AQA A-Level Sociology sample questions and answers (7192)
Guide overview All 12 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
60 sample questions and answers
Taken from every topic of AQA A-Level Sociology, specification 7192. The full guide has 1,116.
Paper 1
Education
98 questions in the guide, across 8 subtopics. More from this topic
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The role and functions of education
How does Parsons argue that school prepares children for adult life?
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By teaching them to be judged by universalistic standards, preparing them for achievement-based adult roles in wider society. -
Class differences in educational achievement
What are the characteristics of Bernstein's elaborated code?
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Wider vocabulary and context-free language, used by the middle class and in schools. -
Labelling, subcultures and processes within schools
How can setting and streaming create self-fulfilling prophecies?
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Pupils in lower sets are labelled as less able and achieve less as a result of internalising these expectations. -
Gender and educational achievement
How have equal opportunities policies in schools contributed to girls' improved achievement?
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Policies promoting gender equality have challenged stereotypes and encouraged girls to achieve. -
Ethnicity and educational achievement
How might higher rates of poverty among some ethnic minorities contribute to lower educational achievement?
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Poverty limits access to educational resources such as books, computers, private tuition, and adequate nutrition, which can negatively affect concentration, attendance, and academic performance.
Paper 1
Methods in Context
28 questions in the guide, across 3 subtopics. More from this topic
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Access, gatekeepers and research ethics in schools
How might the power imbalance between adult researchers and child participants affect the validity of research data?
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Children may give answers they think adults want to hear rather than their true views, reducing validity. -
Access, gatekeepers and research ethics in schools
What factors about the researcher might cause pupils from different social class backgrounds to respond differently?
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The researcher's perceived status and manner of communication. -
Choosing methods for research in schools
How does the school timetable create practical constraints on educational research?
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It limits when and for how long researchers can access pupils without disrupting education. -
Choosing methods for research in schools
How might group interviews with pupils reduce the validity of research findings?
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Peer pressure effects may occur where dominant individuals influence others' responses. -
Data, theory and validity in educational research
What problem do longitudinal studies in education face regarding their sample?
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Sample attrition as pupils move schools or drop out.
Paper 1, Paper 3
Theory and Methods
92 questions in the guide, across 7 subtopics. More from this topic
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Research design and choosing a method
How do time constraints affect sociological research?
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Time constraints limit the scope and depth of research, potentially restricting sample sizes, the duration of observation, or the number of interviews that can be conducted. -
Research design and choosing a method
How did Ann Oakley's choice of housework as a research topic reflect her feminist values?
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In The Sociology of Housework (1974) Oakley studied housework as real work because male-dominated sociology had neglected women's unpaid labour in the home. -
Sources of data and types of data
How does participant observation differ from non-participant observation?
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Participant observation involves the researcher joining the group being studied and taking part in their activities, while non-participant observation involves watching without direct involvement. -
Sources of data and types of data
What are public documents as data sources in sociological research?
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Public documents are materials available to the public such as newspapers, historical records and media content that can be analysed for sociological research. -
Positivism, interpretivism and research ethics
How did Durkheim conceptualise social facts?
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Social facts are external, constraining forces that exist independently of individuals and can be studied objectively as things.
Paper 2
Culture and Identity
68 questions in the guide, across 5 subtopics. More from this topic
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Conceptions of culture
What two features are commonly associated with mass culture?
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Commercialisation and standardisation. -
Conceptions of culture
What is low culture?
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Low culture refers to cultural products and activities considered to lack intellectual or aesthetic merit, often associated with entertainment for the masses. -
Socialisation and the agencies of socialisation
How does secondary socialisation differ from primary socialisation in terms of timing and agencies involved?
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Secondary socialisation occurs later in life through agencies beyond the family, whereas primary socialisation occurs in early childhood mainly within the family. -
Socialisation and the agencies of socialisation
How might peer group socialisation relate to family socialisation?
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Peer groups may either reinforce or challenge the socialisation received from the family. -
The self, identity and difference
What does it mean to say that identity is socially caused?
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It means that social structures, institutions and processes shape the identities available to individuals.
