1

GCSE
SOCIOLOGY
REVISION GUIDE
AND HOMEWORK
TASK BOOK
Name __________________________

Make sure you use your key words booklets for 4

mark questions and the learning platform to see
ideal answers
2

The Exam:

You will do two exams – 1 hour 30 minutes each:

• _____________ - Paper 1 – Studying society (basically key words and

research methods), Families, Education

• ____________ - Paper 2 - Crime, Mass Media and Social Inequality

How to answer the questions

4 marks - ‘Explain’ a key word question

• Explain what sociologists mean by the term conformity.
• Here is an example of a four mark answer:
• Conformity means doing what is expected and behaving with the norms of society. For
example, if a child follows school rules and does not misbehave. If a child is not conforming
then they are being deviant, truanting from school.

5 marks - ‘Describe and explain’ question

• Describe one possible consequence of crime in a community and explain what the community
could do to reduce crime. You must do both:
o Describe the possible consequence. (2 marks)
o Then explain it. (3 marks)
• Here is an example of a five mark answer:
• One way in which the government collects statistics about the level of crime in society is by the
official crime figures of reported crimes to the police, which are then recorded by them and
provide quantitative data.
• It does not always create an accurate picture of crimes committed. This is due the ‘dark figure’
of crime and the fact that not all crimes get reported to the police. An example of a crime which
may not be reported is domestic violence. This may not be reported as the victim is afraid of
doing this as they live with the person.

12 mark questions:
To get an A/A*
• Look at both sides of the argument and compare both sides
• Link each point to the original question
• Develop each point sociologically with key words and evidence if you can
• Relevant introduction and conclusion
• Relevant use of keywords (e.g. norms, values, deviance, conform, socialisation etc…)
 3

How to do a 12 mark question:

An example:

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that criminal and delinquent
behaviour among teenagers is due to parents’ failure to socialise their
children adequately. (12 marks.)

Some sociologists would argue that criminal and delinquent behaviour among
Intro teenagers is due to parents’ failure to socialise their children adequately, however
others would look towards peer pressure or labelling.
Those who look towards inadequate socialisation would argue… (here you will
make your first point)

Don’t forget to PEE when making each point. Below is an example:

Point One way in which inadequate socialization may lead to crime and deviance
amongst teenagers is that they may not have been socialised into the correct
norms and values of society.
During primary socialisation we learn how to conform to the norms and values of
Explain society. If a child grows up in an environment where people do things that are
criminal, e.g. take drugs, then that child may do this and think it is the norm but it
will be criminal. They may also lack informal social control and not get enough
discipline at home.

After making points you should make points looking at the other side of the
argument.

Evaluate However some sociologists may say that inadequate socialisation is not as
important as other factors such as labelling. This is……

Your conclusion must come up with a final statement about which is the mist
important reason.
Conc In conclusion, although there are many reasons for criminal and delinquent
behaviour among teenagers, such as inadequate socialisation, peers and
labelling, I think most sociologists would argue that the main reason is
inadequate socialization because if you have this you will choose not to join a
subculture.
4

Section 1: Studying Society (This is the basics of

Sociology and research methods together)

Lots of people study human beings

Sociology focuses on norms, values and group and how people influence one another.

Biologists study our genes and how characteristics may be inherited.

Psychologists study the individual and things like personality, memory, intelligence, etc.

The Nature versus Nurture debate illustrates the difference between Sociology, Biology and Psychology. This
debate is about whether what we are born with (our nature) is more important than what we learn (nurture) during our life.

Homework Activity 1 (Using the info above, complete the six sentences below)

• Why do people commit crime?

Sociologists would say people commit crime because…

Biologists would say people commit crime because…

Psychologists would say people commit crime because…

• Why are some people more successful in life?

Sociology would say people are more successful in life because…

Biologists would say people are more successful in life because…

Psychologists would say people are more successful in life because…

5

Studying society
Sociology is the study of human beings, in particular their societies and social behaviour, using theories,
concepts and methods developed by sociologists.

Some key concepts

Society: a group of people, large or small, with its own set of institutions and roles.

Culture: a group of people with shared norms and values.

Institutions: organisations which try to achieve something, e.g. school, police etc…

Roles: parts played by people in society, e.g. father, son, teacher etc…

Social structures: may be seen as the things or practices that hold any society together, e.g. the family.

Socialisation: how we learn to become human beings in our society, learning from family, friends, peer groups, mass
media, etc…. (Don’t confuse this with socializing – going out with friends.)

A social issue is a problem facing a society – like poverty. Sociologists study the causes and consequences of issues
such as poverty.

Research Methods
Homework Activity 2 – complete the three questions below (make sure you link your answers back to
the topic you are being asked to investigate)

In the exam section one asks mainly research methods questions. Here is an example:

You have been asked as a sociologist to investigate the attitudes towards

schooling amongst different ethnic groups.

Identify and explain one ethical issue which may arise in the course of doing your
research. (4 marks)

Identify one useful secondary source you might use and explain why it would help.
(4 marks)

Identify one primary research method you would use and explain why it is better
than another possible primary method for obtaining the information you need (6
marks) – TIP in the six mark questions you must say what your chosen method is and describe it and say why
it is a good choice for the topic and say why it is better than another method, at this point you MUST say describe
the second method and say why it wouldn’t be such a good choice for this topic.

Concepts / Keywords:
Methodology – the methods used by sociologists, why they use them, and how.

Hypothesis: a little theory you want to test to see if it is true – for example: girls do better in school because they take homework more
6

seriously. It’s a possible explanation for some situation that you are studying.

Pilot study: a way of testing your method before using it for real, by trying it out on some of your sample.

Sampling: a strategy for studying large populations by selecting only some people.

Validity: a method is valid if it gives you a true picture of what you are studying.

