Study Status

The Words of Wisdom this week are Study Status. We all know what status is, it comes from power, attractiveness, being admired or having social standing. And it also comes as a personal quality, an inner feeling of being important or unimportant. People of high personal status appear to be effortlessly superior; those with low status put themselves down and defer to others. Certain areas of work - selling, teaching - demand skill in adjusting status; it must be high enough to be respected but not so high as to be overbearing. Also it's important to be able to raise the status of others which is a function of praise (or flattery.) In drama, status is always an important factor and shifts in the status of characters are particularly important.

Here are some characteristics of high status behaviour. Being upright and still. Spreading the body. Not fidgeting or touching the face. Employing strong gaze. Blanking people, or not checking their reaction to something you've said. Speaking slowly, confidently and in complete sentences. In each case, low status behaviour is the opposite. Shouting is generally low status behaviour. It implies struggling to be in charge of a situation and not controlling oneself, but a sudden, fierce shout, commanding attention, might be high status. There are certain behaviours that might be described as 'status gambles', for example dressing or behaving inappropriately in a situation. This is as if to say "I'm so important that I don't have to keep the rules." If one's personal status is high enough to carry this off, then that status is confirmed, but if it fails then one's status is diminished.

This is a rich field of study and a knowedge of it can be very valuable in many areas of life, so Study Status.