Paper 2
Families and Households
154 questions in the guide, across 11 subtopics. More from this topic
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Functionalist views of the family
What is the sexual function of the family according to Murdock?
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The family regulates sexual behaviour by providing a socially approved outlet for sexual expression between married partners. -
Marxist and feminist views of the family
What did Zaretsky argue about the family's role under capitalism?
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The family provides an illusion of a private refuge from the harsh realities of capitalism while actually serving capitalist interests by reproducing labour power and consuming commodities. -
The New Right, postmodernism and family policy
How do benefits function as state policies affecting families?
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Welfare benefits such as child benefit, housing benefit, and income support provide financial assistance to families, though they may also influence family formation decisions. -
Marriage, cohabitation and divorce
How have legal changes contributed to rising divorce rates?
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Laws making divorce easier, cheaper, and more accessible have enabled more people to end unhappy marriages. -
Family diversity and the personal life perspective
What is the sociology of personal life associated with Smart?
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An approach that focuses on the meanings individuals give to relationships and how they construct their own sense of family, rather than focusing on household structures.
Paper 2
Health
56 questions in the guide, across 5 subtopics. More from this topic
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The social construction of health and models of illness
What does the social construction of the body refer to?
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It refers to how bodily ideals, norms and practices are shaped by culture, gender expectations, media and social institutions rather than being purely natural. -
The social construction of health and models of illness
What role does the biomedical model assign to medical professionals?
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It emphasises medical professional authority in diagnosing and treating illness. -
Class and gender inequalities in health
What do artefact explanations suggest about class differences in health?
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That they are a statistical illusion produced by the way class and health are measured. -
Class and gender inequalities in health
How does risk-taking behaviour contribute to gender differences in health?
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Men are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviours that increase their chances of injury, accidents and early death. -
Ethnic and regional inequality, and access to health care
How might cultural factors explain ethnic differences in health?
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Different dietary practices, attitudes to health and illness, and patterns of healthcare use may vary between ethnic groups.
Paper 2
Work, Poverty and Welfare
58 questions in the guide, across 5 subtopics. More from this topic
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Poverty: definitions, explanations and distribution
What is the culture of poverty thesis and who is it associated with?
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Associated with Oscar Lewis, it suggests poverty persists because the poor develop a distinct subculture with values that perpetuate their disadvantage across generations. -
Poverty: definitions, explanations and distribution
Why are women more likely to experience poverty than men?
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Due to factors including lower pay, part-time work, caring responsibilities and pension inequalities. -
The welfare state and welfare provision
What do social democratic perspectives argue about welfare?
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They argue that the state should actively redistribute resources and provide comprehensive services to reduce inequality and poverty. -
The welfare state and welfare provision
What is voluntary sector welfare provision?
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Support provided by charities, non-governmental organisations and community groups. -
The division of labour and the control of work
According to Marx, what is alienation from species-being?
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Workers are alienated from their human potential and creativity because capitalism reduces work to repetitive, unfulfilling tasks.
Paper 2
Beliefs in Society
116 questions in the guide, across 10 subtopics. More from this topic
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Ideology and science as belief systems
Why did Popper consider science an open belief system?
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Because scientific knowledge claims can be tested against evidence and rejected if falsified, unlike closed systems that protect their claims from disproof. -
Functionalist views of religion
How do religious rituals create social cohesion?
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By bringing people together in collective activities that reinforce shared beliefs and create a sense of belonging to a moral community. -
Marxist and feminist views of religion
In what way does religion distract from material conditions in the Marxist view?
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Religion focuses attention on spiritual matters and the afterlife rather than on the economic exploitation and material deprivation workers experience in this life. -
Religion as a force for social change
How did the ascetic lifestyle contribute to capitalism according to Weber?
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Calvinists lived frugally and avoided luxury consumption, meaning profits were saved and reinvested rather than spent. -
Churches, sects, denominations and cults
What is a cult?
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A loosely organised religious movement with individualistic beliefs, tolerant of other beliefs, making few demands on members, often focused on self-improvement or spiritual experience.
Paper 2
Global Development
54 questions in the guide, across 5 subtopics. More from this topic
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Theories of development and underdevelopment
How does modernisation theory view the path of development for all societies?