Reliability: a method is reliable if it can be used again and again with similar groups and not cause problems of understanding. A
questionnaire is reliable because the questions don’t change, but each interview can be quite different and so less reliable to provide
information that you can compare.

Quantitative data: numbers, produced by questionnaires, for example, allowing you to produce tables and other diagrams so that you
can analyse data more easily and compare and contrast, look for trends, possible links between variables, etc.

Qualitative data comes in written form so it is deeper than numbers and gives a more valid understanding of why people behave the
way they do, but it is more difficult to analyse.

Primary data = data produced by the sociologist using her chosen method(s).

Secondary data = data already produced by other people, including official statistics.

Sampling

The sampling frame is the list of all the names in a population and you choose your ransom samples from the list.
Without the list you cannot do proper random or stratified sampling.

o stratified random sampling divides the population into strata/groups and takes a random sample from
each strata (split a class list in to male and female and then randomly choose a certain number from each
group).
o quota sampling is non-random and means taking a number of people from various categories (say 10
females aged 16-20 and ten aged 21-30, etc) without having a sampling frame. You just ask the first ten
people who you meet who fit in to the group you want to question.
o A snowball sample is another non-random type – the ball gets bigger as you use each person that fits to
find out a few more (say for studying truants, you contact one persons who skives school and that person
will contact other people who skive, probably because ).

Homework Activity 3

Which sample would be best when investigating homelessness? Explain why, and say why it is actually better than
others. TIP – you might want to say why the others would not be so good.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES of the different methods

Every method has its good and bad points. They can be theoretical, practical and ethical issues(use PET to
remember):

• Theoretical issues:
o how reliable is the method? Can it produce similar results again and again (a questionnaire) or is it very
subjective (participant observation)?
o how valid is the method and the data produced? Does it give us a true picture of the people being
studied; is it very detailed? Does it help us to understand what the people think and do in depth or is it
limited? Some sociologists think validity is the goal.
o can you generalise from the data to the whole population? Is your sample big enough and reliable
enough? Some sociologists want to generalise so they go for lots of numerical data, but others just want
to study small groups for in-depth data.

• Practical issues: time, cost, effort, ease of doing it.

• Ethical issues: is the method a good way of treating people? Does it respect their privacy? Can you guarantee them
anonymity? Will they be harmed or might you get into bother – studying criminals, for example is not a safe practice.
7

Quantitative methods
Method Why use them? Advantages Disadvantages

The social survey To find out information about a Quantitative data – allows Not very deep
[usually a study of a population - its behaviour, attitudes, you to compare & contrast Questions may be
large group, using etc And may show reveal the misunderstood
questionnaires] causes of behaviour by Low response rate.
revealing links between
variables such as gender
and social class

Questionnaire To get answers to questions on See above See above

[Structured list of behaviour, attitudes, and
questions] characteristics of the sample

Structured interview When you cannot be sure the Questions can be Interview/interviewer effect
[questionnaire done questionnaire will work and you explained Limited answers affects validity
face to face] need face-to-face contact. Confusion cleared up
No return rate problem

Content analysis To analyse the content of mass Quantitative data Cannot be sure if people are
[study of the content media publications and reliable influenced by the media so it
of TV, newspapers, programmes, assuming that people may be a waste of time
etc] are influenced by the media

Longitudinal studies To study how a group of people Better than the single shot Takes a long time
[study of a group over change over time, and the possible picture produced by the Costs a lot
a long period of time] causes of these changes. survey Members may give up, or
move elsewhere, or die.

Non-participant To get data on a group and its Gives quantitative data May affect the behaviour of the
observation behaviour by watching as an Allows comparisons and people being watched.
[observing behaviour observer, e.g., writing down what contrasts
without joining the goes on in a classroom. Suggests causal links
group] between variables

Qualitative methods
Method Why use them? Advantages Disadvantages

Unstructured More informal; no set list of more in-depth Difficult to do

interviews questions. person feels more involved Can produce bad interview
More like conversations but and in control so more effects if it doesn’t work
focussed on questions related to likely to produce validity properly
the aims of the research

Covert PO To get truer understanding of group Gives best picture in terms Dangerous – can get in bother
[Joining a group to behaviour by not affecting it as a of validity if you can blend Ethically bad –you are
study them but not known researcher in well to the group and deceiving them
telling them who you keep your identity secret. Difficult to make notes
really are]

Overt PO The group knows you are a Second best picture in they may not act genuinely but
[the opposite to covert sociologist and so the researcher terms of validity as you it depends on the trust
– you tell them you can ask questions. can join in with group generated and the nature of
are a sociologist] activities as well as asking the group
questions
8

Secondary data
Type CONSTRUCTION USES LIMITATIONS

Official statistics - Government and local agencies Cheap and readily available Not produced by sociologists
general Provides quantitative data or for sociological needs so
Good for seeing trends, may be limited or biased
comparing past and present, May be inaccurate as
etc. government defines terms to
sui9t their interests (e.g.,
unemployment data)
Official stats - Crime Police authorities and then the Gives data on crime Only shows recorded crime
figs Home Office recorded Many crimes not reported by
pop or recorded by police
Background data (who the
criminals are) not detailed
enough

Homework Activity 4 – Research methods

Describe two reasons why primary research methods are better than secondary research methods and explain your
reasons. Now do the same to say why secondary research methods may be better than primary. TIP – when answering
this try to link it to a topic you might be studying.

You should be able to…

• Describe the different family types in Britain today (inc. nuclear, reconstituted,
beanpole, extended etc…)
• Explain the difference between a family and a household
• Describe how the relationship between parents and their children has changed
• Identify and explain reasons for the changing roles of men and women in the
home
• Put forward arguments for and against the view that single parent families are
bad for its members and society
• Explain how various members of the family suffer from domestic violence and
describe the reasons for increases in the numbers reported
• Understand how the stats for birth rate, infant mortality rate and life expectancy
have changed

The modern family

The family in modern society comes in many shapes and sizes.
A family is related to one another, a household may contain people who are not related or may often be just one person.

