SOC 104 Lecture Notes - Ascribed Status, Role Theory, Talcott Parsons
Document Summary
Functionalists emphasize the importance of how norms integrate people into society. Norms are organized around statuses and roles. Status refers to positions that people hold. (i. e. a hockey player, a restaurant server, a student, a teacher, a mother). Roles refer to responsibilities that people hold based upon the positions they assume. While a status is something we occupy, a role is something that we play. A status describes what one is, while a role is something that one does. An ascribed status is one that someone is born into or imposed by nature. An achieved status is one that is earned, or chosen during the life course. For example, one may be a father, worker, and jogger at the same time. A cluster of statuses is called a status set. Status sets are not fixed as they are often reconfigured. Role conflict: this occurs when the demands of one role are at odds with another.
