AQA GCSE Sociology Active Recall Guide (8192)
AQA · GCSE
AQA GCSE Sociology Active Recall Guide
Every topic of specification 8192 written as exam-style questions with the answers printed after them. 578 questions across 6 topics and 32 subtopics, covering both papers with no options left out.
- AQA
- GCSE
- Specification 8192
- 578 questions
Guide overview All 6 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
What the exam asks of you
AQA GCSE Sociology is examined in two papers of 1 hour 45 minutes, 100 marks and half the GCSE each. Paper 1 covers families and education. Paper 2 covers crime and deviance and social stratification.
The sociological approach and research methods are examined on both papers and applied to every topic, which makes them the highest-value content on the course rather than an introduction to be got through.
| Paper | Covers |
|---|---|
|
Paper 1 The sociology of families and education |
FAMILIES EDUCATION THE SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH RESEARCH METHODS |
|
Paper 2 The sociology of crime and deviance and social stratification |
CRIME AND DEVIANCE SOCIAL STRATIFICATION THE SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH RESEARCH METHODS |
What is in the guide
All 6 topics
Every topic has its own page with its subtopics, what it covers and sample questions.
Sample questions
Taken from the guide. Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Key sociological concepts
What are norms?
Show the answer
Norms are the unwritten rules of expected behaviour in a particular situation. Queuing and saying thank you are examples of norms in the UK. -
Functions of families
What is the educational function of families?
Show the answer
The educational function is teaching children basic skills and knowledge before and alongside school. Parents teach language, manners and a sense of right and wrong. -
Roles and functions of education
How did Durkheim think school binds children to society?
Show the answer
Durkheim argued that teaching history gives children a sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves. School is a society in miniature, where children cooperate with people outside their own family. -
Social construction of crime and deviance
How do feminists explain the social construction of crime and deviance?
Show the answer
Feminists argue that laws have mostly been made and enforced by men. Rape within marriage was not recognised as a crime in England and Wales until 1991. -
Functionalist theory of stratification
What is a meritocracy, and why do functionalists link it to stratification?
Show the answer
A meritocracy is a society in which positions are allocated by talent and effort rather than background. Functionalists argue that modern Britain rewards merit, so inequality is fair. -
Research design, hypotheses and data analysis
What is data analysis?
Show the answer
Data analysis is the process of organising and examining collected data to find patterns and draw conclusions. Analysis shows whether the evidence supports the hypothesis.
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Look inside
Questions for a subtopic print together and the answers for that section print after them.
- The Sociological Approach62
- Families98
- Education83
- Crime and Deviance96
- Social Stratification133
- Research Methods106
- How do sociologists define a family?
- Which four functions of the family did George Murdock identify?
- What is the sexual function of families?
- What is the reproductive function of families?
- What is the economic function of families?
- What is the educational function of families?
- Who was Talcott Parsons?
- Which two functions did Parsons believe every family keeps in every society?
- What did Parsons mean by the stabilisation of adult personalities?
- A family is a group of people related by blood, marriage, civil partnership or adoption. Many sociologists also count cohabiting couples and their children as families.
- Murdock identified the sexual, reproductive, economic and educational functions. Murdock claimed these functions were universal after comparing 250 societies in 1949.
- The sexual function is providing a stable, socially approved setting for sexual relationships between adult partners. Functionalists argue that this limits the conflict caused by sexual rivalry.
- The reproductive function is producing children who become the next generation of society's members. A society without reproduction would die out.
- The economic function is providing for members' material needs, such as food, shelter and money. Pre-industrial families were also units of production that worked the land together.
- The educational function is teaching children basic skills and knowledge before and alongside school. Parents teach language, manners and a sense of right and wrong.
- Talcott Parsons was an American functionalist sociologist writing in the mid-twentieth century. Parsons based his ideas on the middle-class American nuclear family of the 1950s.
- Parsons named two: the primary socialisation of young children, and keeping adult personalities stable. Parsons argued that specialised institutions had taken over most other family functions.
- Parsons meant that family life gives adults comfort and relief from the pressures of work. Partners reassure and look after each other at home, which keeps them stable.
questions
Scroll sideways to turn through the pages.
Questions students ask first
Which topics are on which paper?
Paper 1 is Families and Education. Paper 2 is Crime and Deviance and Social Stratification. The Sociological Approach and Research Methods are examined on both. The breakdown is here.
Do I have to name sociologists?
Yes, and it is the most common place marks are lost. The specification names the sociologists and studies you are assessed on, and an idea attributed to nobody is worth less than the same idea attributed correctly.
How much research methods is there?
It is examined on both papers and applied to every topic, so it is 106 questions in the guide: experiments, surveys, interviews, observation, sampling, reliability and validity, ethics, and the practical constraints on real research.
Is there maths in it?
Some. Reading and interpreting tables, graphs and percentages from sociological data, which the papers set on unfamiliar sources.
AQA GCSE Sociology Active Recall Guide
Every question paired with its answer, grouped by topic and subtopic, ready to work in three passes.