Popular 4 mark question

Explain the difference between a family and a household

9

Changing family roles – what husbands and wives do

Exam question: ‘Discuss how far sociologists agree that the family is now more equal than it
was in the past’ (12 marks) This is a popular essay. Have a go using the info below and above.

YES – it’s more equal NO – it’s still unequal

The family here used to be patriarchal – Feminists argued that women now had a double burden, rather
male dominated. Now we have more than being equal. They agreed that women worked more and
equality. liked this, however they suggested that women were still
socialized to take control of domestic labour and therefore had
Wilmott and Young claimed that from the two jobs.
1970’s the family become symmetrical
because of feminism and genderquake. Also, Mum is still most involved in childcare and emotional work.
She works a ‘triple shift’.
Other sociologists said a ‘new man’ had
emerged, who enjoyed sharing the In a single parent family a woman has to do all of the jobs – is
housework and childcare, and enjoyed this a good thing or bad thing for women?
emotional work. He could also be a
househusband. Men cherry pick the best jobs, e.g. playing with the children or
doing the gardening
Dad used to be authoritarian (in charge)
because he was the breadwinner, Mum Women are still more likely to take part time work as they are
used to be closest to kids because she was socialized to value the primary carer role so therefore men are
the housewife. still earning more and have more power

The family and society is now more child

centred

So parents have become less authoritarian

(in charge) and closer to their children.
Meanwhile, children have become more
involved with peer groups and modern
technology.
Also
Family-wider family (NF-EF) In the past extended families were more common so there were
Relationships between mum and dad and closer relationships. Then the NF developed and separated
their parents and kids and their from the EF. However, the EF now comes in various forms
grandparents, etc. based on the degree of contact, so it is not dead.

Changes in the pattern of fertility/how many babies, etc.

CHANGES REASONS
Families are now smaller in all classes, but Contraception
Underclass and Working Class higher than Middle women’s liberation
Class. changing religious attitudes – decline in religion
The national fertility rate in 2004 was 1.77 children
per woman; in 1965 it was nearly 3.
Married women having kids later. Want to develop career
Want smaller families
10

More births outside marriage – to cohabiters but also Growth of cohabitation

to single parents, including young single parents Changes in norms and values among young. Different
attitudes towards sex.

Homework Activity 5

Using the info below, answer this exam question: Describe one way in which feminists would
criticize family life and explain how others may disagree with their criticism (5 marks)

What do sociologists think about the family?

Functionalists view the family (NF) as a key social institution – for socialization purposes.
• They regard the NF as the ideal type because they argue that children need both parents for adequate role
socialisation. It provides two key functions, but what are they?
1.
2.

New Right functionalists think the Lone Parent family is a disaster because they regard the NF as best and they use
evidence about poor socialisation and crime to attack the LPF.

Feminists claim that the family is a patriarchal institution – designed by men for the primary benefit of men and their
sons. They say that women have a triple shift, are socialized to do the housework and due to the glass ceiling in the work
place they have less power and status and men pick the best jobs in the family.

Divorce
DIVORCE PATTERNS REASONS CONSEQUENCES AND
IMPLICATIONS – IS THE FAMILY
DYING?
Increase happiness for some
The war and the new people, more distress for
freedom it gave to women as others.
they worked in the factories,
etc. Rise in cohabitation.

General sense of Children in trouble, especially

dissatisfaction with male boys as they lack a male role
dominated model.
homes/patriarchal.
Women’s liberation/new deal
Women’s liberation. for women.

After the war there was an increase in family Legal changes. New career prospects for
problems but because of legal restrictions it women.
wasn’t until the new divorce act of 1971 that Decline of religion.
divorce rates went up hugely. Industry and business benefits
Changes in social attitudes from women’s skills/abilities.
to marriage and divorce.

Homework Activity 6

Exam question: ‘Discuss how far sociologists agree that the family is as valued now as it ever
has been (12 marks) - This is a very popular essay. Have a go using the info below and above.
11

For – people still value family Against – people do not value family anymore

• Most people still marry – just later • The nuclear family is becoming less common and this is
in life what the New Right mean by ‘the family dying’.

• Most divorcees remarry. • Cohabitation/sex outside of marriage is becoming more

popular
• Cohabitation/blended family is a
form of family • Couples without children are not families

• There are lots of new family types • Careers more important to some women and they are
– its just changing not dying. having fewer children

• People have fewer children • Divorce rates high

because they value them more in a
child centred society • People don’t look after their extended family now, they let
the government do it
• More extended families because of
the ageing population

Past questions:

1. Identify two reasons for the general rise in the divorce rate in Britain during the last 40
years. (2 marks)

2. Describe one way governments have attempted to help families in recent years and
explain how successful this policy has been. (5 marks)

3. Describe one social or economic need of the elderly in our society and explain how
governments might try to meet that need. (5 marks)

4. What do sociologists mean by conjugal roles? [4]

5. Explain the difference between a reconstituted family and an extended family (4)

6. Identify and explain one disadvantage of long-term cohabitation [5]

7. Identify and explain one sociological reason for making divorces more difficult to
achieve (5)

Essay questions
8. Discuss how far sociologists would agree that it is realistic to talk of a typical British
family today. (12 marks)
12

You should be able to…

• Explain how education might achieve social cohesion

• Describe how the education system has changed over the past 50
years and identify how the government has tried to improve pupil’s
achievement
• Understand what is meant by differential educational achievement
and recognise which social groups are more likely to underachieve
in education in Britain, e.g., gender, social class, ethnicity etc…
• Understand the impact of home factors on a child’s chances of
doing well in school – with reference to parent’s values, poverty
and culture capital
• Recognise the importance of labelling and peers on chances of
educational achievement
• Explain, using examples, what is meant by the ‘hidden curriculum’,
setting/streaming and school ethos.

