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Eduqas A-Level Sociology A200QS
Culture and the Social Construction of Culture
Topic overviewCulture as a way of lifeNorms, values and beliefsRoles, status and role conflictDress, appearance and cultural identityLanguage and cultural transmissionFood, diet and cultural rulesMusic, the arts and high and popular cultureThe social construction of cultureFeral children and extreme isolationThe nature and nurture debateCulture and social changeCultural diversity, multiculturalism and hybriditySubcultures and countercultures
Socialisation and Its Agencies
Topic overviewPrimary socialisationSecondary socialisationRole models and imitationSanctions and the enforcement of normsThe family and cultural transmissionPeer groups and peer socialisationEducation as an agency of socialisationReligion as an agency of socialisationThe media as an agency of socialisationWork and occupational socialisationInformal social controlFormal social controlCultural reproduction and the limits of socialisation
Socialisation and Identity
Topic overviewPersonal identity and the selfSocial identity and collective belongingSociological theories of identityConsumption, globalisation and identityGender socialisation and gender identityChanging femininitiesChanging masculinitiesClass identity and the working classMiddle-class, upper-class and underclass identitiesThe decline of class identityEthnicity and ethnic identityHybrid identities and cultural changeNational identity and Britishness
Option: Families and HouseholdsFamilies
Topic overviewDefining families and householdsFamily forms and family diversityEthnic, religious and cultural diversity in family lifeMarriage, cohabitation and singlehoodDivorce and separationFertility, life expectancy and the ageing populationConjugal roles and the domestic division of labourPower, decision-making and domestic violenceChildhood and relationships between the generationsFunctionalist perspectives on the familyThe New Right and social policy on the familyMarxist and feminist perspectives on the familyPostmodernist perspectives, the life course and personal life
Option: Youth CulturesYouth cultures
Topic overviewYouth and the social construction of adolescenceThe media and the formation of youth cultureEconomic change, affluence and the youth marketGlobalisation and youth cultureSocial class and youth subculturesGender and youth cultureEthnicity and youth cultureNeo-tribes and the changing nature of youth cultureDelinquency, crime and youth offendingAnti-school subcultures and youth in educationMoral panics and media representations of youthFunctionalist and Marxist perspectives on youth cultureFeminist, interactionist and postmodernist perspectives on youth culture
Option: EducationEducation
Topic overviewThe role and function of education in societyFunctionalist perspectives on educationMarxist perspectives on educationInteractionist perspectives and labelling in educationFeminist perspectives on educationThe New Right and educationPostmodernist perspectives on educationPatterns and trends in attainment and participationMaterial factors and educational achievementCultural factors: deprivation, language and cultural capitalExplaining the gender and ethnicity gapsStreaming, setting and pupil subculturesEducation policy and marketisation
Option: MediaMedia
Topic overviewThe role and function of the media in societyOwnership and control of the mediaMarxist and neo-Marxist perspectives on the mediaPluralist perspectives on the mediaFeminist perspectives on the mediaPostmodernist perspectives on the mediaNews values, newsworthiness and agenda settingModels of media effects and the active audienceMoral panics and folk devilsNew media, globalisation and the digital divideRepresentations of social class and age in the mediaRepresentations of gender, ethnicity and disability in the mediaMedia regulation and social policy
Option: ReligionReligion
Topic overviewDefining religion and its role in societyFunctionalist perspectives on religionMarxist and neo-Marxist perspectives on religionFeminist perspectives on religionWeberian perspectives on religionPostmodernist perspectives on religionSecularisation: the evidence for declineSecularisation: the case againstChurches, denominations, sects and cultsNew religious movements and the new ageFundamentalism and religion in a globalising worldReligiosity by class, gender, ethnicity and ageReligion and social policy in contemporary society
Research Methods: Primary and Secondary
Topic overviewQuestionnaires: writing them and delivering themStructured interviewsUnstructured and semi-structured interviewsFocus groups and group interviewsParticipant observation, overt and covertNon-participant and structured observationSocial surveysEthnographic methodsLongitudinal studiesMethodological pluralism and triangulationExisting sociological research as secondary dataOfficial statisticsPersonal documents, public documents and newspaper reports
Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues
Topic overviewTarget populations and sampling framesSimple random and systematic random samplingStratified random and quota samplingSnowball and volunteer samplingPurposive and opportunity samplesGatekeepers and gaining accessInformed consent and vulnerabilityDeception and covert researchConfidentiality, anonymity and privacyThe right to withdraw and protection from harmSensitivity and researching difficult subjectsOperationalisation and the choice of research topicTime, cost and the practical limits on research
Key Concepts and Theories of Research
Topic overviewValidity and what threatens itReliability, standardisation and replicationRepresentativeness and the sampleGeneralisabilityObjectivity, value freedom and biasEthics as a criterion for judging researchPositivism and the scientific study of societyInterpretivism and verstehenInteractionism, phenomenology and interpretivist research in practiceRealism and the search for underlying causesThe suicide debate as a test of the three positionsChoosing a method: theory, practicality and ethics
Social Inequality: Evidence and Patterns
Topic overviewSocial inequality and stratificationMeasuring social class in the contemporary UKClass inequality in income and wealthClass inequality in health and life expectancyClass inequality in education and employmentGender inequality in work and payGender inequality beyond the workplaceEthnic inequality in employment and incomeEthnic inequality in health, education and criminal justiceAge and inequalityThe changing distribution of income and wealthSocial mobility in the contemporary UK
Theories and Explanations of Inequality and Stratification
Topic overviewFunctionalist theories of stratificationCriticisms of functionalist stratification theoryThe New RightMarxist theories of classNeo-Marxist theoriesWeberian theories of stratificationNeo-Weberian theoriesFeminist explanations of inequalityExplaining gender inequality beyond feminismTheories of racism and ethnic inequalityExplaining age inequalityPostmodernist accounts of inequalityComparing and evaluating the theories
Option: Crime and DevianceCrime
Topic overviewDefining crime and deviance as social constructsThe media, moral panics and the social construction of crimeMeasuring crime: official government statisticsVictim studies and self-report studiesThe social distribution of crime by class and ageThe social distribution of crime by genderThe social distribution of crime by ethnicityFunctionalist explanations of crime and devianceSub-cultural explanations of crime and devianceMarxist and neo-Marxist explanations of crimeInteractionist explanations and labelling theoryRight realism, left realism and crime control policyFeminist and postmodernist explanations of crime
Option: Health and DisabilityHealth
Topic overviewDefining health and illness as social constructsThe medical and social models of disabilityOfficial statistics, patterns and trends in healthHealth and social classHealth and genderHealth and ethnicityHealth and ageArtefact and self-selection explanationsCultural and material explanationsAccess to and provision of health care in the UKThe biomedical model, medicalisation and health professionalsFunctionalist and Marxist approaches to healthInteractionist, feminist and postmodernist approaches to health
Option: PoliticsPolitics
Topic overviewPower, authority and legitimacyPluralist theories of powerElite theories of powerMarxist and neo-Marxist theories of powerFunctionalist, Weberian and postmodernist theories of powerPatterns and trends in political participationPolitical participation and social classVoting behaviour and partisan de-alignmentPolitical participation and genderPolitical participation, ethnicity and agePolitical parties and the democratic processPressure groups and policy makingNew social movements and anti-capitalist movements
Option: World SociologyWorld sociology
Topic overviewDefining and measuring developmentGlobal inequality in healthGlobal inequality in educationEmployment and the global division of labourGlobal poverty, marginalisation and exclusionPopulation, urbanisation and demographic changeAid and its criticsDebt, structural adjustment and development policyGlobalisation, transnational corporations and world tradeNon-governmental organisations and international institutionsModernisation theoryMarxist, dependency and world systems theoriesFeminist and people-centred accounts of development
Option: Politics
- 13 subtopics
- 39 things to know
- Component 3 Section B
- Politics, one of four Component 3 Section B options
What Option: Politics covers
Option: Politics is examined in Component 3 Section B, on the theme of power — one option of four. It covers power, authority and legitimacy, pluralist theories of power, elite theories of power, Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of power, functionalist, Weberian and postmodernist theories of power, patterns and trends in political participation, political participation and social class, voting behaviour and partisan de-alignment, political participation and gender, political participation, ethnicity and age, political parties and the democratic process, pressure groups and policy making and new social movements and anti-capitalist movements.
Where it is assessed
Component 3 Section B
Social Differentiation, Power and Stratification, one option of four.
