As part of a social group, each person occupies a certain place in the group hierarchy. This place is called social status. Even if a society has an informal character and, it would seem, does not have a clear structure and hierarchy, then all the same members of this society have different “weight”, authority, attractiveness, level of power, etc. The difference in status plays an important role in the organization of interpersonal relations and in the existence of the group.
This concept in social psychology is close to such categories as authority, prestige, role, but it does not coincide with them in meaning and has significant differences. Social status is the position that a person occupies in society. On the one hand, it is determined by his personal qualities, on the other, by those functions that the individual performs in the group.
Social status as a reflection of the individual personality traits of a person
The main factor determining the position of a person in the group hierarchy is his attractiveness to others. It is associated not with external, superficial features, but with those qualities that determine the level of the individual’s usefulness for the group. So, a kind and sympathetic person may have a low social status, because he is too timid and lack of initiative or lazy and likes to shift responsibility onto others. And on the contrary, the individual’s confidence in his abilities, activity, interest in the affairs of the group increases his status.
In different societies, status may depend on different personality traits. For example, in professional teams, special knowledge and skills are of paramount importance. In informal teenagers’ communities – self-confidence, courage and loyalty to the group; in the family – the ability to take care of others, the willingness to support, etc.
The role behavior of the individual plays an important role in the formation of social status. A role is a function of a person in a group, which includes a set of stereotypes of role behavior, responsibilities and human rights. A role is not a status, although it can influence him. And different roles can occupy different places in the group hierarchy. But at the same time, people playing the same roles in a group have different statuses. For example, students in a class, children in a large family, office workers – the role is one, but the statuses are different.
However, the formation of social status is influenced by how a person performs his functions, that is, he plays the role assigned to him in the group. Therefore, it often happens that in the informal group hierarchy, the boss has a lower status than one of his subordinates.
In psychology, authority is understood as the level of influence of a person on other members of the group. Authority can be formal and depend on the position of the individual. For example, the boss always has formal authority and has formal levers of power and control. He can provide a bonus or deprive it, assign a vacation at a convenient or inconvenient time for a subordinate, demote or promote, etc.
Informal authority is associated with status, with the position that the individual occupies in the group hierarchy. High-status individuals often have more authority and real power than officially appointed officials. Because their right to power and control is based on the respect and support of other members of the group.
One and the same person can have different statuses, not only because he is a member of different groups, but also because there are several types of statuses, determined based on different factors.
Different types of items in the group hierarchy
There are many different approaches to classifying social status. This is often associated, for example, with the goals of a specific socio-psychological research or with some specific group. The types of positions in the hierarchical structure of the group indicated here are not the only ones, but they are generally recognized.
- A given status is associated with characteristics that are not dependent on a person, but inherent in him: gender, age, nationality, etc. As a rule, the characteristics that form this type of status are of fundamental importance in the existence of a group, in joint activities or are associated with traditions.
- Personal status is determined by the individual characteristics of a person: character traits, emotional and volitional spheres, skills, knowledge and skills, motives and needs. This type of status is of greater importance in a small group and largely determines the place of a person in the system of interpersonal relations.
- The attributed status is a position of a person given from the outside, practically independent of his conscious efforts. This type includes, for example, the statuses of a teenager, mother-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, pensioner, etc. The prescribed status is very close to the corresponding social role and may change over time.
- Achieved status is a position in the group hierarchy that a person has achieved through their efforts or luck.
There is one more type of social statuses that should be discussed separately.
Sociometric statuses
Sociometry is one of the most popular methods in social psychology. This technique, authored by the American psychologist J. Moreno, allows you to build a hierarchical structure of a group and determine the status of its members.
The peculiarity of sociometric status is that it is based on the level of attractiveness of an individual for all other members of the group. Analyzing mutual preferences or choices, several positions in the group hierarchy can be distinguished:
- Sociometric Stars are the members of the group with the highest number of choices. Although the stars have considerable authority in society, most often they are not leaders – a good leader cannot be pleasant to everyone, since he often applies social sanctions. Those who occupy the top positions in the rating of attractiveness in their group may not have the qualities of a leader – organizational skills, sufficient firmness, will, etc.
- Preferred or high-status people are those people who have received a large number of choices, but fewer than the stars. They are quite popular in the group, their position is stable, the leader usually counts on their support.
- Low-status – group members who received 1-2 choices. In general, they can be satisfied with their position, since either they have at least one, but a devoted friend, or because they are part of a closed microgroup. But in group life, they do not enjoy authority and often hardly participate in it.
- Isolated – subjects that no one has chosen. Moreover, they did not receive not only positive, but also negative elections. They don’t exist at all, they are not noticed in the group. And this position is the most difficult in terms of emotional assessment. Being isolated is worse than being rejected or neglected.
- Neglected – people who are rejected by most of the group members, or who have received many negative choices. Most often, the reason for their position is personal qualities and their own negativism. Often, neglected people themselves provoke a negative reaction from the group, so as not to be isolated.
Elucidation of sociometric statuses is useful for understanding relationships in a group, but it does not fully disclose the position of each person in the system of group activities. And yet sociometric statuses are associated with personal qualities, are stable and have a strong influence on the development of the individual and her behavior in society. This explains the popularity of J. Moreno’s technique.