Formal and informal education

Formal education is what you learn officially in an educational establishment. Informal education is what you learn
elsewhere, including at home. One is official the other is not.

Why do we have education?

Functionalists and Marxists disagree, about what education is for.

FUNCTIONALISTS MARXISTS
SOCIALISATION and • To teach norms and values Social control also but each social class has
SOCIAL COHESION of society so that people a different role so they get taught differently.
from different backgrounds For example, the children of the Rich are
get along. taught to lead and the WC to toe the line

ECONOMIC FUNCTION • To fit you to the career/job To turn out workers for the capitalist system
you suit. – each class having its own type of work

EDUCATIONAL • To discover what you have To feed you the correct knowledge for your
FUNCTION to offer and help you social position/career, and to teach you to
achieve it. conform via the Hidden curriculum.
13

Homework Activity 7

Complete the puzzle above and answer this exam question - Describe one purpose of the education
system and explain how this purpose is carried out (5 marks) – TIP - for this you should use one of
the reasons in the ‘Why do we have education?’ table, p12.

Curriculums (keywords you must know)

The Official Curriculum The National Curriculum The Hidden Curriculum

All of the subjects that The subjects laid down by the Everything else you learn in schools
you are supposed to learn government after the 1984 – from teachers and fellow-pupils,
in your educational stage education act, and modified since, including rules, beliefs, values and
to be studied in all state schools. strategies for coping with school life
– in the classroom and outside it.

Homework Activity 8 – Complete the hidden curriculum table below

What goes on in school How it prepares you for later in life

Being placed punished when late for school or having

poor attendance.

Being put in sets.

Having room 1, detentions, negatives etc…

Essay question : “Discuss how far sociologists agree that differences in educational
achievement between students a result of differences in home background? (12 marks)”.

TIP: You can answer this by looking at class, gender or ethnicity.

14

CLASS GENDER ETHNICITY

Social class is still a big indicator of Girls now doing better than boys Some ethnic minorities do well –
success – the WC still do worst for at all levels, including university even better than white kids, e.g.
various reasons. entry. Chinese and Indian. However,
The biggest underachievers in the • At home = masculinity and others – like Bangladeshi and
British education system are white femininity. Schools are male Black Caribbean do worst.
working class boys. feminine, masculinity is Some EM kids lack the material
Material = money factors, including frowned upon in school. and cultural capital needed to
where the kid lives, his house and its • Girls have a bedroom compete as they are likely to be
facilities – whether they help of hinder culture, boys a street culture WC.
his ability to work. Also money available so girls get more work done
for books, school trips and such like. at home. Some racism/Labelling exists in
This is called material deprivation. schools and society so EMs have
• In school = peers and an extra struggle to compete
Cultural = attitudes of parents, their subcultures, labelling, setting against.
values and beliefs; how they regard
education; opportunities given from an • Job opportunities/ Language deprivation makes it
early age to help him develop talents feminism – a more open difficult to understand teachers
and skills, visits to museums, theatre, market now exists with and exam papers.
etc. This is called culture capital or female skills in demand so
culture deprivation. girls are more ambitious and Black boys are more likely than
value their careers. Boys any other ethnicity to be in a
Language = WC are more likely to use suffer from a crisis in single parent family.
slang and have a limited vocabulary so masculinity so misbehave to
they may struggle in class and in gain status. There are also very few positive
exams. role models in schools as there
• GIST and other policies such are not many EM teachers.
Role models = MC tend to have family as Reading Champions
who have been to university so they have been introduced to help Ethnocentrism – some schools
expect to go too. girls and boys in education. focus on only one ethnicity so
others feel left out and become
Social capital = this is when the MC disinterested.
parents have friends in high places so
they can get help/advice to help their
children in education, e.g. work
experience, understanding league
tables etc…

Homework Activity 9

Using the info above and below, make a table for class, gender and ethnicity with two columns of home factors
and school factors and complete.

INFLUENCES ON EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

Parental values – what Many WC parents want their kids to do better but an influential study by
parents think about Douglas found that MC parents were more interested. WC parents find it
education more difficult to help their kids in homework and attend parents’ evenings.
Peer groups – kids of Schools have positive and negative peer groups – depends on the ethos of
similar age and interests the school and its exam results/ plus local area

Social class MC parents can afford to give their children a better education.
Also culturally because MC have better language skills (Bernstein).
School ethos – attitude to Good ethos schools tend to be in MC or better areas.
achievement Evidence shows kids like high expectations
Streaming / setting – Intended to teach kids according to their ability and to encourage kids to
putting kids in groups of try to rise to a higher group, but problems arise when kids are in the wrong
15

similar ability set and when lower groups are labelled as failures

Labelling – calling kids Used to be a more significant problem but people are very aware of it now,
names which have a positive yet it still happens and affects people because of power of teacher.
or negative effect on self- However, research shows that kids do not always go along with the
image and achievement negative labels and they often encourage a bigger effort.

Teacher expectations – what Rosenthal and Jacobson’s research showed that what teacher’s expect is
teachers expect of their students crucial – weaker kids can improve if the teacher expects them to.
– if they have high expectations
the kids tend to make the effort
Role models – people to copy. Research shows that Black females have roles models they wish to imitate
Evidence that you can do it too. and so do better than males, who have fewer role models.

Homework Activity 10

Do you think home or school factors are more influential when it comes to achievement in school? Explain your
answer with examples.

Homework Activity 11 – Complete the task below

Try to find the correct words for the gaps in the two boxes below:

Some minority __________ groups are underachieving in schools in Britain. Black boys and

Pakistani/_____________ students all underachieve. There are many different reasons given by sociologists.

