Track 19

Unit 3

Sociology

Social status; flaunting your success

Page 30

Extend the topic

Part A

Dr. Boyle why does scientists think that there might be a connection between social status and lifespan? Monkeys, Martin. Like us, monkeys live in very hierarchical societies and researchers have found a strong link between their position in the hierarchy and their health. Those further up the hierarchy are generally healthier and therefore, live longer.

And research has indicated the same for human societies? That’s right. A major study of government employees, for instance, found that those lower down the pecking order, the clerks, messengers, and so on were much more likely to suffer heart disease than those at the top.

Is there a direct relationship between health and status? I mean, is a person with a lot of status, a lot healthier? Yes, that seems to be the case, and even a small difference in status can have a pretty major impact on health. For example, would you believe that people with doctorate degrees live longer than those with masters degrees? Wow, really? Really. Or that individuals who are awarded Nobel prize is live longer than those who are merely nominated, 1.4 years longer to be precise. And that gap increases by another eight months when the comparisons between winners and nominees from the same country.

Huh, so presumably the prize money they won was the reason for the better health and longer life, right? You think so, wouldn’t you? But apparently the winning made the difference, not the money, researchers found. Fascinating stuff, but why? Have researchers gotten to the bottom of this?