The attainment of achieved status is achieved through each individual’s own talent, choice or activity (Michael Young)

What is social status

A person's position in relation to others is called social status. It depends on a number of signs. Each society dictates its own criteria. Social status gives a person the power that a position in a hierarchical system provides. Also, the role of the individual is dictated by financial savings and the size of property. The social group makes demands on him that explain his responsibilities.

By combining characteristics, we can define social status. This is a place in the hierarchy created in society, depending on the characteristics chosen by it, prescribing to fulfill duties and demand respect for rights.

History of social statuses in Russia

In the Russian Empire, social statuses were fixed in documents and indicated as “rank.” Here are some of them:

• peasant,
• tradesman,
• personal honorary citizen,
• hereditary honorary citizen,
• personal nobleman,
• hereditary nobleman.

In the Soviet Union, social statuses were fixed in documents about:

• peasant (residents of rural settlements who are engaged in agriculture, without education);
• worker (no education);
• employee (higher education or certificate from a technical school).

When entering a job (service), they filled out a personal personnel registration form, which included a column for “social origin.” Usually this column was filled out like this: “from peasants”, “from workers”, “from employees”. As a rule, the social status of the head of the family was indicated.

The difference between social role and status

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Social role is a set of actions that a person must perform in order to follow his status. This is the image that society creates and prescribes to a certain individual, a model of his behavior collected by the environment. His duty is to strictly follow the rules.

Note! Social status can be described as a place, a position, and a role is an action. It is determined by human behavior. The purpose of a role is to correspond to the status that is represented by a certain level.

A company director is a social status that gives him power and the ability to manage the company’s finances. His role is leadership. He must ensure that the rights and responsibilities of employees are respected.

The role of a person in society and the concepts associated with his position are studied in social science. Already at school, children learn how education, family ties and behavior of a person determine his place in life, subsequently providing prosperity and the ability to influence the environment.

What does status in society depend on?

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Position in society is a multifaceted characteristic. Already at birth, a person is assigned to a social stratum, which is determined by his nationality, gender, and race. This is a permanent aspect that is almost impossible to change.

Race

Note! Family and origin influence the role of an individual in the social hierarchy. The peculiarity of the prescribed status is that it is not determined by the desires of a person, he simply becomes its owner.

Throughout life, an individual’s activities and social circle change. Each society or social group gives him rights and responsibilities. He becomes hostage to the expectations of the environment and either lives up to them or not, earning a new social status. It is achieved through one’s own efforts and depends on the level of education, skills, professional qualities, worldview, and the ability to find a common language with others.

Role conflict and its types

Role conflict is a situation in which a person is faced with the need to satisfy the demands of two or more incompatible roles.

Let's look at three types of role conflicts in the table.

What are the social statuses?

Any person has several social statuses. All characteristics form a single image of an individual. The main thing remains the position that gives a person power and depends on his wealth and financial well-being.

The social status that a person is born with is called innate, and determined by family ties is called ascribed. They do not depend on a person’s actions and will appear to him in any case.

Due to differences in birth status, people have different rights, which determines inequality in society, dividing it into classes. Often this affects a person’s adaptability to the surrounding reality, his skills and desire to achieve his goals. People with higher inherent and ascribed status tend to be better off in life. But this does not negate perseverance, hard work and talent, which can change one’s position in the social hierarchy. Skills and abilities acquired through one's own labor are valued more than wealth or manners attributed to family ties.

Innate, assigned and achieved are the main types into which social statuses are usually divided.

The main indicators that determine the place and role in society are:

• Position held: director or leading specialist, head of department, chief accountant;
• Received rank. In the creative profession, this is an Honored or People's Artist. In the service, achievements are determined by military rank: lieutenant or lieutenant colonel. Public sector workers are also noted, for example, an honored teacher;
• Academic degree, for example, bachelor, master, candidate or doctor of science.

master

Note! Status obtained as a result of an individual's merit is considered acquired or achieved. It was created through our own efforts and is a reward for work. The main thing is to set a goal and go towards it, then the acquired status will make you forget about the position assigned to a person from birth.

A person always has unstable statuses, depending on his role in life and circumstances:

• he can be a husband and father of children;
• act as a witness or spectator;
• be a patient or a doctor.

These are all temporary social statuses that are not related to the main thing. Small social groups and an individual’s close circle endow him with certain qualities, creating personal status. It reflects an opinion formed about a person, depending on behavior. There is a concept of group social status, which presupposes belonging to a profession or a nation.

Elderly people are also considered a separate social group. Meanwhile, the status of pensioners varies. It depends on the benefit received, and it, in turn, is determined by the level of income and length of service. High social status is required to ensure a decent income in old age.

Concept of social status

The most important element in the life and activity of any individual is his social position.
It determines a person’s status, his social roles, and areas of activity. The influence of members of society on each other, their life activity, development and improvement depends on it. Definition 1

Social status is the status of an individual, determined by his marital status, official and professional role, origin, gender, social role.