One reason is labelling, especially for ______________. Black boys are the group most likely to be

_____________ from British schools and many suggest this is because they are treated unfairly. Often they can

be labelled as _________ makers and this can lead to a ____________________________.

The main problem for Pakistani/Bangladeshi students appears to be language ___________________. These

students may not have English as a _________ language or may even have a poor level of English and this may lead

to them being put into lower ____________.

Missing words:

first ethnic deprivation trouble self-fulfilling prophecy

excluded black boys Bangladeshi sets
16

Task:
The ___________ class underachieve in education for many reasons. They range from factors at home to factors
Try to find the correct words for the gaps below:
in ____________ itself.

School factors maybe ______________ and the school that they go to. They may be labelled negatively due to an

_______________ appearance or use of ____________ and restricted language.

On the other hand, middle class students are more likely to be labelled ____________ because the language they

use may be more like the language that _______________ use.

One important home factor is parent’s _____________. Some sociologists argue that the working class value

________________ and immediate gratification and these may be passed onto their children through primary

_______________________.

Missing words:

Working school teachers values fatalism Labelling

untidy slang positively socialisation
Educational changes of the last 30 years.

(Educationpolicyover the past 25 years - what the government has been doing to try to
improve education)

REFORM REASONS FOR CRITICISMS OF

National curriculum To ensure all schools doing key Stifling
(correct?) subjects Limited variety; Limited freedom
To enable testing and comparisons

League Tables – More competition between schools Competition wasted resources with lots been
comparing schools by To check on performance of spent on advertising
results so that parents schools League tables themselves inadequate
could choose which
school was best

Ofsted – schools To inspect schools to see if they are Not the best way to treat people
inspectors doing as well as they should

Homework Activity 12

Exam question: Describe one government policy introduced to help underachieving students and
explain how effective this may be (5 marks)
17

Past exam questions:

• Identify two reasons why parents may wish to send their children to faith schools (2 marks)

• Explain what sociologists mean by selective education. (4 marks)

• Describe one way in which pupils with Special Educational Needs may be educated and explain the
advantages of this method of education. (5 marks)

• Describe one way in which governments have attempted to improve educational standards over the last 20
years and explain how successful this policy has been. (5 marks)

• What do sociologists mean by teacher’s expectations? [4]

• What do sociologists mean by parent’s values? [4]

12 Mark Answer Plan
• Identify and explain one reason why boys are underachieving in schools [5]

Section 4: CRIME AND DEVIANCE

You should be able to….

• Describe the difference between crime and deviance.

• Describe the difference between formal and informal social control.

• Explain the different sociological explanations for involvement in criminal

and deviant behaviour, e.g. primary socialisation, home background,
subcultural theory, Marxist theory and opportunity structure.

• Identify and explain the importance of labelling and deviancy

amplification (by the media) in explaining the increase in some crimes.

• Explain the differences in criminal activity amongst some social groups,

i.e. class, age, gender and ethnicity.

• Put forward arguments for and against the use of official crime
statistics when measuring crime (and compare with victim surveys and
self-report studies).
 18

Criminals - by age/class/gender/ethnicity

AGE CLASS GENDER ETHNICITY

Young people tend to Working class commit more crime than Official statistics show Young, male Black Caribbeans
be more criminal. other classes. Women commit less crime are labelled as the most criminal
(20% of crimes). This might ethnic group in our society,
It used to be the case Opportunity structure – working class be affected by the chivalry partly due to racism on the part
that as they grew up students live in areas of high crime and low factor though.
they became less employment so there are more
of the police (institutional
criminal and settled opportunities to commit crime. Men especially commit more racism) and society generally.
down because they violent crime. If women did
had responsibilities. Middle class/white collar crimes don’t get commit crime it was things More likely to be in a SPF. New
caught as much as the police don’t look for like shoplifting (victimless Right say this leads to lack of
The New Right blame them as much. crimes) informal social control and
inadequate discipline.
socialisation All social classes commit crime and in fact Now women are doing more
the costliest crime is done by the middle crime because of changes in Underachievement in education
class. socialisation (genderquake)
Crimes of the rich include fraud, ripping and perhaps more so
and status frustration, then
workers and customers off, breaking because they are more joining a subculture.
environmental laws, etc. involved in society as career
workers (because of the
Equal Pay Act)

Theories of the causes of crime and deviance

19

Homework Activity 13

Using the info above explain which of the four explanations for crime is the stringest reason when trying to
explain teenage crime.

OFFICIAL CRIME STATISTICS

In the past most people thought that they OS produced by the Home Office were true. However, it
has since become obvious that we do not know the facts.

The evidence has come from research into relatively hidden the crimes, from Self Report Studies and
Victim Studies.
The facts now are that the OS tell us about ‘recorded crime’, which is only the tip if the iceberg, so to
speak.
Most crimes know to the police are reported by the public; the police only see a minority of the
recorded crimes themselves. But many people do not report crimes, for various reasons, such as:

• Too trivial/small
• Fear of the criminals
• Don’t like the police
• Don’t think the police can or will bother
• Sometimes they don’t even know they have been victims, e.g. fraud

Some people prefer to use a self-report study or a victim survey. These are:

A large survey of the public which asks them to say

Self-report study which crimes they have committed but not been
caught for. This is an attempt to find the dark figure of
crime and they try to ask a representative sample of
the population.

A survey of the public which asks them to say which

Victim survey crimes they have been a victim of, whether or not they
reported it to the police. This is an attempt to find the
dark figure of crime and they try to ask a
representative sample of the population.

