Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

AQA A level Sociology > Perspectives > Flashcards

Perspectives Flashcards

1
Q

MODERNITY
What is globalisation?

A

the increased interconnectedness of people across national boundaries.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

MODERNITY
What are the four changes to globalisation?

A

Technological Changes – New technologies have created
greater risk such as global warming.

Economic Changes – economic activity now takes place on a global scale and includes the electronic economy.

Political Changes – globalisation has undermined the power of the nation state.

Changes in culture and identity – mass media has led to the
westernisation of the world.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

MODERNITY
What are the four characteristics of a modern society?

A

Nation State – A geographical area ruled by a central state.

Capitalism – Private ownership of the means of production and the use of wage labourers.

Rationality – Science and technology are the dominant way of thinking, moves away from religious explanations.

Individualism – greater personal freedom and the break from tradition and ascribed status. Although structural inequalities still remain.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

MODERNITY
What is Late modernity?

A

An alternative theory to postmodernism, where the changes to work, consumption and culture are accelerated.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

MODERNITY
What does Giddens say is the cause of the changes to consumption, work and culture?

A

The combination of…

Reflexivity - when we constantly reflect upon ourselves and our actions, and modify them accordingly.

Disembedding - when we interact with one another without meeting face to face

=makes society unstable.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

MODERNITY
Why does Giddens see high modernity as a massive force that could go out of control?

A

Late modernity is a state with high risks of war, economic collapse and environmental disaster.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

MODERNITY
What are the features of Beck’s risk society?

A

Manufactured Risk: The risks that we face today have been created by human activity rather than by nature.

Individualisation: In society we think for ourselves and reflect on the possible consequences of our actions.

Risk Consciousness: we have become much more aware of risks to ourselves so we work to avoid and minimise them.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

MODERNITY
What does modernity refer to?

A

The late 18th Century in Western Europe which saw the rise of mass production, urbanisation and state bureaucracy.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

MODERNITY
What is the aim of modernist sociological theorists?

A

They aim to investigate the world scientifically and explain why societies have evolved to be the way they are.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

MODERNITY
According to postmodernists, what are the various changes that have caused society to progress from modernity?

A

There is a pluralism of culture and roles where people interpret society and their own identities, in different ways according to the circumstances they are in.

There is a more global economy with many transnational corporations.

Technology has improved communication between countries.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

MODERNITY
What does Lyotard say about language?

A

There is a series of language games where the meaning of a word depends on the way someone uses it, therefore meaning is something we construct.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

MODERNITY
What does Baudrillard argue about signs?

A

Signs don’t relate to any real things because we don’t have an agreed definition of what is real, therefore sign - simulacra - are meaningless.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

MODERNITY
According to Baudrillard, what is hyper-reality?

A

A complete inability to tell what is real from what is not.

The main cause of this is television.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

MODERNITY
What are the criticisms of postmodernism?

A

Philo and Miller: Overlooks the role of poverty in restricting opportunities. Wrong to assume people cannot differentiate between reality and image.

Best and Kellner: It doesn’t explain how society has come about.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

INTERACTIONISM
What are interactionist theorists (social action theorists)?

A

They study how the action of individuals in society, shapes society as a whole and focuses on the free will people are able to assert.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

INTERACTIONISM
What does Max Weber suggest in order to effectively study society?

A

Weber suggests that sociologists should look to explain the aims of structural factors in society that shape human behaviour and also examine the level of meaning that each individual attaches to their actions.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

INTERACTIONISM
What are the four categories of meanings that individuals can attach to their actions identified by Weber?

A

Traditional actions: actions that are routine in society or culture that require no explanation for the individual.

Affective action: actions that show emotion.

Rational value action: actions that are influenced by a belief or ideal.

Rational instrumental action: actions driven by a goal with specified benefits.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

INTERACTIONISM
What is symbolic interactionism?

