Numbers
WJEC A-Level Sociology 601-5237-0
Culture and the Social Construction of Culture
Topic overviewCulture as a way of lifeNorms, values and beliefsRoles, status and role conflictAspects of culture: dress, language, food and musicHeritage and cultural tradition in WalesHigh culture, popular culture and global cultureNature, nurture and the social construction of cultureCultural diversity and sub-cultures
Socialisation and Its Agencies
Topic overviewPrimary and secondary socialisationRole models, imitation and sanctionsFamilies and primary cultural transmissionPeer groups as an agency of socialisationEducation as an agency of socialisationReligion as an agency of socialisationThe media as an agency of socialisationWork, resocialisation and total institutionsFormal and informal social control
Socialisation and Identity
Topic overviewPersonal and social identityTheories of identity: structural, interactionist and postmodernGender socialisation and gender identityMasculinity, femininity and change in gender identitiesSocial class and identityClass change, mobility and the underclassEthnicity and identityNationality, national identity and BritishnessWelsh identity and the Welsh language
Families and HouseholdsAcquiring Culture
Topic overviewDefining families and householdsFamily forms and family diversity in England and WalesEthnic, cultural and religious diversity in family lifeMarriage, cohabitation and singlehoodDivorce and separationFertility, birth rates and family sizeLife expectancy, ageing and the beanpole familyThe domestic division of labourPower, decision-making and domestic violenceChildhood and parent–child relationshipsFunctionalist and New Right theories of the familyMarxist and feminist theories of the familyPostmodernism, the life course and personal life
Youth CulturesAcquiring Culture
Topic overviewYouth and the social construction of adolescenceThe media and the formation of youth cultureEconomic change, consumption and the youth marketGlobalisation and youth cultureSocial class and youth subculturesGender and youth cultureEthnicity and youth cultureNational identity, Welshness and youth cultureNeo-tribes and the changing nature of youth cultureYouth deviance, delinquency and crimeAnti-school subcultures and the labelling of youthFunctionalist and Marxist theories of youth cultureFeminist, interactionist and postmodernist theories of youth culture
Research Methods: Primary and Secondary
Topic overviewQuestionnairesStructured interviewsUnstructured and semi-structured interviewsFocus groupsParticipant observationNon-participant and structured observationThe social surveyEthnographic methodsLongitudinal studiesExisting sociological research as secondary dataOfficial statistics and Welsh Government dataPersonal and public documents
Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues
Topic overviewTarget populations, sampling frames and accessSimple random and systematic random samplingStratified random samplingQuota samplingSnowball and volunteer samplingPurposive and opportunity samplingInformed consent, deception and the right to withdrawAnonymity, confidentiality and privacySensitivity, vulnerability and protection from harmPractical constraints: operationalisation, time and cost
Key Concepts and Theories of Research
Topic overviewValidity in sociological researchReliability and replicationRepresentativeness and generalisabilityObjectivity, value freedom and biasEthics as a criterion for judging researchPositivism and the scientific study of societyInterpretivism and verstehenRealism and the critical realist approachChoosing an approach: theory and method in practice
EducationUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of education in societySocial class and differential attainmentGender and differential attainmentEthnicity and differential attainmentParticipation, choice and the marketisation of educationEducation policy in England and Wales since 1944Welsh-medium education and the Curriculum for WalesMaterial factors and educational attainmentCultural capital and cultural deprivationLabelling, streaming and pupil subculturesFunctionalist and New Right theories of educationMarxist theories of educationFeminist, interactionist and postmodernist theories of education
MediaUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of the media in contemporary societyModels of media effects: the hypodermic syringe and cultural effectsActive audiences: uses and gratifications and reception theoryMoral panics and folk devilsNew media, globalisation and the digital divideOwnership and control of the mediaMedia professionals, news values and agenda settingRepresentations of social class and ageRepresentations of genderRepresentations of ethnicity, nationality and disabilityMedia policy and regulation in Wales and EnglandPluralist and Marxist theories of the mediaFunctionalist, feminist and postmodernist theories of the media
ReligionUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of religion in contemporary societyReligion in Wales: chapel, nonconformity and the Welsh languageReligion as a conservative force and as a force for changePatterns of religious participation by social class and ageGender and religiosityEthnicity and religiosity in England and WalesChurches, denominations, sects and cultsNew religious movements and new age movementsFundamentalism and religion in a globalised worldSecularisation in England and WalesReligion and social policy in England and WalesFunctionalist, Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of religionWeberian, feminist and postmodernist theories of religion
Crime and DeviancePower and Control