Homework Activity 14

Copy out the following table and complete – your table should be bigger (link back to the research methods section and
try to use the key words valid, reliable, representative etc…)

Method Description Strengths Weaknesses

Official stats
Self report studies
Victim survey
20

Past Questions

What do sociologists mean by conformity? [4]

What do sociologists mean by deviance? [4]
Explain what sociologists mean by deviancy amplification (4)
Explain the difference between formal and informal social control (4)
Briefly describe one explanation for people getting involved in crime and deviance and
explain one criticism. [5]

12 mark questions (15 minutes)

• Discuss how far sociologists agree the main factor leading to crime is poverty.
• Discuss how far sociologists agree that the difference between gender crime
rates is due mainly to the difference in primary socialisation
• Official criminal statistics are inaccurate. Discuss how far sociologists agree this
means that the police are failing to do their job properly. (In answering you may refer to
reported crime, recorded crime, the dark figure of crime, self-report studies, victim surveys, labelling etc.)

• Some minority ethnic groups are more likely to be in prison than white people.
Discuss how far sociologists agree this means that the minority ethnic groups are
more likely to be labelled by the police.

Section 5: SOCIAL INEQUALITY

You should be able to…

• Understand what is meant by stratification, using at least two example, e.g.
social class and apartheid
• Describe the four different types of poverty which exist (absolute, relative,
environmental and subjective)
21

• Understand what is meant by the unequal distribution of wealth, income,

status and power in Britain (use some statistics)
• Describe in basic terms major changes in the class structure of Britain over
the last 50 years
• Recognise how social class, age, gender and ethnicity can effect life chances
• Understand arguments for and against Britain being an open
society/meritocracy
• Explain the structural and cultural explanations of why poverty exists
• Understand and describe the different arguments put forward for the
success and the failure of the welfare state

STRATIFICATION is when a society is split into groups of people. An example is the Indian
caste system that split people based on family background. In Britain we can stratify based on
CLASS, AGE, GENDER and ETHNICITY (CAGE). Being part of one of these groups can affect
your life chances (e.g. life expectancy, education, status, power).

Class Systems – the occupation scale

This is the latest table of social classes, produced by the government, based on occupation. (5-7 =
working class, 8 is underclass)

1. Higher managerial and professional occupations

1.1 Employers and managers in larg organisations (e.g. company directors, senior company managers, senior civil servants,
senior officers in police and armed forces.)

1.2 Higher professionals (e.g. doctors, lawyers, clergy, teachers and social workers.)

2. Lower Managerial and professional occupations (e.g. nurses and midwives, journalists, actors, musicians, prison officers, police
and armed forces.)

3. Intermediate occupations (e.g. secretaries, driving instructors, telephone fitters)

4. Small Employers and own account workers (e.g. farmers, taxi drivers, window cleaners, painters and decorators.)

5. Lower supervisory, craft and related occupations (e.g. television engineers, train drivers, butchers.)

6. Semi-routine occupations (e.g. shop assistants, hairdressers, bus drivers, cooks.)

7. Routine occupations (e.g. delivery, labourers, cleaners, waiters and bin-men)

8. Plus an eighth category to cover those who have never had paid work and the long term unemployed.
22

Homework Activity 15 – Using the information above answer this 5 mark exam question

Describe one way in which social class is measured and explain how it may or may not be a good way of doing
so.

One key question to ask in deciding if classes still exist is to ask if different life chances still
exist.

Do groups of people in Britain still enjoy or suffer from their possession or lack of decent life
chances?
If this is true – in health, in education, in life style, etc., then we do not have a classless society.

Poverty:
DEFINING POVERTY

The Welfare state was founded in the 1940s to get rid of five great evils [see later on for the full list],
including poverty. There are four types of poverty:

• Absolute – the basic necessities are missing

• Relative – you are poor compared to others in your society
• Environmental - the area you live in has bad things or lacks good things
• Subjective - when a person ‘feels’ as though they are missing out on things, i.e.status
or respect, or feel as though they are being discriminated against

Homework Activity 16

Explain why absolute poverty is almost a thing of the past in Britain (you might want to use info from
half way down page 24.

Various explanations have been offered for poverty. Some blame the poor themselves, others
blame society.

1. THE STRUCTURAL EXPLANATION – Blaming society

• MARXIST VIEW/POVERTY TRAP: Marxists blame society. They argue that poor people have
poor life chances, e.g. education, material deprivation, the area they live in, labelling etc…

• SOCIAL EXCLUSION
This is a relatively new term, much used by Tony Blair (learned from sociologists!). It means
that some people in our society are excluded from enjoying good life chances. They are
marginalised. They are often excluded by the rest of society and prevented from belonging by
discrimination. Class discrimination, racism and other forms of discrimination are responsible
23

for this situation. The excluded ones find themselves on the edges of society, lacking power
and status, with no one listening to them or willing to help. They may be immigrants, members
of the underclass (some pensioners, long-term unemployed, etc). Aspects of social exclusion
include:
o Deprivation - poverty
o Negative effects on children – they enter the cycle of poverty
o Stress – they find it difficult to cope
o Credit and debt – can’t pay bills and owe lots
o Lack of leisure – no enjoyment in life
o Stigma and low status – nobody likes them
o Pour housing – cold, damp, crowded
o ill-health - poorly
o Bad neighbourhoods – no peace, poor schools, unemployment

2. THE CULTURAL EXPLANATION – blaming the poor and their attitude

This theory blames the poor - their beliefs and values. They are accused of fatalism and
instant gratification which means they say: “Why bother trying to get out of poverty! We’ll
never get out of this trap. We are fated to be poor” So they spend whatever money they get
right away.

This is a biased view of the poor, in many cases, as other sociologists argue. Instead of
calling them fatalistic; they are realistic – what is the point of saving or trying to improve
yourself or your family’s life chances if no one is willing to help you up?’