A

How individuals shape the world around them with their actions.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

INTERACTIONISM
What are Blumer’s three assumptions of symbolic interactionism?

A

People have meanings for different objects and actions, which influences their response towards them.

The meaning people have are based on social interaction.

People try and make sense of scenarios by adapting their meaning and reflecting on the situation.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

INTERACTIONISM
Why do Marxists and functionalists disagree with Blumer?

A

Marxists and functionalists disagree with Blumer because he fails to see how the influence of structures in society impact actions of individuals and their interpretation of the world around them.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

INTERACTIONSIM
What is Goffman’s dramaturgical model?

A

There is a difference between who we really are and the roles we play in society -‘role distance’.
Roles are loosely scripted by society

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

INTERACTIONISM
What is the labelling theory?

A

It looks at how people define situations as real.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

INTERACTIONISM
What is ethnomethodology?

A

It studies how individuals’ interactions make social order possible.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

INTERACTIONISM
What is phenomenology?

A

It looks at how humans use their senses to interpret what is happening around them.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

INTERACTIONISM
Why is social action theory criticised?

A

It focuses too much on individual meanings and not explaining how we develop shared ones.

It can also be difficult to classify actions into just one of the four types of actions. Therefore, social action theory can be subjective.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

INTERACTIONISM
What are symbols?

A

The words, gestures, objects and expressions that we place meaning on.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

INTERACTIONISM
According to Mead, how do we interpret symbols?

A

Through social interaction; the knowledge of shared symbols and their meanings allows us to function as members of society.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

FEMINISM
What is feminism?

A

The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground for the equality of the sexes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

FEMINISM
What does Sylvia Walby identify as the 6 structures of patriarchy?

A

Paid work

Household work

Culture

Sexuality

Violence

The state

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

FEMINISM
What is the liberal feminist view about society?

A

Liberalism is the idea that all humans should have the same equality, rights and freedom which can be achieved by reforms within the existing institutions and structures of society.

Believes that equality should be brought about through education and policy changes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

FEMINISM
What laws are designed to provide equal treatment for men and women?

A

Equal Pay Act 1970 gives individuals the right to the same contractual pay and benefits as a person of the opposite sex in the same employment.

Discrimination Act 1975 renders certain kinds of sex discrimination and discrimination on the ground of marriage.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

FEMINISM
What are the criticisms of liberal feminism?

A

It has failed to identify the causes of gender inequality and, as a result, a failure to develop effective strategies for ending it.

Critics argue that the changes required to produce gender equality are too fundamental to be made with the present society therefore a revolution is needed.

Critics argue that liberal feminists ignore the intimate and emotional side of women’s lives.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

FEMINISM
What are the praises of liberal feminism?

A

it shows that gender inequality and discrimination can be overcome without violence.

It shows that gender differences are socially constructed.

It has had an important influence on social policy.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

FEMINISM
What do some radical feminists advocate as the only way to achieve equality?

A

To achieve gender equality a new culture of female independence, free from patriarchy needs to be created through separationism, collective action and political lesbianism.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

FEMINISM
What is Germaine Greer’s alternative to the heterosexual family?

A

Matrilocal households

36
Q

FEMINISM
What are the criticisms of radical feminism?

A

It use violence to achieve its aims and makes wider feminism seem silly and men hating.

It ignores the element of choice within a relationship.

37
Q

FEMINISM
What are the praises of radical feminism?

A

It raises the profile of what has previously been considered private issues.

It exposes the social construction of gender and gender roles.

38
Q

FEMINISM
What is the Marxist feminists view about society?

A

They believe that capitalism is patriarchal and is the cause of women’s oppression.

39
Q

FEMINISM
According to Michele Bartlett, why do women rely on men?

A

In a capitalist system, women are forced to rely on the men during the late stages of pregnancy and after giving birth because the patriarchal nuclear family is the only place women attain fulfilment.

40
Q

FEMINISM
What are the criticisms of Marxist feminism?

