Statuses are wonderful human inventions that enable us to get along with one another and to determine where we "fit" in society. In our everyday lives whenever we meet people, we always try to judge them in terms of their statuses. For example, we must judge whether the person in the library is a reader or a librarian, whether the telephone caller is a friend or a salesman and so on. Our statuses often vary with the people we meet, and change through life. Most of us can, at very high speed, assume  the different statuses that various situations require. Much of social communication consists of recognizing and selecting among proper statuses and allowing other people to assume their statuses in relation to us. This means that we fit our actions to those of other people, based on a constant mental process of assessment and understanding. Although some of us find the task more difficult than others, most of us perform _ rather easily. A status has been compared to ready-made clothes. Within certain limits the buyer can choose style and material. But an American is not free to choose the clothes of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince. We must choose from among the clothing presented by our society. Furthermore, our choice is limited to a size that will fit, as well as by our wallet. Having made a choice within these limits, we can have certain changes made. But apart from small adjustments, we tend to be limited to what the stores have on their shelves. Statuses too come ready-made, and the range of choice among them is limited. According to the writer, people often assume different statuses  _  .
in order to distinguish themselves from others in order to better recognize other people as their mental processes change as the situation changes