Sociology terms: Statuses and Roles

Achieved statuses

DEFINITION: acquired as a result of an individual's achievement, skills and/or efforts EXAMPLE: graduating from yale will help you get a better job CONNECTION: this is the opposite of ascribed statuses

Ascribed statuses

DEFINITION: assigned due to factors beyond an individual's control EXAMPLE: you have no control over what social class you're born into, and it's hard to get out of the class after that CONNECTION: opposite of achieved status

Role Performance

DEFINITION: the actual behavior of an individual in a particular role EXAMPLE: Describes a persons performance in their job or any other role CONNECTION: Bad role performance can lead to sanctions

Role Expectations

DEFINITION: the socially determined behaviors that are expected for a particular role EXAMPLE: Mothers are supposed to do the cooking/cleaning and take care of the kids CONNECTION: Role expectations are norms

Master Status

DEFINITION: the status that most influences a person's life and social identity EXAMPLE: social class could be a master status CONNECTION: your master status could be your ascribed or achieved status

Role set

DEFINITION: the various roles expected of a single status EXAMPLE: A student must know how to act in different situations with different people (teachers vs. students vs. principle) CONNECTION: if there are too many different roles in your role set, you may feel role strain

Role Strain

DEFINITION: when an individual struggles to fulfill the expectations of a single status EXAMPLE: when you have 2 jobs it may cause role strain because you cant give them both your all CONNECTION: it is a norm to reach your full potential and so role strain makes this norm hard

Role Conflict

DEFINITION: when the role expectations of one status make it difficult for an individual to fulfill the role expectations of another status EXAMPLE: parents may struggle to fulfill their work duties when their children need rides or are sick CONNECTION: A mothers role expectation is to be a mother before being anything else, which can case role conflict at work