A

Fails to identify why women are still oppressed in non-capitalist societies.

It doesn’t explain why women perform unpaid domestic labour and not men.

41
Q

FEMINISM
What are the praises of Marxist feminism?

A

Shows a greater understanding of the structural causes of women’s oppression.

42
Q

FEMINISM
What are dual system theories?

A

They combine radical feminism and Marxist feminism.

43
Q

FEMINISM
What does Heidi Hartman say about patriarchal capitalism?

A

Patriarchy is universal but takes a specific form in a capitalist society. It focuses on the relationship between women’s position in the domestic division of labour and paid work.

44
Q

FEMINISM
What is intersectional feminism?

A

They do not see women as a single homogenus group who all share the same issues and problems.

45
Q

FEMINISM
What does Judith Butler say about intersectional feminism?

A

White middle-class women dominate the feminist movement and falsely claim a universality of women’s experience.

46
Q

FEMINISM
What are the criticisms of intersectional feminism?

A

Having so many sub groups weakens the feminist movement.

Segal says it abandons any notion of objective social structures.

47
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
Marxism is a conflict theory.
What does this mean?

A

A sociological theory which views society as consisting of groups with conflicting interests vying for dominance.

48
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What are the forces of production?

A

The materials and technology used in the production of goods and services.

49
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What are relations of production?

A

The relationships people enter in order to produce goods and services.

50
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is the ruling class?

A

The class who owns the forces of production.

51
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is the subject class?

A

The class who are subject to the ruling class.

52
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is the infrastructure?

A

The economic base of society made up of forces and relations of production.

53
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is the superstructure?

A

The rest of society that is largely shaped by the infrastructure.

54
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is the ruling class ideology?

A

A set of beliefs that present a false picture of society to justify the position of the ruling class.

55
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is the false class consciousness?

A

A false picture of the class system that conceals the exploitation on which it is based.

56
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is alienation?

A

The cutting out of people from their work, the things they produce, from others and from their true selves.

57
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is polarisation?

A

The growing gap between the two different classes in terms of income and wealth.

58
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is economic determinism?

A

The idea that economic factors determine and shape human behaviour and the structure of society.

59
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is hegemony?

A

The means by which the ruling class maintain their dominance and control over the subject class.

60
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is dual consciousness?

A

The idea that subject class have two views on society: the ruling class hegemony and the true picture.

61
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is primitive communism?

A

When food and shelter is communally owned with no conflict of interest.

62
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is Marx’s view about society?

A

Society is capitalist where the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat as most of the value of the goods produced is taken away in the form of profits by the capitalists.

Ruling classes used their control of social institutions to gain ideological dominance, or control over the way people think in society which results in false class consciousness.

63
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What is an example of how the economic relationships between the ruling and subject class will be reflected in the superstructure?

A

The state will support the ruling class by passing laws to legalise the private ownership of industry and the right of owners to take away any profits made.

David Harvey believes that Marx correctly identified that capitalism is an unstable system that causes recurring financial crises for example the crisis of 2007/08.

64
Q

Neo-marxism

What is Ruling Class dominance maintained by?

A

Coercion – the use of the army, police and other government agencies to force other classes to accept ruling class ideology.

Consent – uses ideas and values to persuade the other classes that ruling class ideology is legitimate.

65
Q

Neo-marxism

What are the 3 Levels of Structural Determinism?

A

Economic Level – All activities which produce something to meet a need. Dominates capitalism.

Political Level – All forms of organisation which coerce workers into the false class consciousness.

Ideological Level – The ways people see themselves and the world.

66
Q

MARXISM + NEO MARXISM
What are the criticisms of Marxism?

A

Critics argue that Marx’s prediction of the growing intensity of class conflict has not occurred and instead class conflict has been industrialised as it has become a standard part of society with political parties representing various classes in a democratic system.

Critics argue that the collapse of communism in eastern European countries and the Soviet Union suggests that the promise of communism has been replaced with the desire of western style democracies.

