Social Interaction
Everyone has a certain status that they associate with, whether as a parent, child, or even an employer. The position or title one occupies in a social class is called one’s status (Anon n.d.). One’s role is the precise responsibilities that one is expected to carry out in that social circle (Anon n.d.). Role and status are closely connected. According to sociology, in any culture, a person can have occupational statuses such as teacher, doctor, driver, and household statuses such as son, father, daughter, and so on. Statuses are often determined socially and culturally; however, they are occasionally defined physiologically, such as ethnicity and sex. Some positions are generally set, and a person can do little to modify his specific functions. Gender and aristocratic statuses, for example, cannot be changed.
Statuses in societies are supported by standards that describe how a person in a certain position is supposed to behave. This set of conventions is referred to as a role. The specific society’s cultural context defines Roles and statuses. Every status attained or inherited comes with certain privileges and duties (Anon n.d.). A role is the anticipated conduct of a person who has a specific rank or social rank. It allows for the identification and placement of individuals within a social structure. The role also helps as a coping method for dealing with the roles of others and recurring circumstances.
Status equates to power or reputation (Anon n.d.). Every member of a society or community has some actions and duties connected with some level of authority. A person can have different statuses according to their social settings. An example of status is engagement as an employer in society; the role is what one does. One performs a variety of things such as hiring and firing employees, equipping and training the employees, and providing a conducive working environment. One can also have the status of a daughter. Roles one carries out as a daughter include: obeying their parents, making their parents proud, and helping with household chores. Another status one can hold is that of a student, and some of the roles are outstanding behavior, achieving academic standards, and being timely and respectful. A social system is a well-organized combination of status and roles.
Role strain is rather typical since we frequently find ourselves trying to fulfil various roles that require distinct sets of actions simultaneously (Anon n.d.). People might also suffer role conflict when two positions have mutually incompatible needs. When people are stressed in one job, they experience role strain, whereas role conflict arises when two or perhaps more roles conflict. Role strain occurs if, for example, one has to fire an employee as an employer, which is uncomfortable, but it is one’s duty. The roles performed as a student may conflict with those of a daughter in that the student must choose to either be in school or need to help out their ailing parents.
Both status and roles are a part of everyone’s life. Balancing all the roles one has to play is a challenging task, and one might have to forego some chores to carry out the essential ones. Statuses are occupied, such as students and parents. At the same time, roles are carried out, such as studying as a student—the different statuses and roles depending on the social settings around the person. Roles and statuses are closely related because status is a position of power or rank, while roles are the duties one carries out according to their ranking.
References
Anon. n.d. “Definitions and the Development of Theory in Social Psychology – Jane Sell, 2018.” Retrieved April 20, 2022 (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0190272518755335).
Anon. n.d. “Principles of Sociology 2017 Fall Samblanet.Pdf.”
Anon. n.d. “Traditional Masculinity Ideology, Conformity, Gender Role Conflict, and Protective Traits: A Testable Model Based on the Gender Role Strain Paradigm – ProQuest.” Retrieved April 20, 2022 (https://www.proquest.com/openview/04b5a99dbf1caa4b09c2355f7e94de23/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y).