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All societies progress through similar stages of development, following the same path as Western nations. -
Theories of development and underdevelopment
What function do periphery nations serve in the capitalist world economy according to world systems theory?
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Periphery nations provide raw materials and cheap labour to core nations. -
Globalisation, transnational corporations and aid agencies
How is economic globalisation characterised?
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Economic globalisation involves the integration of national economies through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, and the activities of transnational corporations. -
Globalisation, transnational corporations and aid agencies
What are non-governmental organisations and what is their typical focus?
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NGOs are independent organisations that work on development issues outside of government control, often focusing on grassroots and community-based approaches. -
Aid, trade, industrialisation and urbanisation
How can trade function as a development strategy, and what limitation may developing nations face?
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Countries can export goods and services to generate income, though unequal terms of trade may disadvantage developing nations by keeping prices for their exports low.
Paper 2
The Media
77 questions in the guide, across 6 subtopics. More from this topic
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The new media and its significance
How has new media transformed the role of audiences?
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Audiences have shifted from passive consumers to active prosumers who both produce and consume content. -
The new media and its significance
How might new media challenge traditional gatekeepers according to optimistic perspectives?
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By enabling citizen journalism and allowing a greater diversity of voices to reach audiences without needing approval from established media institutions. -
Ownership, control and media globalisation
How does vertical integration differ from horizontal integration?
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Vertical integration involves owning different stages of production and distribution, while horizontal integration involves owning multiple companies at the same stage. -
Ownership, control and media globalisation
What is meant by the claim that the media are 'dumbing down' popular culture?
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The argument that media content increasingly favours celebrity, entertainment and sensationalism over serious news, the arts and informed debate, in order to attract the largest audiences. -
The selection and presentation of the news
How does relevance function as a news value?
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Events that are meaningful or significant to the target audience are considered more newsworthy.
Paper 2
Stratification and Differentiation
76 questions in the guide, across 5 subtopics. More from this topic
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Theories of stratification
What is the basis of status in Weberian stratification theory?
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Social honour and lifestyle. -
Theories of stratification
How did Castles and Kosack explain the position of immigrant workers in the class structure?
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In their Marxist analysis (1973) they argued that immigrant workers formed a lower stratum of the working class, acting as a reserve army of labour in low-paid, insecure jobs. -
Life chances and dimensions of inequality
In which areas do ethnic minorities in Britain experience disadvantages compared to the white British population?
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Employment, housing, education and health outcomes. -
Life chances and dimensions of inequality
How does Phillipson's Marxist political economy approach explain age inequality?
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Phillipson (1982) argued that capitalism values people mainly as workers, so older people who no longer produce profit are treated as having little worth and the state keeps their pensions low. -
Defining and measuring social class
How were women historically classified in occupation-based class schemes?
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By their husband's or father's occupation, rendering their own class position invisible.
Paper 3
Crime and Deviance
239 questions in the guide, across 19 subtopics. More from this topic
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Functionalist, strain and control theories of crime
What is the central idea of Merton's strain theory?
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Deviance results from a strain between the culturally approved goals a society sets its members (in the USA, monetary success or the American Dream) and the legitimate, institutionalised means available for achieving them. -
Interactionism and labelling theory
What did Lemert mean by secondary deviance?
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Deviance that is the result of societal reaction and labelling. Once publicly labelled, a person may be treated as a deviant, take on a deviant identity and go on to commit further deviance. -
Left and right realism
What crime-control policies do right realists favour?
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Situational crime prevention and target hardening, zero-tolerance policing of minor disorder, and tougher, more certain punishment to deter offenders. -
Social class, white-collar and corporate crime
What is corporate crime?
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Corporate crime refers to offences committed by companies or employees acting on behalf of companies, including health and safety violations, environmental crimes, and financial fraud. -
Globalisation and crime
How do global criminal networks conceal their illegal activities within the legitimate economy?
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They use legitimate business structures to obscure illegal activity.
AQA A-Level Sociology Active Recall Guide
The other 1,056 questions, with the answers printed after each section.