2.2.2.3. Status and Role

The two concepts ‘status’ and ‘role’ are often seen as twin concepts. A status is simply a position in society or in a group. Every society and every group has many such positions and every individual occupies many such positions.

In sociology, 'status' refers to the position or rank that an individual holds within a society or a particular group. This position comes with certain expectations, rights, and responsibilities. It is important because it helps us understand how individuals relate to one another and what is expected of them based on their social position.

Consider a classroom. The teacher holds the status of 'educator' while the student holds the status of 'learner.' Each status defines how they should interact—teachers instruct and evaluate, while students learn and participate.

Status thus refers to the social position with defined rights and duties assigned to these positions. To illustrate, mother occupies a status, which has many norms of conduct as well as certain responsibilities and prerogatives.

While 'status' is about the position itself, 'role' refers to the behavior and actions expected from that position. Roles are dynamic and change with context. For example, a mother (status) has roles of nurturing, teaching, and providing for her children, which are expected behaviors associated with being a mother.

Think about a person having multiple roles. A single mom may have the role of a caregiver for her child, a professional at work, and also a friend. Each role requires different behaviors and interactions, highlighting how roles can vary even if the status remains the same.

Every individual in a modern complex society such as ours occupies many different kinds of status during the course of his/her life. You as a school student may be a student to your teacher, a customer to your grocer, a passenger to the bus driver, a brother or sister to your sibling and a patient to the doctor.

In contemporary societies, individuals often hold multiple statuses simultaneously, which sociologists refer to as a 'status set.' This means that a person may be categorized in different ways depending on the social context. Each status comes with distinct roles that influence behavior and expectations.

Imagine a teenager who is a student, an athlete, a sibling, and a part-time worker. Each context requires different behaviors: while playing a sport, they may take on the role of a team player; in school, they might be focused on learning; and at work, they may need to be professional. This illustrates how versatile individuals can be in managing various social roles.

An ascribed status is a social position, which a person occupies because of birth, or assumes involuntarily. The most common bases for ascribed status are age, caste, race and kinship. An achieved status on the other hand refers to a social position that a person occupies voluntarily by personal ability, achievements, virtues and choices.

Ascribed status is something you are born into (like being a daughter or son), whereas achieved status comes from your actions (like being a graduate or a professional). This distinction is crucial in sociological studies as it highlights how social mobility can occur through personal achievements, but also how certain inequalities can arise due to unchangeable aspects like race or family background.

For instance, someone born into a wealthy family may have an ascribed status of 'upper class,' while another person who works hard to earn a law degree and becomes a lawyer holds an achieved status. Their potential for social mobility is shaped by both their ascribed and achieved statuses.

People perform their roles according to social expectations, i.e. role taking and role playing. A child learns to behave in accordance with how her behaviour will be seen and judged by others. Role conflict is the incompatibility among roles corresponding to one or more status.

Role conflict occurs when the expectations of different roles clash. This often happens when an individual holds multiple statuses where the norms for each role are contradictory. For example, a working mother may struggle between fulfilling her responsibilities at work and her obligations at home, leading to stress and inner conflict.

Consider a manager who must make tough decisions at work while also wanting to be a supportive parent at home. If a child has a school event at the same time as a crucial work meeting, the manager faces a conflict between their role as a professional and as a parent, demonstrating the challenges of balancing multiple roles.

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