Social Status
Write a 500 or more word paper that provides a critical analysis and evaluation of 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 different conflict or strain than you?

· Discuss any differences that you notice.

· What future statuses do you expect for your life?

· How will these be different in personal identification and conflict or strain from your current statuses?

According to the social interaction theory, there are three main kinds of social status that can be held by an individual. Social status refers to the position held by an individual in a group or in society. Certain positions in society are considered more prestigious than others. The three main kinds of social status discussed in the theory include the ascribed, achieved and master statuses.

Ascribed status refers to positions in a social structure that are not achieved or earned, but are rather assigned to an individual at birth. Ascribed status refers to positions that are born with an individual. Social status such as race, gender, and age are classified under ascribed positions since an individual is born with such status.

Achieved status refers to the position that an individual acquires, earns or chooses to have. An achieved status overly reflects the achievement and efforts of an individual. The position can either be one that an individual is proud of or not. Positions such as a doctorate, athletic titles and leadership positions are referred to as achieved since one is required to make efforts to accomplish the positions.

Master status refers to a position within the societal system that influences and affects most parts of an individual’s life. The master social status can either be ascribed or achieved, however, it refers to one that all or most social interactions will influence. Master status influences every other aspect of life, including the personal identity of an individual.