Exploring Personal and Generational Statuses- A Critical Analysis of Ascribed, Achieved, and Master Roles
An ascribed status refers to a social position in which one was born (Benokraitis, 2019). I am a 47-year-old African American male with one brother and a sister. These are some of the statuses that are ascribed to me. On the other hand, an achieved status is a social position that one might willingly assume or achieve through personal effort. Some of these include being college graduates, employees, and mothers. One can control and change these statuses. Accordingly, my achieved status includes being a husband, a father, a student, and an employee. I was also born into an underprivileged family, but I am relatively better in terms of wealth through my hard work and could consider myself in the middle-class status. A master status is said to override all the other statuses and is a significant part of one’s social identity. It is normally instantly evident, creates the greatest impression, influences other people’s perceptions, and eventually shapes one’s whole life (Benokraitis, 2019). My master’s status is my career as a social worker. Our assignment writing help is at affordable prices to students of all academic levels and disciplines.
My parent’s master status was a farmer. They led a humble life as farmers and often supplied the community with some of the crops from the farm. They also did not further their education and were relatively poor.
My family members hold a different personal identification status for me as they did for my parents. For instance, given that I have furthered my education and I have a job that is better paying compared to that of my parents, my family members hold me in higher regard, and my job also helps form a big part of my master status.
My grandparents experienced a different role conflict than I do. Role conflict is conflict among or between roles that correspond to more than one status held by a single person (Nickerson, 2021). For instance, my grandfather was the firstborn son and was expected to take care of his younger siblings. When he was older and got married, he also needed to fulfill his obligations as a husband and father, and his workplace also required him to be productive. All these put a strain on him as he had difficulty balancing his roles. In my case, my major conflict is between balancing family with school and work. My siblings are old enough and have good jobs, so they can take care of themselves. My children are also old enough and are barely dependent on me. Therefore, my major conflict is how to be a committed husband, student, and employee at the same time.
I expect to be retired, a grandfather, and wealthy in the future. It is also possible to attain the status of being a widow. These statuses will add to and reduce some of the conflicts and roles that I currently have. For instance, once I retire, I will lose the status of being an employee, which will mean spending more time on myself and my wife. However, if I lose my wife, I will attain the status of a widow and lose the status of a husband, which will take off my responsibilities as a husband. If my children get children of their own, I will attain the status of a grandfather and take on a grandfather’s responsibilities. However, I do not expect any conflicts in my roles as these roles will be reduced.
References
Benokraitis, N.V. (2019). SOC. Introduction to Sociology. Cengage Learning.
Nickerson, C. (2021). What is Role Strain? Definition and Examples. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/what-is-role-strain-in-sociology.html#:~:text=Key%20Takeaways%3A%20Role%20Strain&text=Role%20strain%20describes%20the%20stress,to%20take%20on%20different%20behaviors.
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Question
Social Status
Write a 500 or more word paper that critically analyzes and evaluates the following questions.
What are some of your ascribed, achieved, and master statuses?
How are these different from your parents or grandparents?
Do family, work, or other activities hold the same personal identification status for you as they did for your parents or grandparents?
Additionally, in your paper, discuss any differences that you notice.
· Did your parents or grandparents experience a different conflict or strain than you?
· Discuss any differences that you notice.
· What future statuses do you expect for your life?
· How will these differ in personal identification and conflict or strain from your current status?