Check the Eduqas specification ↗The 13 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Power, authority and legitimacyWeber's three types of legitimate authority, traditional authority and charismatic authority.Open →
- Pluralist theories of powerCentral claim of pluralist theory, countervailing power and elite pluralism.Open →
- Elite theories of powerCentral claim of classical elite theory, iron law of oligarchy and elite self-recruitment.Open →
- Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of powerInstrumentalist Marxist view of the state, structuralist Marxist view of the state and counter-hegemonic bloc.Open →
- Functionalist, Weberian and postmodernist theories of powerVariable-sum view of power and disciplinary power.Open →
- Patterns and trends in political participationSocial distribution of political participation, political apathy and cause-oriented participation.Open →
- Political participation and social classClass alignment, deviant voter and class de-alignment.Open →
- Voting behaviour and partisan de-alignmentPartisan de-alignment, issue voting and valence voting.Open →
- Political participation and genderTraditional gender gap in British voting, gender-generation gap and all-women shortlists.Open →
- Political participation, ethnicity and ageEthnic minority link with Labour and community mobilisation.Open →
- Political parties and the democratic processPolitical party, three functions parties perform in a democracy and catch-all party.Open →
- Pressure groups and policy makingPressure group, insider group and of an outsider group and free rider problem.Open →
- New social movements and anti-capitalist movementsSocial movement, anti-globalisation movement and occupy movement.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
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How is class voting measured, and what did Heath, Jowell and Curtice conclude?
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How did Weber define power?
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What did Dahl study in Who Governs?
Key term
State the central claim of classical elite theory.
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How do Marxists locate the source of political power?
Key term
What is meant by the social distribution of political participation?
Key term
Define partisan de-alignment.
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When did women achieve equal voting rights in the United Kingdom?
Key term
What has research found about electoral registration among minority ethnic groups in Britain?
Key term
Define a political party.
Key term
Define a pressure group.
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Define a social movement.
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Distinguish power from authority.
Key term
How do pluralists view pressure groups?
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What did Mosca argue about the ruling class?
Key term
What do Marxists mean by the ruling class?
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How do functionalists define power?
Key term
Distinguish conventional from unconventional participation.
Key term
Define class alignment.
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Which long-running study measures party identification in Britain?
Key term
What was the traditional gender gap in British voting?
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What is the ethnic minority link with Labour?
Key term
Name three functions parties perform in a democracy.
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Distinguish a sectional from a promotional pressure group.
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What distinguishes a new social movement from an older one?
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Define legitimacy.
Key term
Define countervailing power.
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What did Pareto mean by the circulation of elites?
Key term
How did Marx and Engels describe the modern state?
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What is a variable-sum view of power?
Key term
Give three forms of participation other than voting.
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What did Pulzer write about class and British politics?
Key term
Give three causes of partisan de-alignment.
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What is the gender-generation gap?
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What did Heath and colleagues conclude about minority ethnic voting?
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Distinguish a cadre from a mass party.
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Distinguish insider from outsider pressure groups.
Key term
Give three examples of new social movements.
Take Option: Politics further
The same content, four other ways.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
How did Weber define power?
Model answer
Weber (1922, Germany) defined power as the chance to carry out your own will despite the resistance of others. Power may rest on force or on consent.
- 2
Distinguish power from authority.
Model answer
Power is the ability to make others comply, by force if necessary. Authority is power that those subject to it accept as rightful.
- 3
Define legitimacy.
Model answer
Legitimacy is the belief that a ruler or an institution has the right to be obeyed. Weber (1922, Germany) treated legitimacy as the basis of stable authority.
- 4
Name Weber's three types of legitimate authority.
Model answer
Weber (1922, Germany) named traditional, charismatic and rational-legal authority. Each rests on a different ground for obedience.
- 5
Describe traditional authority.
Model answer
Traditional authority rests on long-established custom and inherited position. Weber (1922, Germany) gave hereditary monarchy and patriarchal rule as examples.
- 6
Describe charismatic authority.
Model answer
Charismatic authority rests on exceptional personal qualities attributed to a leader. Weber (1922, Germany) noted that such authority is unstable and must be routinised to outlast the leader.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Option: Politics revision questions
- What does Option: Politics cover in Eduqas A-Level Sociology?
- 13 subtopics: power, authority and legitimacy, pluralist theories of power, elite theories of power, marxist and neo-marxist theories of power, functionalist, weberian and postmodernist theories of power, patterns and trends in political participation, political participation and social class, voting behaviour and partisan de-alignment, political participation and gender, political participation, ethnicity and age, political parties and the democratic process, pressure groups and policy making and new social movements and anti-capitalist movements. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Option: Politics organised?
- By the Eduqas A200QS specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Option: Politics, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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