Status
A status is a socially defined position in a group or society characterized by certain expectations, rights, and duties. Statuses exist independently of the specific people occupying them (Linton. 1936); the statuses of professional athlete, rock musician, professor. college student. and homeless person all exist exclusive of the specific individuals who occupy these social positions. For example. although thousands of new students arrive on college campuses each year to occupy the status of first-year student. the status of college student and the expectations attached to that position have remained relatively unchanged for the past one hundred years.
Take a moment to answer the question am I?" determine who you are, you mills about your social identity. which is derived l the statuses you occupy and is based on your status set. A status set comprises all the statuses that a person occupies at a given time. For example. Maria may be a psychologist. a professor. a wife. a mother. a Catholic. a school volunteer. a Texas resident. and a Mexican American. All of these socially defined positions constitute her status set
