What is social stratification?

Social stratification is the way society is divided into layers, or strata, ranked one above another, so some groups have more wealth, power and status than others. Systems include slavery, caste and feudalism, but the main system in modern Britain is the class system.

How does social class affect life chances?

Life chances are a person's chances of getting the good things in life, such as health, education and housing. On average, higher classes enjoy better life chances than lower classes, though class works alongside other inequalities such as gender, ethnicity, age and disability.

What is the difference between power and authority?

Power is the ability to make others do what you want, even against their will, and can rest on force. Authority is power that is seen as legitimate, so people obey willingly. Weber identified three types of authority: traditional, charismatic and legal rational.

What is social mobility?

Social mobility is the movement of people up or down between classes. It is possible in an open system, such as the class system, but not in a closed system, such as caste. Education, a growing economy and effort can help mobility, while poverty, poor schooling and discrimination can hinder it.

What forms of inequality besides class are studied?

Sociologists study inequality by gender (such as the gender pay gap), ethnicity, age and disability, treating these as general patterns. Prejudice is an unfair attitude, while discrimination is unfair treatment in practice. Equality law makes it unlawful to discriminate on grounds such as sex, race, age and disability.

WalesSociety and Culture

Social differentiation, stratification and power: a complete overview for WJEC GCSE Sociology (Component 2)

A complete overview of the social differentiation, stratification and power strand of WJEC GCSE Sociology Component 2, covering stratification and class, class and life chances, power and authority, social mobility, and other forms of inequality.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.814 min readC200QS-component-2Updated 2026-06-15

Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed

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What this covers
Stratification, class and life chances
Power, authority and mobility
Other forms of inequality
Check your knowledge

What this covers

The social differentiation, stratification and power strand is one of the main strands of Component 2 of WJEC GCSE Sociology. This overview ties the dot points together: stratification and class, class and life chances, power and authority, social mobility, and other forms of inequality. The strand is about how society is divided and how unequal divisions are maintained.

Stratification, class and life chances

Stratification is the layering of society. Systems include slavery, caste and feudalism, but the modern system is the class system, based on economic position. Class strongly shapes life chances (health, education, housing). It helps to separate wealth (what you own) from income (what you receive), and to distinguish absolute from relative poverty.

Power, authority and mobility

Power is the ability to make others do what you want; authority is power people accept as legitimate. Weber identified traditional, charismatic and legal rational authority. Social mobility is movement between classes, possible in an open system but not a closed one, and shaped by factors that help (education, a growing economy) and hinder (poverty, discrimination).

Other forms of inequality

Inequality also runs by gender, ethnicity, age and disability, studied as general patterns. Prejudice is an unfair attitude; discrimination is unfair treatment. Equality law tries to reduce discrimination.

The social differentiation, stratification and power strand is one of the main strands of Component 2 of WJEC GCSE Sociology. Stratification is the way society is divided into layers ranked one above another. Systems include slavery, caste and feudalism, but the modern system is the class system, based on economic position, which strongly shapes life chances such as health, education and housing. It helps to separate wealth (what you own) from income (what you receive), and to distinguish absolute poverty (lacking basic necessities) from relative poverty (poor compared with society's standard). Power is the ability to make others do what you want, while authority is power people accept as legitimate, and Weber identified traditional, charismatic and legal rational authority. Social mobility is movement up or down between classes, possible in an open system but not a closed one, shaped by factors that help (education, a growing economy, effort) and hinder (poverty, poor schooling, discrimination). Inequality also runs by gender, ethnicity, age and disability, studied as general patterns, where prejudice is an unfair attitude and discrimination is unfair treatment, and equality law tries to reduce discrimination. The strand is about how society is divided and how unequal divisions are maintained.

Check your knowledge

Explain what is meant by social stratification. (2 marks)
Identify two systems of stratification other than class. (2 marks)
Explain the difference between wealth and income. (2 marks)
Explain the difference between absolute and relative poverty. (2 marks)
Explain the difference between power and authority. (2 marks)
Describe the three types of authority. (6 marks)
Explain what is meant by social mobility. (2 marks)
Explain the difference between prejudice and discrimination. (2 marks)

Solutions

Q1: Social stratification is the way society is divided into layers (strata) ranked one above another, so some groups have more wealth, power and status.
Q2: Any two of: slavery (people owned as property), the caste system (position fixed at birth) and feudalism (monarch and nobles down to peasants).
Q3: Wealth is the value of everything a person owns (property, savings, shares); income is the money a person receives over time (wages, salary, benefits).
Q4: Absolute poverty is being unable to afford the basic necessities to survive; relative poverty is being poor compared with the normal standard of living in society.
Q5: Power is the ability to make others do what you want even against their will; authority is power seen as legitimate, so people obey willingly.
Q6: Traditional (based on custom, such as a monarch); charismatic (based on a leader's personal qualities); legal rational (based on rules and offices, such as a prime minister or police officer).
Q7: Social mobility is the movement of people up or down between the classes of society, possible in an open system but not a closed one.
Q8: Prejudice is an unfair attitude about a group; discrimination is unfair treatment in practice, such as refusing someone a job because of their background.

Sources & how we know this

WJEC GCSE Sociology (Wales) specification (C200QS) — WJEC (2017)