COMPLETE SOCIAL STRATIFICATION AQA GCSE SUMMARY:
This document includes:
- Exam ready definitions for key words in accordance to the specification
- The perspective of every theory on key topics
- Key sociologists to support arguments
- A brief evaluation point for each section, perfect to use in an essay to secure
top marks
- Paragraph structure for a full mark essay
Best of luck with your exam!
~ from a Grade 9 student
KEY DEFINITIONS:
★ Social stratification: hierarchical organisation of society where strata are unequally
ranked
★ Social inequality: unequal distribution of resources such as money, power and
opportunities
★ Life chances: opportunities that people have to enjoy the pleasantries of life and
have positive outcomes
★ Registrar General’s scale: classification of people into either professional,
intermediate, skilled, partially skilled or unskilled
★ Intragenerational mobility: movement of an individual between social classes over
their lifetime
★ Intergenerational mobility: movement between generations of a family; this occurs
when a child enters a different social class than their parents.
★ Authority: the right to give orders
★ Coercion: forced obedience that gives the impression that there is no other choice
★ Absolute poverty: income is insufficient to obtain the absolute minimum needed to
survive
★ Relative poverty: cannot afford to meet the general standard of living
★ Poverty line: a measure of the minimum income required to meet the essential cost
of living
★ Poverty trap: poor families in receipt of means-tested welfare benefits are trapped
as if their income increases their benefits decrease which means there is no overall
improvement in their financial situation.
, FUNCTIONALIST VIEW OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:
Stratification is a natural and healthy part of any society as different roles require different
degrees of difficulty and qualifications so they should be rewarded accordingly.
Davis and Moore
- The function of social stratification is role allocation where the right people are
matched to the right jobs
- Functionally important roles which provide an essential service need a higher reward
Parsons
- Society is meritocratic which means hard work will equate to success
- This means that everyone can attain success through an effort which means people
require higher rewards to encourage achievement
Tumin argues that many jobs such as nursing and teaching don't receive the rewards they
deserve despite being functionally important.
MARXIST VIEW OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:
Stratification is based on the superiority of the bourgeoisie who aim to exploit the proletariat
class. The only way to overcome this inequality is through a communist revolution.
Marx
- Society is organised in a two-class stratification system where the bourgeoisie exploit
the labour of the proletariat class
- This is done through surplus value (the bourgeoisie will pay their workers as little as
possible to increase their profit) and alienation (workers are alienated from their
labour power, products of labour, each other and their humanity)
Weber
- Extended Marx’s ideas to suggest that social class is not only based on income but
also on power and status
- Power entails your ability to influence decisions which gives people like managers
and politicians high status
- Status entails the respect a person receives where a nurse may receive more
respect despite their lower income
Functionalists argue that the unequal distribution of life chances incentivises people to do
different jobs, which means that stratification is necessary.
FEMINIST VIEW OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:
The patriarchal society we live in allows for the unjust male oppression of women.
Delphy and Leonard:
- Men benefit most from the unpaid housework of women
- Women provide 57 varieties of unpaid service
Ann Oakley:
- Women undergo a dual burden where they are expected to take on domestic duties
even when they take on paid employment
Duncombe and Marsden:
- Extended the idea of a dual burden to a triple shift to include emotion work
This document includes:
- Exam ready definitions for key words in accordance to the specification
- The perspective of every theory on key topics
- Key sociologists to support arguments
- A brief evaluation point for each section, perfect to use in an essay to secure
top marks
- Paragraph structure for a full mark essay
Best of luck with your exam!
~ from a Grade 9 student
KEY DEFINITIONS:
★ Social stratification: hierarchical organisation of society where strata are unequally
ranked
★ Social inequality: unequal distribution of resources such as money, power and
opportunities
★ Life chances: opportunities that people have to enjoy the pleasantries of life and
have positive outcomes
★ Registrar General’s scale: classification of people into either professional,
intermediate, skilled, partially skilled or unskilled
★ Intragenerational mobility: movement of an individual between social classes over
their lifetime
★ Intergenerational mobility: movement between generations of a family; this occurs
when a child enters a different social class than their parents.
★ Authority: the right to give orders
★ Coercion: forced obedience that gives the impression that there is no other choice
★ Absolute poverty: income is insufficient to obtain the absolute minimum needed to
survive
★ Relative poverty: cannot afford to meet the general standard of living
★ Poverty line: a measure of the minimum income required to meet the essential cost
of living
★ Poverty trap: poor families in receipt of means-tested welfare benefits are trapped
as if their income increases their benefits decrease which means there is no overall
improvement in their financial situation.
, FUNCTIONALIST VIEW OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:
Stratification is a natural and healthy part of any society as different roles require different
degrees of difficulty and qualifications so they should be rewarded accordingly.
Davis and Moore
- The function of social stratification is role allocation where the right people are
matched to the right jobs
- Functionally important roles which provide an essential service need a higher reward
Parsons
- Society is meritocratic which means hard work will equate to success
- This means that everyone can attain success through an effort which means people
require higher rewards to encourage achievement
Tumin argues that many jobs such as nursing and teaching don't receive the rewards they
deserve despite being functionally important.
MARXIST VIEW OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:
Stratification is based on the superiority of the bourgeoisie who aim to exploit the proletariat
class. The only way to overcome this inequality is through a communist revolution.
Marx
- Society is organised in a two-class stratification system where the bourgeoisie exploit
the labour of the proletariat class
- This is done through surplus value (the bourgeoisie will pay their workers as little as
possible to increase their profit) and alienation (workers are alienated from their
labour power, products of labour, each other and their humanity)
Weber
- Extended Marx’s ideas to suggest that social class is not only based on income but
also on power and status
- Power entails your ability to influence decisions which gives people like managers
and politicians high status
- Status entails the respect a person receives where a nurse may receive more
respect despite their lower income
Functionalists argue that the unequal distribution of life chances incentivises people to do
different jobs, which means that stratification is necessary.
FEMINIST VIEW OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:
The patriarchal society we live in allows for the unjust male oppression of women.
Delphy and Leonard:
- Men benefit most from the unpaid housework of women
- Women provide 57 varieties of unpaid service
Ann Oakley:
- Women undergo a dual burden where they are expected to take on domestic duties
even when they take on paid employment
Duncombe and Marsden:
- Extended the idea of a dual burden to a triple shift to include emotion work