• CYCLE OF DEPRIVATION : this is part of the cultural theory and it says that people who are
poor stay poor and their children also become trapped in a ‘cycle of poverty’. It goes like this:
poor families cannot afford to improve their kid’s life chances and the kids usually end up in
bad schools and bad jobs or none, so their kids end up in poverty too, and this goes on and
on.
24

NEW RIGHT blame poverty on welfare dependency leading to scroungers taking money
from the nanny state. They argue that if a Welfare State exists and is ‘too nice’ to the poor,
then they begin to depend on handouts and refuse to make an effort themselves. They are
called ‘spongers’ or ‘scroungers’.

Homework Activity 17
Create a plan for the following common 12 mark exam question – Discuss how far sociologists agree
that society creates poverty. TIP – don’t forget what is needed in a 12 mark question, use page 2 if
needed.

In the 1940s the government of the day decided to

begin what became known as the Welfare State an
attempt to get rid of…

• idleness, (unemployment)
• want, (lacking essentials)
• disease, (poor health)
• ignorance (uneducated)
• squalor (poor housing)

In 1948 the NHS was started and attention was soon given to education and social security. Local
government, charitable organisations, commercial organisations and local communities got involved
along with the national government.
Today BUPA is an example of a commercial organisation and Help the Aged is a charity for the
elderly. Many volunteers spend a few hours or more a week helping out in hospices, schools, etc.

Below is a table showing some of the changes the government has made to try to reduce poverty:

Policy/initiative Aim Usefulness

25

Minimum Wage Ensure fair wages Has seen many rises since introduced. It has
and improve living helped to reduce welfare dependency and
standards relative poverty.
Sure Start To ensure free Helps families with material and cultural
education for 0-3 deprivation to get a quality pre school
year olds in deprived education
areas
Education to 18 To make sure Some argue this will make sure the poor don’t
students stay in leave school without qualifications, giving them
education or training a chance to get a better job.

UNIVERSAL OR SELECTIVE BENEFITS?

Welfare in this country includes two main types universal and selective.
Universal benefits go to everyone – like Child Benefit, hospital treatment, etc.
Other benefits are selective – they are targeted on the poor.

In fact only a few benefits are universal. The real issues occur in distributing targeted/selective
benefits, for two reasons.

• You have to prove you are eligible and the rules seem to exclude some people without good
reason. For example, when is a person truly disabled and unable to work? It can be
psychological as well as physical.

• The benefits are means tested – you have to have less than a certain income and/or savings
to qualify, so people who have saved for retirement (for example) lose out because they have
too much in the bank! However, if help is to be targeted on the really poor then people argue
that means testing is fair. But we are back again to defining and measuring ‘poor’.

Keywords/concepts:

Life chances – your social class determines your life chances or your chances of getting all the good
things in society and avoiding the bad, like good health, long life, nice holidays, decent food, a warm
house, etc.

Wealth – assets that can be translated into money (houses, car, jewels, etc)

Income – from job, social security, pensions, investments

Status – what society thinks of your label or role - the prestige it attaches to it.

Power – your ability to tell others what to do, whether they like it or not (authority = legal power, or
power given to you freely by the people)

Social mobility – movement up or down the social ladder.

A closed society is one where no movement between the levels, up or down, is allowed. The
opposite is an open society.

Social mobility means movement up and down the social ladder – up and down the classes or up
and down the ladder of occupations.
26

Intergenerational mobility: your mobility compared to your parent’s position – are you higher or
lower?

Intragenerational: how you move in your lifetime – do you stay still or go up or down?

Ascribed status: where people are given their position in society by birth or some other fortunate
means

Achieved status: status gained through your own efforts

Meritocracy: a society where people are rewarded on merit only (the same as an open/socially
mobile society).

Social groups and Poverty

Homework Activity 18

Complete the task below. We look at poverty in sociology because it tends to be people from certain groups who live in
poverty. It is our job to ask why? Why do the following groups experience poverty? Try to mention different types of
poverty.

Women:

The disabled:

The elderly:

Ethnic minorities:

How has the class structure in Britain changed over the last 50 years? Why? What about
wealth and income?
27

Up to the middle of the C20 Britain was a class divided society, with the WC still the largest class, but
the MC was slowly developing to become the biggest.
This change was helped greatly by the increase in MC jobs through the creation of the Welfare State
(1944 act of parliament). This led to lots more professionals (like doctors and teachers) and
administrators and managers. Lots of civil servants were also needed (secretaries). The private
service sector also developed and this added to the MC expansion.

Incomes have also improved for the poor with the introduction of a minimum wage recently.
However, everybody’s income has risen so that the well off are still relatively doing best income-wise.

What is the relationship between wealth, status and power? What happens if you don’t have
any power?

Power
Usually wealth brings power and often status too. But people can have status in society and still be
relatively poor and not very powerful either (nurses, for example).
Power here means your ability to influence people as well as to get them to do things for you. Top
models are very rich and they also have status, as do film stars. Their significance as role models
may also give them power but because they are not so essential to society (it might be argued) then
doctors have more power.

How are life chances influenced by differences in wealth, income, power and status?

Together two or more of these key factors can either greatly increase or reduce your life chances.
Some ethnic groups have lots of money, high status and political influence because of their wealth.
Their life chances are high. Access to private health and private education are key life chances.
However, money cannot always buy status – other people may not be willing to give you the status,
despite your wealth or income. Winning the lottery does not necessarily increase your status –
although it could make you more powerful.

