the teacher is not a student. Any situation is meaningless in its own right, it becomes important only when it is consumed. That the villagers do not have the habit of eating and drinking in such hotels. The fact is that any situation is important only when the tasks (roles) associated with it are important for other situations. In this sense, the characteristic of the situation is relative.
3 Status is a manifestation of socialization. It is common that in societies where the division of labor is very common, the conditions are minimal, the more the metropolis the city is, the more it will be in the metropolitan and capitalistic cities. It is only in the field of medicine that there is a lot of specialized medicine. A doctor is a doctor of ear, nose, throat, someone of the heart and someone of the eyes or bones, people who hold different positions in the general society are all-rounders. The conditions of the cities are specific in that the stratification of society becomes more sharpened.
4 Status is Prestige We are reiterating that status quo is associated with the needs of society, and status is also associated with performance. It is called role. The situation whose working society requires more important education. The society considers that situation high and also gives its high salary, the status is linked to the status, respect, respect, etc., the status is evaluated or its reputation. The status of the pilot in society is prestigious, with a lot of riskiness and risk associated with it. But in every sense there is no status without prestige. Reputation cannot be seen as different from status.
5 Situation is the definition of the essentials of society (Tribals living in the Trobyand island) go to hunt fish in their boats. Melinowski explains that these tribesmen have to bear many dangers in the sea, they are afraid that stormy waves of the sea may never swallow their boat. To avoid this part, tie the boat with magic. The need of society here is to prepare the status of sorcerers.
This means that all the conditions in the society are for the fulfillment of the needs of the society.
Kinds of Status
1.Ascribed Status – Situations that a person receives from his society without any effort on their own are called conferred statuses and also clearly due to being born in a particular family or in a traditional way. By being valid when a person has received many specific status, he is given the status of given status. For example, in the caste structure, the Brahmins gain a higher status from a traditional view or a lower status for the Shudras only because of this. That they are born in certain special families. Similarly, the status that a father or mother attains is a position accepted by tradition since a person is a mon or father. For this reason, the society gives him a special status, which is called as the status. These given conditions go through many situations after birth. For example, after birth, the child has the status of an infant, then the child or girl is followed by the young man or girl after marriage, then the husband or wife is followed by the father or mother and the end It is worth mentioning that the conditions provided by each society are in accordance with the universal rules, although their development is different according to the universal rules. Societies have different ways according to their personal circumstances.
- Achieved status – The positions or positions that a person achieves through his personal efforts are called earned status. In fact, successes and failures are found in the individual fields of every society. Successful people achieve high status in society while unsuccessful people remain in low status, thus their social status depends on the ability and efforts of the individual . For example, if an illiterate person today becomes a scholar by his personal efforts in the future and attains a high status in society, then it will be his earned status once more in this regard and it is necessary to achieve such earned status. Not that a person must get social facilities, always some people in the society are so enlightened, progressively skilled and important that even if they do not get any kind of facility, they acquire important conditions like social leaders, that is why every era There are people who create history and have the ability to change the entire social structure in such a way that the nature of society changes. And they themselves get the highest social status. Hitler, Mussolini, Gandhi, Sabha. Life of Jawaharlal, Lal Bahadur etc. is a witness to this.
Bases of determination of Ascribed Status
The status of any person is determined on several grounds. Some of the major grounds for determining the status provided are as follows.
1 Birth: – Depending on which family caste or species the person is born, the status is also determined. The social status of those born in upper castes has been higher than those of lower families and untouchable castes.
2 Kindship: – On the basis of kinship one gets many situations. A person has relationship with his parents and blood relatives. He attains many situations only because of being relative to him. Situations related to kinship are given because we do not choose our parents and siblings. Kinship is a mixed form of both biological and cultural facts. We get many positions in the society only through parents. The king’s son assumes the kingdom. We handle our parents’ class, religion and sometimes even business. The basis of caste is born in India.
3 Age Difference: – – Like sex, age distinction is also a definite and obvious physical symptom but is also a variable fact. In all the cultures of the world, on the basis of age, the status difference is found, age is divided into levels of infant, child, youth, adult and old. Different conditions are provided to people of different ages in the society and it is also necessary to have a certain age for a particular situation. The distinction between elder brother and younger brother is dependent on age. Older people are often respected more in society than children. But age is not always important in determining the status, but with it gender, person’s qualities, kinship, ability, education, property and cultural basis are also associated.
4 Sex Dichatomy: – The sex of the baby is definite and directly visible physical signs at birth, which remain lifelong. In almost all cultures, there is a difference in the positions and roles of men and women. Generally, the position of men is found to be higher than that of women. In Western culture, women are considered weak, soft, passionate, easygoing believers, religious and monogamous. In India also, the status of women has been lower than men and they are considered as abla, maid, and property.
5 Caste and Race: – Caste is the main basis for determining the status of a person in India. The status of those born in the higher castes such as Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas is considered to be higher than those born in the Shudra and untouchable castes. Similarly, social status of white people is considered higher compared to black and yellow species.
6 Physical Ability: – Many situations are provided to a person based on his physical characteristics. A beautiful person is better than black and ugly, stronger than the weak, and sicker than a sick person, and a healthy and capable person has a higher social status than a person. .
Achived Status: – Education, occupation, wealth accumulation, marriage, division of labor, etc. are related to earned conditions. On the basis of success and failure of the person, he also gets social prestige. In general, compassionate, intelligent, capable, talented, courageous and powerful give all importance to a person. Prof. Debis says that such people are always in the society who are so clever, talented, powerful, capable and ambitious that after conquering many obstacles they become the leaders of the society. The history of each country and every society is illuminated by their immortal names. They create history, they are in front of controlling other people and bringing changes in society, so they make their important place in society.
Basis of Determination of Achieved Status
Some of the major base of earned status are as follows –
1 Education: – BA, MA and diploma and trained person have higher status than educated and less educated person compared to illiterate.
2 Occupation: – Business also determines the social status of an individual. IAS, Doctor, Engineer, Professor’s post, peon, mill worker, farmer and shoe-maker are considered to be higher.
3 Wealth: – Property is an important factor in determining the rank of a person. A person has a high or low status only on the basis of having or not possessing property, often the social status of the bourgeoisie is higher than that of the poor. In the modern era, people who have more material comforts are considered higher. The status of a person is not determined only by wealth. But it is also seen how that property has been acquired.
4 Achievements: – Various achievements achieved by a person’s hard work also determine his social status. These achievements can be in the field of religious, social, political, educational, economic and sports etc.
5 Marriage: – Marriage also provides many conditions to a person. On getting married, husband – wife, parents and other situations like brother-in-law, jawai, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law etc. are obtained.
6 Political Authority: – On the basis of political power, distinction is made between the ruler and the governed. People with power and political rights have higher status than ordinary people. In democracy, people belonging to the ruling party and leading leaders of the opposition party have high social status.