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Sociology vocabulary · Social Structure and Institutions

Ascribed status

Meaning in sociology, with examples

nounCommon term

In sociology, ascribed status means: A social position given to a person at birth or later in life without any effort or choice on their part, such as sex, age, ethnicity or family background.

In Turkish: atfedilen statü, verili statü, doğuştan statü

How it is used

Usually taught together with achieved status, a pair introduced by the anthropologist Ralph Linton in 1936. Traditional societies are often described as giving more weight to ascribed status, and modern societies to achieved status.

Example sentences

  1. In a feudal society, being born a noble was an ascribed status.

  2. Age is an ascribed status that changes over the life course.

Common collocations

  • ascribed and achieved status
  • based on ascribed status
  • ascribed characteristics
  • achieved statusA social position that a person gains through their own effort, skills or choices, such as a university degree, a profession or a political office.
  • statusA social position that a person occupies, such as student, mother or doctor, which comes with expected behaviour and a certain level of respect.
  • social stratificationThe way a society ranks groups of people in layers, or strata, so that some have more wealth, power and prestige than others.
  • social mobilityMovement of individuals or groups between positions in a social hierarchy, for example when someone from a working-class family gets a professional job.

More terms: Social Structure and Institutions

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