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WalesSociety and Culture

Social differentiation, stratification and power

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How are people treated differently by gender, ethnicity, age and disability?

Forms of social differentiation and inequality beyond class: gender, ethnicity, age and disability, the meaning of prejudice and discrimination, and how the law seeks to promote equality.
A focused answer on other forms of inequality for WJEC GCSE Sociology: differentiation by gender, ethnicity, age and disability, the meaning of prejudice and discrimination, and equality law.
14 min answer →

What is power, and why do people obey those in authority?

The concepts of power and authority, the difference between power and authority, and the three types of authority: traditional, charismatic and legal rational.
A focused answer on power and authority for WJEC GCSE Sociology: the difference between power and authority, coercion versus consent, and Weber's three types of authority - traditional, charismatic and legal rational.
13 min answer →

How does social class affect a person's life chances?

The link between social class and life chances, the difference between wealth and income, and the meaning, measurement and causes of poverty in modern Britain.
A focused answer on social class and life chances for WJEC GCSE Sociology: how class shapes life chances, the difference between wealth and income, and the meaning, measurement and causes of poverty.
14 min answer →

Can people move between social classes, and what helps or hinders this?

The concept of social mobility, the difference between open and closed systems and between upward and downward mobility, and the factors that help or hinder movement between classes.
A focused answer on social mobility for WJEC GCSE Sociology: open and closed systems, upward and downward mobility, intergenerational and intragenerational mobility, and the factors that help or hinder it.
13 min answer →

How is society divided into layers, and what is social class?

The concept of social stratification, the main systems of stratification including the class system, and how social class is defined and measured in modern Britain.
A focused answer on social stratification for WJEC GCSE Sociology: the concept of stratification, systems such as the class system, slavery, caste and feudalism, and how social class is defined and measured.
14 min answer →