PAST QUESTIONS

• What do sociologists mean by relative poverty? [4]

• Explain the difference between universal and means tested benefits (4)
• Explain briefly why young people are among the most likely to be low paid. (4)
• Explain briefly one reason why women’s average earnings are lower than men’s
average earnings. (4)
• Explain briefly one way in which gender can affect an individual’s life chances.
(4)
• What do sociologists mean by social mobility? [4]

• What do sociologists mean by an open society? [4]

• Explain briefly why an individual might not claim welfare benefits to which they
may be entitled. (4)
28

12 mark questions(15 minutes)

• Discuss how far sociologists agree that children born into poverty will grow up to
be poor throughout their lives
• Discuss how far sociologists believe that social class is no longer an issue in
Britain
• Discuss how far sociologists agree that people are poor due to their own
attitudes
• Gender is a bigger form of inequality than social class in British society. How far
does this mean that social classes no longer matter?
• Discuss how far sociologists might agree that the welfare state has been a
success
• Discuss how far sociologists agree that social mobility has become more
common in Britain over the last 50 years
Section 6: MASS MEDIA

You should be able to…

• Recognise the difference between traditional media and new media
• Understand the importance of the media in socialising people
• Recognise how the media may influence behaviour and understand that there are
different views of the amount of influence the media has
• Describe the ways in which the media may encourage stereotyping, and be able to
describe the process of deviancy amplification
• Understand how the media might develop people’s political and social identities
• Explain how the media might influence the distribution of power in society and recognise
how people in charge of the media can influence public opinion of certain groups, eg
environmentalists, animal rights activists and lone parents
• Explain the influence of the internet on modern society

News Values:

According to many people the news we see in newspapers, on t.v. and on the internet is chosen to simply attract people
to watch or buy. Gatekeepers choose what we see based on news values, this means what people will find appealing.
News values include:

▪ Shock factor
▪ Sex
▪ Celebrity
▪ Recent or not
▪ Relevant to the customers
29

Others disagree and have a different way of looking at the media. The two main views are called the conflict approach
and the pluralist approach.

Conflict approach Pluralist approach

This approach is the Marxist approach. They This approach disagrees with the conflict
believe that the press barons, who own huge approach because they say all political and
conglomerates, have too much power and use the lifestyle views are covered in the media.
media to get their own message across through They believe media produce what people will buy
agenda setting so they can stay in a position of and are motivated by sales rather than getting
power. their own message across. The content of the
An example might be the criticism of the London media is based simply on news values.
rioters and using them as scapegoats rather the They say the internet is a very good thing as lots
banking system which caused a lot of the economic of people can get their view across nowadays.
problems leading up to the riots.

The power of the media/media affects

Stereotyping in the media:

The mass media is an agent of secondary socialisation. This media is a place, other than the family, where we
learn norms and values. Through the media we learn norms and values about different age groups, ethnicities
and genders.
Norms and values in the media may be accurate but they can also be inaccurate. The media can be a negative
influence by reinforcing negative stereotypes through images and characters. A stereotype means an
exaggerated and distorted representation and can lead to labelling.

Below is a table including many words we can use to show how two particular social groups are stereotyped in
the media (either in the past or today).

Women Minority Ethnic Groups

Housewife Sporty
Vulnerable Religious
Emotional Extremists
Low status Islamaphobia
Male gaze Immigrants
Ideal body image Scroungers/benefits cheats
Criminal

Is the media really that influential?

30

Whether or not you feel the media is influential is based on the approach to the media you agree with. The
three main approaches are below:

Decoding approach Hypodermic syringe Uses and

approach gratifications
View of the audience Active/critical Passive/uncritical Active

View on how powerful the Not at all, people are Extremely powerful. The Not very. The media is just
socialised elsewhere and gatekeepers have the used by the audience to
media/media owners are or
their views influence power to inject us with fulfil certain needs they
are not what they think about their views by norm might have, e.g. to be
what they see in the referencing and agenda entertained, amused, to get
media setting. information, news, etc…
View of media messages – is Many One/few – the message Many
the powerful want you to
there one message or many
see
messages? (use an example)

Politics and the media

As well as media owners influencing political socialization (what political views we have), politicians
themselves now use lots of different media to get their message across.
Here is a question linked to this topic - Describe one way in which politicians use the mass media to get their
message across and explain why this media coverage might lead people to lose faith in the main political
parties. (5 marks) – Use the table below to attempt an answer.

Homework Activity 19 – Complete the table below

Type of media Strengths Weaknesses

Billboard advertisements Not much information.

Too local

Social media Appeals to young people

(youtube/twitter etc…) Can get a view across quickly
Large audience
Interactive – people can get
involved in a debate

Party political broadcast Boring – young people often put off

Biased/one sided

Leaders debate before It’s a debate – the three main

elections parties involved so not one sided
Interesting
31

Question time On late

Young people may be put off,
rarely involves young people

Homework Activity 20 – Complete the task below

The Internet

The internet has had a major impact on society, you must be able to make notes below on the
following four sections.

1. Impact on lifestyle:

2. Impact on global culture/globalization:

3. Impact on Crime and Deviance

4. Impact on Democracy

Past Questions
32

• Identify two types of traditional media. (2 marks)

• Explain what sociologists mean by commercial broadcasting. (4 marks)
• Explain what sociologists mean by a moral panic. (4 marks)
• Explain what sociologists mean by the term media saturated world. (4 marks)
• Explain the difference between the hypodermic approach and the decoding approach. (4
marks)
• Identify one group in society who may be presented negatively in the press and explain
the consequences this may have. (5 marks)
• Describe one change within the media over the past twenty years and explain how this
has affected people’s lives. (5 marks)
• Describe one way in which individuals or groups can create content on the internet and
explain why they might want to produce content in this way. (5 marks)
• Describe one way in which the media can be used by members of the public and explain
why they may choose to use it in that way. (5 marks)
• Describe one gender stereotype shown in the media and explain how this may have a
negative influence on the lives of that gender. (5 marks)
• Describe one way in which politicians use the mass media to get their
message across and explain why this media coverage might lead people to
lose faith in the main political parties. (5 marks)
• Discuss how far sociologists would agree that media owners are the biggest influence on
people’s opinions and views. (12 marks)
• Discuss how far sociologists would agree that the image of women presented by the mass
media tends to be stereotypical rather than realistic. (12 marks)