Social Roles
Social Problems: Social Role Questions
You in the figure- occupy many positions in society, each of which involves distinct statuses. How would you define your statuses? Which have the most influence in your life? Explain.
As with most people, I can define myself according to a cross-section of interests, aspirations and demographic associations. These form my individual status, one that features overlapping biographical characteristics such as nationality, familial background and age group as well as a wide spectrum of personal predilections formed over the course of my lifetime. I would define my statuses as both independently and collectively helping to forge my personal identity as well as my identity within such contexts as family, community and country.
Accordingly, I would consider that my Japanese nationality and my affiliation with the Asian race are defining features of my status and have had a profound influence on my life. With these statuses also comes a connection to culture, a history, a heritage and a people. My family still lives in Japanese and thus remains closely connected to our shared cultural background. And my memories and experiences from my homeland are an unparalleled influence on my values and my worldview. This helps to paint my experiences as different from those of many of my classmates at Central Washington...
For example, as a BMX rider, I have been able to form friendships with those who share this interest. This is a status that helps us to find social compatibility with one another. Another status by which I can identify myself is as a single male. This helps to define many of the activities and interests that I pursue on the weekends.
2. Which are achieved statuses and which ones are ascribed? Why? Explain.
The statuses described above demonstrate that my identity is formed by two categories of characteristic. These categories may be referred to as achieved status and ascribed status. First, it is appropriate to consider the latter of these. Ascribed statuses are those which are in one regard or another, ingrained and inherent. For instance, I make note of my Japanese nationality above. This is an ascribed status into which I was born, as is also true of my Asian racial affiliation. Another ascribed status is my age. I am 23 and, of course, this age was predetermined from the point of my birth. So too was my gender, with my male status also being an ascribed status. Features of my family size and scale also can be considered ascribed statuses. Accordingly, I have one older brother and one older sister. In many…
