Key term
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
Media
- 13 subtopics
- 39 things to know
- AS Unit 2
- AS Unit 2, one option of three
What Media covers
Media is examined in Unit 2 Section B — one of three options, studied instead of Education or Religion. It covers the role and function of the media in contemporary society, models of media effects: the hypodermic syringe and cultural effects, active audiences: uses and gratifications and reception theory, moral panics and folk devils, new media, globalisation and the digital divide, ownership and control of the media, media professionals, news values and agenda setting, representations of social class and age, representations of gender, representations of ethnicity, nationality and disability, media policy and regulation in Wales and England, pluralist and Marxist theories of the media and functionalist, feminist and postmodernist theories of the media.
Where it is assessed
AS Unit 2
Understanding Society — one option of three, studied instead of the other two.
Check the WJEC specification ↗The 13 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- The role and function of the media in contemporary societyMass media, three functions Lasswell gave the media and norm-setting by the media.Open →
- Models of media effects: the hypodermic syringe and cultural effectsHypodermic syringe model of media effects, copycat violence and desensitisation as a media effect.Open →
- Active audiences: uses and gratifications and reception theoryCentral claim of the uses and gratifications model, four uses Blumler and McQuail identified and what diversion means as a use of the media.Open →
- Moral panics and folk devilsMoral panic, folk devil and deviancy amplification spiral set off by press reporting.Open →
- New media, globalisation and the digital divideTechnological convergence, citizen journalism and digital divide.Open →
- Ownership and control of the mediaConcentration of media ownership, vertical integration and horizontal integration.Open →
- Media professionals, news values and agenda settingNews values, news value of threshold and news value of unexpectedness.Open →
- Representations of social class and ageMedia representation, poverty porn television and why representations of class matter for social policy.Open →
- Representations of genderMulvey's concept of the male gaze, beauty myth as Wolf describes it and postfeminist media culture.Open →
- Representations of ethnicity, nationality and disabilityTokenism in media representation, democratic deficit in Welsh media and what is meant by inspiration porn.Open →
- Media policy and regulation in Wales and EnglandBroadcasting watershed, difference between statutory regulation and self-regulation of the media and sociological significance of Welsh-language broadcasting.Open →
- Pluralist and Marxist theories of the mediaPluralist theory of the media, traditional Marxist view of the media and false consciousness in relation to media content.Open →
- Functionalist, feminist and postmodernist theories of the mediaFunctionalist view of the media, liberal feminist analysis of the media and radical feminist analysis of the media.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Evaluation
Give two criticisms of pluralism.
Key term
Distinguish old media from new media.
Evaluation
Give two criticisms of the Bobo doll study as evidence about media effects.
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What does personal relationships mean as a gratification?
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What is a folk devil?
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What is meant by technological convergence?
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What is meant by concentration of media ownership?
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Define news values.
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What did Tuchman mean by the symbolic annihilation of women?
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What did van Dijk find in his analysis of press reporting of minority ethnic groups?
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Which body regulates broadcasting in the United Kingdom?
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State the functionalist view of the media.
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Name the three functions Lasswell gave the media.
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What is meant by copycat violence?
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What does personal identity mean as a use of the media?
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Which groups did Cohen study in Folk Devils and Moral Panics?
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What is Web 2.0?
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What is a media conglomerate?
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Who identified the classic list of news values?
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Define a stereotype.
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What did Ferguson find in her study of women's magazines?
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What did Hall mean by the white eye?
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What is the broadcasting watershed?
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State the pluralist theory of the media.
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How would a functionalist explain the coverage of a national event?
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Which function did Wright add to Lasswell's list?
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Define desensitisation as a media effect.
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What is Hall's encoding and decoding model?
Process
Describe the stages of a moral panic as Cohen sets them out.
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Define citizen journalism.
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Define synergy in media production.
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Explain the news value of threshold.
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How does Newman describe the media's treatment of wealth?
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What did McRobbie find in her analysis of a girls' magazine?
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How are asylum seekers and migrants typically represented in the British press?
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Which body classifies films for cinema release in the UK?
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What is meant by false consciousness in relation to media content?
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How do functionalists explain the heavy reporting of crime?
Take Media further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Vertical integration vs Horizontal integration
Vertical integration: ownership of successive stages of production and distribution. Horizontal integration: ownership of several outlets at the same stage.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Define the mass media.
Model answer
The mass media are the channels, including press, broadcasting, film and online platforms, that transmit content to large and dispersed audiences at the same time.
- 2
Distinguish old media from new media.
Model answer
Old media are one-to-many, analogue and produced by a small number of professionals, while new media are digital, interactive and allow audiences to produce content as well as consume it.
- 3
Name the three functions Lasswell gave the media.
Model answer
Lasswell identified surveillance of the environment, correlation of the parts of society, and transmission of the social heritage.
- 4
Which function did Wright add to Lasswell's list?
Model answer
Wright added entertainment, arguing that the largest part of media output exists to divert its audience.
- 5
Explain what is meant by the media as an agency of secondary socialisation.
Model answer
The media supply norms, values and role models beyond the family, teaching audiences what is expected of them without any formal instruction.
- 6
What does norm-setting by the media mean?
Model answer
Norm-setting is the media encouraging conformity by giving approved behaviour favourable coverage while condemning what departs from it.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Media revision questions
- What does Media cover in WJEC A-Level Sociology?
- 13 subtopics: the role and function of the media in contemporary society, models of media effects: the hypodermic syringe and cultural effects, active audiences: uses and gratifications and reception theory, moral panics and folk devils, new media, globalisation and the digital divide, ownership and control of the media, media professionals, news values and agenda setting, representations of social class and age, representations of gender, representations of ethnicity, nationality and disability, media policy and regulation in wales and england, pluralist and marxist theories of the media and functionalist, feminist and postmodernist theories of the media. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Media organised?
- By the WJEC 601-5237-0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Media, 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.
Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.