Difference between Role and Status

Role

The social role is a sociological concept that refers to the behavior patterns that society imposes and expects from an individual in various situations. Its function is to separate what we are from what we represent. The theory of the role has been developed in the United States, this theory establishes that the people who participate in a certain social situation will face specific expectations that demand specific responses from them.

A role is a social creation, as well as the way in which individuals and institutions are related. The main institutions of a society are the family, religion, economy, education and politics. These institutions have implicit norms of behavior that individuals accept and that, if not followed, can cause rejection.

Status

In sociology it describes the social position that an individual occupies within a society. Can be:

Ascribed or assigned status : It is one that results from various previous social factors such as being born into a wealthy family, belonging to a specific social class or having a certain skin color.

Acquired Status: It is assigned to the person based on their merits and actions. They are positions that an individual acquires throughout his life.

Objective status: It is assigned by the culture, society or by the group where the person lives and is acquired by meeting one or more criteria that determine it.

Subjective status: It is the one that a person believes they have even without having social or cultural approval.

Differences between role and status

• The role is the role or behavior that an individual adopts at a specific time or during part of his life. It is part of the expectations that are held before society.
• The role is the behavior that is expected of an individual within their status.
• Status defines the social position an individual has within their society.
• Status is a social condition that is acquired according to several variables.