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GCSE Sociology AQA > Sociology Paper 2: Social Stratification > Flashcards

Sociology Paper 2: Social Stratification Flashcards

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1
Q

what is social stratification

A
  • the way society is structured into unequal strata/layers
  • shaped like a pyramid
  • privileged groups form the top layers
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2
Q

what is social inequality

A
  • uneven distribution of resources within society (eg money, status, power)
  • people tend to be stratified according to social status, race, gender and age
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3
Q

examples of forms of stratification

A
  • slavery (one group owns another, they are treated as property)
  • caste system in traditional India
  • feudal system in medieval europe
  • social class system today
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4
Q

what did DAVIS AND MOORE (functionalist) say about stratification?

A
  • role allocation (all roles in society need to be filled)
  • some roles more important than others
  • best roles should have the most talented people, should be rewarded accordingly
  • necessary for society
  • society should be unequal, but seen as fair
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5
Q

criticisms of DAVIS AND MOORE

A
  • many vital jobs have low pay eg nursing, bus drivers
  • high pay may be due to that position’s power, not how necessary it is in society (e.g celebrities)
  • Marxists argue MYTH OF MERITOCRACY
  • stratification allows people to exploit others so is not functional
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6
Q

KARL MARX on social class

A
  • bourgeoisie/proletariat
  • ownership vs non-ownership
  • proletariat are alienated as they lack control of their products
  • RULING CLASS IDEOLOGY - ideas about competition and rewards disguise exploitation
  • this leads to FALSE CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS
  • collapse of capitalism due to growing gap
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7
Q

WEBER - social class

A
  • classes formed in labour market
  • class is group of people with similar life chances
  • four main classes: PROPERTY OWNING, PROFESSIONALS, PETTY BOURGEOISIE, WORKING CLASS
  • different market situations (what someone can achieve by selling skills)
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8
Q

WEBER - social class continued

A
  • stressed importance of non economic factors affecting class (power and status)
  • status may differ from class (aristocrat may not be rich landowner but title of “lord” or “lady” would give them status)
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9
Q

social class today

A
  • subjective class - what people think their own class is
  • working, middle, upper
  • some new right sociologists claim there is an underclass
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10
Q

what are life chances

A
  • people’s chances of having certain outcomes in relation to health, education, careers
  • distributed unequally
  • middle class lawyers have better life chances in relation to good healthcare than working class people
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11
Q

gender inequalities

A
  • despite sex discrimination act 1975, feminists argue gender is still a division in society
  • gender pay gap still exists bc women more likely to work in part time/low paying jobs
  • glass ceiling for women due to male dominated workplaces
  • only 3.9% of firefighters were female in 2010
  • sex discrimination, triple shift, poor childcare arrangements
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12
Q

ethnic inequalities

A
  • institutional racism
  • unemployment rates are highest for ethnic minorities
  • Marxists see this as built into capitalism
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13
Q

embourgeoisement thesis

A
  • working-class families developing middle class norms and values
  • privatised lifestyles centred on home/family rather than wider community
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14
Q

affluent worker study

A
  • GOLDTHORPE - interviewed affluent workers and their wives
  • goldthorpe rejected the embourgeoisement thesis but suggested the makings of a ‘new’ working class
  • instrumental attitudes to work (means to an end)
  • supported labour party for personal gain
  • not motivated by class solidarity
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15
Q

FIONA DEVINE - EVALUATION OF GOLDTHORPE

A
  • argued that working class ideals had not changed to the extent goldthorpe suggested
  • not purely privatised or home centred
  • more communal than goldthorpe suggested
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16
Q

social mobility

A
  • movement up and down the social class system
  • social mobility could be due to promotions within work, educational qualifications
  • barriers due to ethnicity, gender, disabilities etc
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17
Q

social mobility in uk

A
  • working class less likely to achieve social mobility

- less likely to have “professional” occupations/white collar work

18
Q

defining poverty

A
  • absolute poverty (absence of two or more basic needs, eg water, shelter, healthcare)
  • relative poverty (poor in relation to the people around them or others in the country, eg cannot afford luxuries like a tv)
  • social exclusion (people cannot take part in activities due to material deprivation)
19
Q

measuring poverty

A
  • SUBJECTIVE POVERTY (whether people see themselves as living in poverty)
  • ENVIRONMENTAL POVERTY (deprivation in terms of living conditions/air pollution)
20
Q

