Achieved status
Summary
An achieved status is a social position a person earns or acquires through effort, choice, or merit, such as physician, spouse, or college graduate. It contrasts with ascribed status, which is assigned at birth or involuntarily. The key skill is sorting examples correctly.
Detail
Meaning: A status is a recognized position in society. An achieved status is one a person earns or acquires through effort, choice, or merit, such as surgeon, Olympic athlete, spouse, or college graduate. Because it depends on actions, it can usually be gained or lost over a lifetime. Societies with open stratification and social mobility emphasize achieved status, while caste systems rest mainly on ascribed status.
On the MCAT: Passages ask you to sort examples as achieved or ascribed, or to connect them to stratification and mobility. Race, sex, and age are ascribed; occupation, education, and marital status are achieved. A question may also use master status, the status that dominates how others see a person.
Common confusion: Achieved does not mean prestigious. Being a dropout or a convicted criminal is an achieved status because it results from choices. Master status is not a third type either: it can be achieved (a profession) or ascribed (race, or a disability present from birth). Some statuses blend, since wealth may be earned or inherited, so read the passage for how the position was obtained.
Sources
- Sociology: A Brief Introduction
- Essentials of Sociology
- Introduction to Sociology
Written for the MCAT and checked before it was published. For study reference only. Spotted an error? Let us know.