Topic overviewDefining crime, deviance and social controlCrime and deviance as social constructsThe media, moral panics and the fear of crimeSocial class and crimeGender and feminist explanations of crimeEthnicity, policing and the criminal justice systemAge and crimePolice recorded crime and the dark figureVictim surveys and self-report studiesCrime, policing and social policy in WalesFunctionalist and subcultural theories of crimeMarxist and neo-Marxist theories of crimeInteractionism, labelling and postmodernist theories of crimeLeft realism, right realism and crime control policy
Health and DisabilityPower and Control
Topic overviewDefining health, illness and diseaseThe biomedical model and the social model of healthThe social construction of disabilityOfficial statistics and the measurement of healthSocial class and health inequalitiesGender and healthEthnicity and healthAge and healthArtefact, selection, cultural and material explanationsAccess to and provision of health care in England and WalesMedicalisation and the role of health professionalsHealth policy in England and WalesFunctionalist, Marxist and interactionist theories of healthFeminist and postmodernist views of health and disability
World SociologyPower and Control
Topic overviewDefining and measuring developmentGlobal inequalities in health and educationEmployment, poverty and the global division of labourPatterns of inequality in England and WalesPopulation, demographic change and developmentUrbanisation and marginalisationAid, debt and non-governmental organisationsGlobalisation and developmentTransnational corporations and world tradeModernisation theory and its criticsMarxist, dependency and world systems theoriesFeminist explanations of development
Applied Methods: Designing Sociological Research
Topic overviewChoosing a research topic and framing the aimHypotheses, operationalisation and indicatorsJustifying the chosen methodAnticipating problems with the chosen method and their impactSelecting and justifying a sampleAnticipating problems with the sample and their impactEthical issues in a research designPractical issues in a research designPresenting collected data
Social Inequality: Evidence and Patterns
Topic overviewMeasuring social class in BritainThe distribution of income and wealthWork and pay: occupational inequalityClass inequality: the evidenceGender inequality: the evidenceEthnic inequality: the evidenceAge inequality: the evidenceDisability and inequalityPower and political inequalityPoverty and social exclusionInequality in Wales: the evidence base
Theories and Explanations of Inequality and Stratification
Topic overviewSocial stratification: the core conceptsFunctionalist explanations of inequalityMarxist explanations of inequalityNeo-Marxist explanations of inequalityWeberian explanations of inequalityNeo-Weberian explanations of inequalityFeminist explanations of inequalityPostmodernist explanations of inequalityNew Right explanations of inequalityComparing and evaluating theories of stratification
Crime and Deviance
- 14 subtopics
- 42 things to know
- A2 Unit 3
- A2 Unit 3, one option of three
What Crime and Deviance covers
Crime and Deviance is examined in Unit 3, Power and Control — one of three options, studied instead of Health and Disability or World Sociology. It covers defining crime, deviance and social control, crime and deviance as social constructs, the media, moral panics and the fear of crime, social class and crime, gender and feminist explanations of crime, ethnicity, policing and the criminal justice system, age and crime, police recorded crime and the dark figure, victim surveys and self-report studies, crime, policing and social policy in Wales, functionalist and subcultural theories of crime, Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of crime, Interactionism, labelling and postmodernist theories of crime and left realism, right realism and crime control policy.
Where it is assessed
A2 Unit 3
Power and Control — one option of three, studied instead of the other two.
Check the WJEC specification ↗The 14 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Defining crime, deviance and social controlCrime in sociology, term deviance and three agencies of formal social control in England and Wales.Open →
- Crime and deviance as social constructsLaw in England and Wales creating a new crime and cultural relativity in the definition of crime.Open →
- The media, moral panics and the fear of crimeMoral panic and deviancy amplification spiral.Open →
- Social class and crimeCorporate crime and selective law enforcement.Open →
- Gender and feminist explanations of crimeChivalry thesis, double deviance and control Heidensohn said women experience in public places.Open →
- Ethnicity, policing and the criminal justice systemInstitutional racism, myth of black criminality and racially or religiously aggravated offence.Open →
- Age and crimeAge-crime curve, age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales and anti-social behaviour orders.Open →
- Police recorded crime and the dark figurePolice recorded crime statistics, dark figure of crime and national Crime Recording Standard intended to achieve.Open →
- Victim surveys and self-report studiesVictim survey and self-report study.Open →
- Crime, policing and social policy in WalesFour territorial police forces in Wales and guiding principle of youth justice policy in Wales.Open →
- Functionalist and subcultural theories of crimeBoundary maintenance, merton's strain theory and merton's five adaptations to strain.Open →
- Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of crimeIdeological function of law in Marxist theory, aim of The New Criminology and left realist criticism of neo-Marxist criminology.Open →
- Interactionism, labelling and postmodernist theories of crimeCentral claim of labelling theory, primary deviance and secondary deviance.Open →
- Left realism, right realism and crime control policyMurray's underclass thesis, rational choice theory in criminology and three conditions set out by routine activity theory.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Set out how victim surveys work and what limits them.
Evaluation
What is the broken windows argument?
Key term
What is meant by crime in sociology?
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What is a moral panic?
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What picture of the typical offender emerges from convictions in England and Wales?
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What does the pattern of convictions in England and Wales show about sex and offending?
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What do official figures show about ethnicity and imprisonment in England and Wales?
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What is the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales?
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What is the dark figure of crime?
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Why are crime figures published for England and Wales together?
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Why did Durkheim regard crime as inevitable in every society?
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How do Marxists explain the making of the law?
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What is the central claim of labelling theory?
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Define the term deviance.
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Who are moral entrepreneurs?
Numbers
Which study established the idea of the moral panic in British sociology?
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Why do sociologists distrust the picture of the typical offender that convictions give?
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Which type of offence accounts for a large share of women's convictions?
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What does stop and search data show about ethnicity?
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What is meant by desistance?
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Why might a victim of domestic abuse not go to the police?
Numbers
When did the British Crime Survey begin, and what is it called now?
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Name the four territorial police forces in Wales.
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How can deviance produce beneficial social change?
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What did Chambliss argue about laws protecting property?
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What did Becker mean by an outsider?
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What did Wilson argue about the search for the causes of crime?
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Why is it a mistake to treat crime and deviance as the same thing?
Numbers
Give an example of the law in England and Wales making an act stop being a crime.
Process
Outline the stages Cohen identified in the making of a moral panic.
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How does occupational crime differ from corporate crime?
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What is the chivalry thesis?
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What is meant by institutional racism?
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How did Cohen explain working-class delinquency in terms of status?
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Why did recorded crime rise after 2002 even where offending had not?
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Who is interviewed for the Crime Survey for England and Wales?
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Who holds the police in Wales to account locally?
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Define anomie.
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How do Marxists explain who ends up being prosecuted?
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What is primary deviance?
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What three elements did Wilson and Herrnstein combine in their biosocial theory?
Take Crime and Deviance further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Absolute deprivation vs Relative deprivation
Absolute deprivation: lacking the necessities of life outright. Relative deprivation: feeling worse off than the group you compare yourself with, however much you have.
Anomie vs Alienation
Anomie: a breakdown in the regulating power of norms. Alienation: estrangement from the product and process of work under capitalism.
Displacement vs Deterrence
Displacement: crime prevention has simply moved the offending elsewhere. Deterrence: it means the offending has been given up because the risk now outweighs the reward.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is meant by crime in sociology?
Model answer
Crime is behaviour that breaks the criminal law and can be punished by the state.
- 2
Define the term deviance.
Model answer
Deviance is behaviour that departs from the norms of a society or group and attracts disapproval or a sanction.
- 3
Why is it a mistake to treat crime and deviance as the same thing?
Model answer
Much deviance breaks no law at all, such as talking loudly to yourself in public, while some crime is barely regarded as deviant, such as driving slightly over the speed limit.
- 4
How did Downes and Rock describe deviance?
Model answer
They described it as banned or controlled behaviour that is likely to attract punishment or disapproval.
- 5
What did Plummer mean by societal deviance?
Model answer
Societal deviance is behaviour that most members of a society agree is deviant wherever and whenever it happens, such as child abuse.
- 6
What did Plummer mean by situational deviance?
Model answer
Situational deviance is behaviour judged deviant only in particular settings, so that nudity is accepted on a designated beach but not on a high street.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Crime and Deviance revision questions
- What does Crime and Deviance cover in WJEC A-Level Sociology?
- 14 subtopics: defining crime, deviance and social control, crime and deviance as social constructs, the media, moral panics and the fear of crime, social class and crime, gender and feminist explanations of crime, ethnicity, policing and the criminal justice system, age and crime, police recorded crime and the dark figure, victim surveys and self-report studies, crime, policing and social policy in wales, functionalist and subcultural theories of crime, marxist and neo-marxist theories of crime, interactionism, labelling and postmodernist theories of crime and left realism, right realism and crime control policy. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Crime and Deviance organised?
- By the WJEC 601-5237-0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Crime and Deviance, 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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