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Status

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Synonyms

Rank; Social standing

Definition

The prominence, respect, or esteem that an individual has in the minds of others. The evaluation of where a given individual stands with regard to whatever the basis of respect or esteem may be in a particular group or society.

Introduction

Status plays a key role in understanding how individuals organize themselves in groups. The term status is applicable to many different dimensions of everyday life, all defined by what is considered valuable and powerful in the minds of others. Some measures of status, like race and gender, are immutable to the self. Others, such as socioeconomic status and social status, are less fixed over time and can shift as an individual progress through life. In general, status as related to individual differences and personality serves as a reference point for an individual’s behaviors and thoughts. Having a higher status in groups reliably results in numerous benefits, most notably control or access to better...

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References

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Correspondence to Catherine Cottrell .

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Quintanilla, E., Cottrell, C. (2020). Status. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1847

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