Social status is formed based on the financial status of the individual, his age, gender, education, existing abilities and skills, and creative potential.

Also, the social position that an individual receives in society can be determined based on the customs and traditions of a particular nation or state as a whole.

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Note 1

It is worth noting that social position does not determine a person’s membership in a particular social group. Members of the same social group can have completely different social positions.

Depending on the position occupied, a person is assigned to a certain social class.

Social position is characterized by a hierarchical structure, i.e. There are several levels that a person can occupy in society.

Let's consider the levels of social status:

1. Natural position. This is the status an individual received at birth. This includes: gender, race, nationality. These criteria determine a certain social role that a person will perform throughout his life. Innate social position is stable and unchangeable.
2. Acquired position. This is the status that a person acquires in the course of his life. This includes his career and achievements in it, level of financial security, and position held. A person achieves this position through his efforts, intellectual and physical qualities, and talents. This situation is characterized by instability, i.e. it can change during the life process, both for the better and for the worse.
3. Prescribed position. It is provided to a person, regardless of his aspirations and interests, actions and deeds. This situation can be determined based on the age specifics of personality development, or reflect its origin. The status of such a person can be either innate or acquired.

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What is status incompatibility?

Status incompatibility is the different position of an individual in social groups. In one society he is in good standing, occupying high positions, enjoying respect and power. Among members of another social group, he is located at the lowest level of the hierarchy. An example is a banker whose social position obliges him to manage thousands of subordinates. They respect him, appreciate him and even fear him. At home, his wife humiliates him in every possible way and does not rely on his opinion. A similar attitude develops in children towards their father.

Spouse disrespect

Additional Information. If a person is stuck in an intermediate position, a prerequisite for the development of marginality arises. This happens when an individual is conditionally in a certain group, but does not accept its values, and exists on the edge. Or he left one society, refusing to obey its orders, but never chose the right one. He lives based on his own norms and rules, trying to combine them with the existing structure of society. This situation is fraught with the development of mental disorders.

Lumpens are another type of people who unsuccessfully left a social group. They lost their position and did not find a new one, finding themselves left behind in life. These are people who are outside of classes and strata of society.

Status incompatibility often arises when a person tries to move up the hierarchy created in society. He breaks away from his friends, changes his social circle, but is not necessarily accepted and appreciated, despite his achievements in the profession. A person grows up the career ladder, while the team does not respect him, but despises him in every possible way. He gets irritated, suffers from this, quarrels with his wife. The spouse, in turn, can also change her attitude towards her partner, based on his behavior: she begins to avoid him, ignores comments, and shows less attention. Thus, the high status provided by the position held is combined with a low position in the team and in the role of husband.

With status incompatibility, an individual does not enjoy the rights given to him in one society while being in another social group. They come into conflict. Deputies, called upon to represent the interests of the people, cannot engage in business and make a profit. Or a short example when a woman wants to combine work and motherhood and cannot perform equally well in both roles. The stereotypical opinion imposes on her the image of a housewife, which she tries to fight. She becomes a successful worker at the expense of time taken away from her family. Accordingly, children and husband experience a lack of attention and care, seeing a tired and exhausted mother and wife in the evenings. The assigned responsibilities cannot be fulfilled at the proper level in both areas. Increasing status in the profession leads to the infringement of household responsibilities, for which there is too little time and energy left, because you have to be at work more and more often.

Tired mom

It is considered incompatible when a person does not live up to the expectations placed on him by society. For example, a goalkeeper is seen drinking alcoholic beverages and smoking. An athlete is perceived as a person who leads a healthy lifestyle, who will not let you down and lives by training.

Note! Incompatibility of statuses causes the individual to suffer. He feels disadvantaged, unable to fully realize himself. Experiences disappointment in his own life, blaming himself or the environment for it.

A state of inadequacy and uncertainty leads to depressive thoughts and social tension that can develop into large-scale conflict. Similar problems are addressed by psychology, aimed at eliminating contradictions, intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts.

How to improve your social status

People with low social status are most often aggressive against their environment:

• They take any negative statement personally and try to defend themselves;
• It seems to them that threats await them everywhere, which leads to the development of suspiciousness and anxiety;
• They are unattractive for communication, they have few friends and problems in their personal lives.

It is common for humans to want to improve their social status. You need to start with developing your abilities and professional skills. Only an educated person is able to climb the social ladder. It is necessary to be sociable and pleasant in communication. A person who enjoys power and respect cannot speak rudely using a limited vocabulary. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. But do not forget about the culture of communication and business etiquette. Appearance must also correspond to status; this is an important link in creating an image. This means you need to understand where you can come in casual clothes, and what event requires you to dress in a formal suit and wear a tie.

It is important to have an example of a successful person before your eyes - someone you want to emulate. He charges you with positivity and motivates you to work. Hard work, perseverance, and ambition will help you reach unprecedented heights. The main thing is to purposefully complete the assigned tasks without being distracted by trifles.

