Download Sociology Revision Advice

GCSE SOCIOLOGY – Yr 10 Revision
Section A - Core Topic: “What you must know”
You MUST answer all these questions in this section of the exam paper. The questions
are worth 1 to 6 marks. You will be asked to define key words, identify points from
graphs or a piece of text and then use that information to explain an answer. Try to
only spend 30 minutes of the exam time on this section.
The core topic involves questions on issues such as:






explanations of human behaviour;
Plus Research Methods
the nature-nurture debate;
culture and cultural variation between different social groups;
agencies and processes of socialisation;
the social construction of identity (concerning gender, ethnicity and age);
the nature and significance of social control.
Theory




How do Marxists view the rich?
What do Feminists think about the different gender roles?
How do Functionalists believe society works?
How do the New Right explain the difference between the rich and poor?
Key Words (revision hint: create key word tables or ‘key cards’ to test yourself)
Culture
Sub-culture
Norms & values
Social rules
Roles
Status
Socialisation
Formal socialisation
Informal socialisation
Agencies of socialisation
Primary socialisation
Secondary socialisation
Nature
Nurture
Feral children
Anthropology
Family
Mass media
Education
Peers
Identity
Sex
Gender
Ethnicity
Age
Labelling
Stereotyping
Role Model
Social control
Formal social control
Informal social control
Deviance
Sanctions
Check your understanding! Can you:
Check







Describe the difference between nature and nurture theories of human
behaviour?
Describe how people learn their norms and values?
Describe 2 differences between the way boys and girls are socialised?
Explain the difference, with examples, between primary and
secondary socialisation?
Explain the impact of culture on socialisation?
Discuss how social control is carried out?
Explain how/why ethnic minority cultures in the UK might differ from
the mainstream white culture?
SECTION B: Option Topic – FAMILIES: “What you must know”
You can do this topic OR Mass Media. You must do both the 10-mark questions for
Family if this is the topic you choose. Ideally you will spend 15 minutes on each
10 mark question.
The Families topic involves questions on issues such as:





The different family types in Britain and around the world
The role of the family for the individual and society
Social processes within families, such as the changing roles of men, women & children.
How the nature of families, and family forms, have changed
Inequality within families, including gender divisions, divorce and family reconstruction,
singlehood, the role of children and older people
 Why some people criticise the family and what the ‘dark side’ is
 What alternatives there are to the family
Theory




How do Functionalists see the family?
What type of family does the New Right think is the best for society and why?
Why do Feminists criticise the family?
Why do Marxists criticise the family?
Key Words (revision hint: create key word tables or ‘key cards’ to test yourself)
Nuclear Family
Cereal Packet Family
Single/lone-parent
families
Reconstituted Family
Symmetrical Family
Beanpole Families
Extended Family
Singlehood
Household
Cohabitation
Kinship
Monogamy
Polygamy
New Man
Conjugal Roles
Patriarchal
Matriarchal
Dual career households
Arranged marriage
Civil partnership
Separation
Divorce
Broken homes
Remarriage
Cultural diversity
Family diversity
Birth rate
Fertility rate
Family size
Death rate
Infant mortality
Life expectancy
Ageing population
Contraception
Domestic labour
Triple shift
Child-centredness
Secularisation
Dark side
Domestic violence
Abuse
Communes
Kibbutz
Check your understanding of the Families topic! Can you:
Check






Describe different family types?
Describe how the family has changed?
Explain functions of the family within society?
Explain why divorce rates have increased in the UK?
Explain how & why conjugal roles been changing within modern society?
Explain, with examples, how families vary from culture to culture.
2
SECTION B: Option Topic – MASS MEDIA: “What you must know”
You can do this topic OR Families. You must do both the 10-mark questions for Mass
Media if this is the topic you choose. Ideally you will spend 15 minutes on each 10
mark question.
The Mass Media topic involves questions on issues such as:







Who owns the media
What affects the content of the media
The social construction of the news; stereotyping, deviancy amplification & prejudice
The difference between the various types of media and how the media is changing
How the media represents different social groups by age, gender, ethnicity & class
Social issues such as gatekeeping, agenda setting, body image & representation
How the media may influence society and the impact of the media on individuals,
including creating moral panics
Theory




What positive roles do Functionalists think the media performs for society?
What might the New Right argue the growth of the media can be beneficial?
Why do some Feminists think the media has a negative impact on women?
How do Marxists think the media benefits the ruling class?
Key Words (revision hint: create key word tables or ‘key cards’ to test yourself)
Agenda Setting
Gatekeeping
Mass culture
High culture
Traditional media
New media
Consumer choice
Citizen journalism
Democracy
Social capital
Digital divide
Tabloid
Broadsheet
News values
Newsworthiness
Ownership
Norm setting
Media regulation
Scapegoats
Ubiquity
Social construction
Representation
Body image
Media impact
Stereotypes
Folk Devils
Prejudice
Moral panics
Labelling
Amplification of deviance
Social networking
Media violence
Hypodermic syringe
model
Selective filtering
Check your understanding of the Mass Media topic! Can you:
Check






Describe ways the media influence public opinion?
Describe ways in which mass media has changed over the last 60 years?
Explain mass media and the creation of moral panics?
Explain what factors influence the content of the media?
Explain how the media may increase deviance?
Use sociological knowledge to discuss how the media portrays different
social groups?
3
Theoretical Approaches in Sociology (overview)
Sociology is the “study of human society.” As you might expect of a social
science, there are several explanations as to how we can best understand human
society. The main theoretical perspectives covered in GCSE Sociology are:
Functionalism
Functionalists believe that society can
best be compared to a living organ, in
which institutions and people all have
a function to play with society. For
example, the function of the family is
to socialise children.
Marxism
Marxists believe that a capitalist society
is characterised by a conflict between
the ruling class (the owners of capital)
and the working-class. In a capitalist
economic (such as the UK), the ruling
class exploit the workers.
Feminism
Feminists argue that society is
dominated by men. In this patriarchal
society men discriminate against
women - making it difficult for women
to gain equal rights. An example
would be the ‘glass ceiling’, where
women cannot get promoted beyond
a certain point.
The New Right
Sociologists who take a New Right
perspective believe that traditional
roles within society have been
undermined by the permissive/liberal
values of the 1960s and 1970s. They
argue that the nuclear family is the
bedrock of society, and that the welfare
state creates a dependency culture.
The Political Spectrum (overview)
New Labour
Trade unions
Socialist
CENTRE/
LIBERAL
RIGHT
LEFT
Communist/
Marxist



Things should be shared fairly amongst
all people in society.
Everyone is equal.
We should help those who are less
fortunate than ourselves.
We should tax the rich to pay for this.
US Conservatism
Nazi/Facist
Left wing political beliefs

UK Conservatism
Right wing political beliefs




Survival of the fittest (Social Darwinism).
The most talented get to the top and
have the most (“meritocracy”).
The government should hardly interfere
in peoples’ lives at all.
We should pay very little tax.
4