TOWNSEND on poverty in the UK

A
  • developed deprivation index to determine relative poverty
  • almost 23% of the population were in poverty
  • statistic much higher the state standard of poverty
21
Q

criticisms of TOWNSEND

A
  • some of the items on his list e.g whether the household has a sunday joint, may not be relevant as not eating meat regularly is not always a sign of deprivation
  • the statistics should be questioned as the items on his list are inadequate
22
Q

ethnicity and poverty

A
  • households headed by ethnic minorities are more likely to be low income
  • disadvantaged in employment, pay and job quality
  • racism and discrimination in job market
23
Q

gender and poverty

A
  • women more at risk of poverty than men
  • longer life expectancies, less likely to have pension
  • more likely to head lone parent families
  • gender pay gap
  • more likely to work part time than men
24
Q

child poverty

A
  • children more vulnerable to poverty if there are four or more children in a family
  • lone parent families more likely to be in poverty
  • negative impact on child’s life chances eg life expectancy
25
Q

cycle of deprivation

A
  • poorer people socialised within subculture of poverty
  • set of values to cope with situation
  • eg immediate gratification rather than planning ahead
  • poverty includes material and cultural deprivation
  • continues from one generation to the next
  • fails to explain why people become poor in the first place
26
Q

CHARLES MURRAY (New Right) and poverty

A
  • underclass is rapidly growing
  • “undeserving poor”
  • underclass had rising crime rates, increasing ‘illegitimate’ births, dropping out of labour force
  • welfare system encouraged crime and unemployment
27
Q

criticisms of new right/charles murray

A
  • rejects idea of underclass with different attitudes
  • victim blaming for their struggles
  • underclass is scapegoat for society’s problems
  • should focus on upper classes causing poverty rather than those who are victims to it
28
Q

functionalist perspective on poverty

A
  • performs positive functions as ensures that dangerous/dirty work is carried out for cheap
  • criticism: functionalists justify poverty rather than explaining it
29
Q

marxist perspective on poverty

A
  • outcome of class based divisions
  • poverty is inevitable in a capitalist society
  • poverty serves interests of the bourgeoisie
  • fear of poverty used to discipline workers
30
Q

feminist perspective on poverty

A
  • women face higher chances of poverty

- more likely to outlive partners

31
Q

impact of globalisation

A
  • downturn in global economy caused recession
  • led to job insecurity
  • increases in the cost of living meant an increase in poverty
32
Q

WEBER on power and authority

A
  • power is based on coercion or authority
  • coercion involves threatening or using force to get people to obey
  • authority is used over people who willingly agree to obey
  • three types of authority: TRADITIONAL, RATIONAL LEGAL, CHARISMATIC
33
Q

WEBER and the three types of authority

A
  • TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY: based on custom/tradition eg the monarchy
  • RATIONAL LEGAL AUTHORITY: based on accepting rules and laws. This authority operates within a bureaucracy (organisation with a hierarchy)
  • CHARISMATIC AUTHORITY: people obey a leader who inspires them
34
Q

marxist perspective on power

A
  • power is linked with social class relationships
  • power based on ownership of means of production
  • political power stems from economic power, and people with economic power (ruling class) also have political power
35
Q

feminist perspective on power

A
  • gender inequality most important division in society
  • patriarchal society controls women
  • male-dominated society means that women have little power, wealth and/or social status
  • men are often the decision makers
36
Q

WALBY on patriarchy (six patriarchal structures)

A
  • PAID EMPLOYMENT (women typically earn less than men)
  • HOUSEHOLD (husbands/partners exploit women by benefitting from their unpaid labour)
  • CULTURE (british culture dictates that femininity relies on being attractive to men)
37
Q

WALBY six partiarchal structures continued

A
  • SEXUALITY (double standard - male dominance. Sexually active women seen as “slags”, men admired)
  • MALE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
  • THE STATE (legal policies biased towards men, little effort to improve women’s positions in society)
38
Q

what is democracy?

A
  • government by the people, for the people
  • power distributed widely
  • power based on rational legal authority, not coercion
39
Q

what is a dictatorship?

A
  • based on coercion
  • censorship on media
  • propaganda
40
Q

representative democracy

A
  • citizens elect reps
  • each voter casts one vote based on different political parties
  • candidate with most votes becomes MP
41
Q

proportional representation

A
  • seats are allocated according to total votes each party receives
  • used to elect members of the european parliament

GCSE Sociology AQA (4 decks)

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