Focus on the goal

Constantly working on yourself, improving your skills, obtaining additional education, and expanding your social circle require a lot of time and effort. Don’t forget about your health, you need to control your diet, diet and give up bad habits. The condition of the body is the key to good health and success in all endeavors.

Ways to change status

When a person's position in society changes, they talk about social mobility:

• Horizontal, when the status is preserved, the personality remains at the same level of the hierarchy. For example, changing citizenship;
• Vertical, in which the individual moves up the social ladder created by society, for example, receives a promotion.

There is another type of change:

• Individual mobility, when a change in status depends on the actions of a particular person. He makes his own way into life;
• Collective mobility involves the transition to a new level in entire groups; it is considered prescribed.

A change in social status occurs within one generation or beyond, when the son of a simple carpenter becomes the director of a metallurgical plant. This type of mobility is called intergenerational mobility. With intragenerational changes, the status concerns one person, for example, a seamstress becomes a chief accountant.

Social status determines the individual’s place in the created hierarchy. Being on the top rungs of the ladder guarantees him power and financial well-being. These are the main characteristics of the main social status. It is bestowed at birth and depends on race, nationality, and family ties. But in modern society, status earned through one’s own labor is much more valuable. When a person, engaged in growth and development, has reached the highest level of power and conscientiously performs the actions of the social role assigned to him.

Determining the target audience

Now some of you will sigh languidly, roll your eyes and say: “Here we go again.” Yes, I know. Even the lazy ones have already written about how to correctly determine the target audience. And yet, some still believe that their target audience is women from 25 to 50 years old, living everywhere. No, you need to dig deeper.

Analysis of the target audience is where the work begins, and what it will be further built on. Therefore, you need to take this seriously.

Target audience segmentation

Psychologist Valentina Ivanovna decided to start writing an expert blog on Instagram. Over 15 years of practice, she has accumulated enough experience and stories that she could share with the audience. There are not many interesting blogs about psychology on Instagram, and therefore Valentina Ivanovna has every chance to interest people. Which ones?

All these groups of people in the diagram are segments of the potential target audience of psychologist Valentina Ivanovna, which are divided according to several criteria. Let's take a look at them.

We segmented the audience of psychologist Valentina Ivanovna according to socio-demographic and psychographic characteristics. There are enough of them to understand who will be interested in what content.

For example, Valentina Ivanovna can hook young psychologists with complex cases from practice, solving problems that psychologists face along the way, or general problems of the profession. A constantly quarreling married couple - with advice on strengthening relationships and smoothing out conflicts; managers - with advice on competent interaction with employees. Valentina Ivanovna, of course, will not write for all segments - it will turn out to be a mess. She will select several related ones and begin to develop a content plan.

To segment the target audience of the Troechka grocery store blog, we will need all 4 groups of characteristics, because the niche is specific - it is more difficult to engage the audience. There is little reason for people to be active on a grocery store account, and this can be seen in the blogs of Russian supermarkets: many have low activity. There are 10 or several thousand likes under publications. Let's think about why people should comment on a photo of a can of green peas or a post about a herring promotion? How should they react to this? No way. They will read and move on. Only good content can hook you and bring you to a reaction. To make one, you need to clearly understand who it is being made for.

So, why segment your target audience?

Firstly, the potential audience is large and diverse. It’s not possible to create content for all people at once. More precisely, it can be done, but there is a high probability that no one will be interested in it. Knowing its segments will help you start working with content in the right direction.

Secondly, even if the post is interesting, there is no guarantee that people will react to it. People can read, take note and move on to the next post. And, at the same time, the most ordinary post can cause hundreds of comments. If we want to create posts that people react to, we must sew hooks into them that will hook them, evoke emotions and a desire to express their opinion. To do this, you need to know the characteristics of representatives of each segment.

Another important point we need to consider is social statuses. Let's talk about them.

Social statuses

Many people forget that representatives of the target audience have social statuses.

• Prescribed social statuses - nationality, place of birth, social origin.
• Achievable – education, profession, position, material wealth, marital status, etc.

When creating a content plan for our target audience, we often focus on only one social status. For example, professions. Of course, a content plan compiled in this way can turn out to be interesting. On the other hand, by using several different statuses, we can make it even cooler and involve a lot more people.

Imagine Igor, a typical representative of the target audience of a marketing blog. Marketer, works in a small furniture manufacturing company. I got a job there out of great love: I have been not indifferent to interior design since childhood. I enjoy reading posts on my favorite blog, but sometimes I go to the left: I want something new.

What else do we know about Igor?

Judging by his Instagram posts, Igor has 2 children: a girl and a boy. Divorced. Igor lives in Krasnoyarsk, but was born in a small village and comes to visit his mother once every six months, as evidenced by geolocation, and he himself – in stories.

Let's take a less abstract example: Rick Sanchez. Let's look again at what social statuses a person (or a cartoon) can have.

I think the idea is clear. The more social roles we include in the content plan, the higher the engagement and activity of subscribers will be.

We figured out the target audience. Now let's choose the topic of the post.

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