67
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
Functionalism is a consensus theory.
What does this mean?

A

A consensus theory is one which believes that the institutions of society are working together to maintain social cohesion and stability.

68
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What is the functionalist view on continued existance?

A

Functionalists believe that once an institution has been established, it continues to exist if it has beneficial effects on the system.

69
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What is value consensus?

A

An agreement of the shared norms and values of society which will create social order.

70
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What is Durkheim’s view about society?

A

There was no real individuality in society as members of society are constrained by ‘social facts’ such as beliefs and basic norms which shape and direct their behaviour.

Too much freedom in society will lead to individuals suffering from uncertainty and confusion about their place in the world.

Social solidarity was previously created by socialisation through religion but post the 20th century, its role has been replaced by schools and workplaces.

71
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What is Parson’s view about society?

A

Society and the human body are similar - organic analogy

System: society and the body each regulate themselves as they are made up of interconnected parts that work together to serve each other.

System needs: socialisation into the shared norms and values of society is a need that must be met.

Functions: each part of society must perform a function for the smooth running of society.

72
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
According to Parsons, what are the four functions of the GAIL schema?
(Functionalist Prerequisites)

A

Goal attainment: society must set goals for people to strive for and provide resources for people to achieve those goals.

Adaption: society must adapt to meet the needs of everyone in society.

Integration: subsystems must integrate with each other to work towards their shared goals in society.

Latency: processes must exist that allow society to continue to function.

73
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What is Merton’s view about society?

A

Merton thinks that society should not be assumed because it will not allow the analysis of the effects of parts of society to indicate whether they are functional, dysfunctional or nonfunctional.

Merton suggests that the idea of indispensability should be replaced with functional alternatives. For example communism is a functional alternative for religion.

Merton argues that in a complex society, universal functionalism is doubtful. He thinks that parts of society may be functional, dysfunctional or non-functional.

74
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What are the two types of functions exist in society according to Merton?

A

Manifest functions: apparent and intended functions of institutions in society.

Latent functions: less apparent and often unrecognised functions in social institutions and processes.

75
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What is collective conscience?

A

The shared morality of members of society.

76
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What is Anomie?

A

A condition of instability resulting from the breakdown of standards and values or from a lack of purpose and ideals.

77
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What is universal functionalism?

A

The view that all parts of the social system make positive contributions to society as a whole.

78
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What is indispensability?

A

The institutions and social arrangements that are seen as essential for the operation of society.

79
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What are the criticisms of the functionalist perspective on society?

A

Universal Functionalism – Not all the institutions of society perform a positive function for society, instead for some people they are dysfunctional, for example domestic abuse makes the family dysfunctional for its members.

It can be argued that consensus is assumed and so social order can be the result of the absence of value consensus rather than the presence.

Deterministic - society shapes individual behaviour so people are seen as a creation of the system.

Few functionalists give serious consideration to the possibility that some groups in society act in terms of their own interests and dominate and exploit others. From this point of view, value consensus is merely a justification of the position of the dominant group.

Rose tinted view - Conflict theorists point out that functionalist focus too much on the positive functions that institutions perform, ignoring the negative ways in which institutions and socialisation can have on certain people.

80
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What is determinism?

A

The idea that all actions, decisions and events are determined by previously existing causes.

81
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What do functionalists believe about social change?

A

Social change will be socially harmful.

82
Q

FUNCTIONALISM
What do functionalists believe about socialisation?

A

It is the process through which individuals learn the norms and values of society, leading to social cohesion and a functional society.

83
Q

MARXISM + NEO-MARXISM
In what way is Marxism reductionist?

A

It explains all of society and its problems with capitalism.

84
Q

What are social facts?

A

The institutions, norms and values of society that are external to individuals and shape their behaviour.

85
Q

What is teleology?

A

Explaining the cause of something by its effects.

AQA A level Sociology (7 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions