Name four systems of stratification.

Slavery, caste, feudalism and social class are four systems of stratification. Slavery is the most extreme, as enslaved people are owned as property by others.

What is a caste system?

A caste system is a closed system of stratification based on birth, traditionally linked to Hinduism in India. A person cannot move between castes, and marriage is expected within the caste.

What is the difference between ascribed and achieved status?

Ascribed status is fixed at birth, such as being born into a royal family. Achieved status is earned through effort or talent, such as qualifying as a doctor.

AQA GCSE Sociology 8192

The Sociological Approach

Topic overview Key sociological concepts Sociological perspectives: consensus and conflict Durkheim, Marx and Weber How sociological knowledge develops

Families

Topic overview Functions of families Family forms and diversity Conjugal roles and the domestic division of labour Changing relationships within families Criticisms of families Divorce in Britain since 1945

Education

Topic overview Roles and functions of education Education, capitalism and the correspondence principle Class and gender differences in achievement Ethnicity, parental choice and school markets Processes within schools

Crime and Deviance

Topic overview Social construction of crime and deviance Formal and informal social control Explanations of criminal behaviour Patterns of crime and public debates Crime statistics and the dark figure

Social Stratification

Topic overview Functionalist theory of stratification Marx, Weber and socio-economic class Factors affecting life chances Poverty as a social issue Forms of power and authority Power relationships

Research Methods

Topic overview Research design, hypotheses and data analysis Sampling methods Questionnaires and interviews Observation and mixed methods Types of data and official statistics Reliability, validity, ethics and practical issues

Social Stratification

Functionalist theory of stratification

3 things to know
Paper 2

Overview

Slavery, caste, feudalism and class, ascribed and achieved status, social mobility and meritocracy, Davis and Moore's theory, and the criticisms from Tumin, Marxists and feminists.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

How was stratification organised under feudalism?

Key term

How does social mobility show whether a stratification system is open or closed?

Key term

What is social stratification?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is social stratification?
Model answer
Social stratification is the division of society into layers, or strata, that are unequal in wealth, power and status. Social class is the main form of stratification in the UK.
2
Name four systems of stratification.
Model answer
Slavery, caste, feudalism and social class are four systems of stratification. Slavery is the most extreme, as enslaved people are owned as property by others.
3
What is a caste system?
Model answer
A caste system is a closed system of stratification based on birth, traditionally linked to Hinduism in India. A person cannot move between castes, and marriage is expected within the caste.
4
How was stratification organised under feudalism?
Model answer
Feudalism was the medieval system in which power came from owning land. The monarch and the aristocracy held the land, and peasants worked it in return for protection. The aristocracy is a noble class whose titles and estates are inherited.
5
What is the difference between ascribed and achieved status?
Model answer
Ascribed status is fixed at birth, such as being born into a royal family. Achieved status is earned through effort or talent, such as qualifying as a doctor.
6
How does social mobility show whether a stratification system is open or closed?
Model answer
Social mobility is movement up or down between strata. An open system such as class allows mobility, while a closed system such as caste does not. Intergenerational mobility compares a person's position with that of their parents.

See the rest and revise

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book

2Open book

3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

The Sociological Approach

Families

Education

Crime and Deviance

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

A communist society would follow.

classlesscapitalistfeudal

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AONS figures show that divorces rose briefly after the Second World War.

BDivorces then climbed steeply from 1971 and peaked in 1993.

CONS figures put the number at about 80,000 in 2022, after a long fall.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Monogamy means marriage to only one partner at a time.

TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Social Stratification, 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.

Start revising, £5 a month See how the method works

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.