AQA GCSE Sociology key terms

The ability to reach the people, places or information needed for a study and gain entry or permission where required.

A social position gained through a person's own efforts or accomplishments.

Success in education, commonly measured through examination results and qualifications.

Having substantial money and material possessions.

A person in a manual occupation whose relatively high earnings allow a comfortable standard of living.

Prejudice or discrimination based on a person's age.

The media’s influence over which issues receive public attention, helping to shape the direction of public opinion and debate.

A person or organisation that encourages conformity and enforces rules, such as the police or courts.

A feeling of separation, powerlessness or lack of fulfilment. In Marxist explanations, capitalist work can alienate workers because they have little control over their work and its products.

A condition in which the norms regulating behaviour weaken or break down. For Merton, an excessive emphasis on success can undermine the rules governing how it should be achieved.

Protection that prevents a research participant’s identity from being revealed or worked out from the information presented.

A pupil subculture whose values and behaviour oppose school rules or academic expectations, for example by valuing truancy or refusing homework.

Behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress to other people.

Taking or controlling the benefits of another person's work. Delphy and Leonard argue that men appropriate women's labour within the family.

A privileged part of the upper class holding hereditary titles, such as duke or earl, passed down through families; its members are often wealthy landowners.

A marriage in which families help select a suitable partner, but the individuals have the final choice about whether to marry.

A social position given to someone rather than earned through their own efforts, such as their position within a family.

The process through which immigrants adopt the dominant culture's norms, values and ways of life, moving away from their previous culture.

A person who has left their own country to seek safety and protection in another, often after experiencing persecution.

A survey intended to collect information about people's views or opinions on an issue.

Power that people accept as legitimate: they recognise a right to give instructions or make decisions.

The allocation of pupils to broad groups according to their perceived academic ability.

Someone who dishonestly claims benefits to which they are not entitled.

A systematic influence that distorts research or its findings.

Being married to more than one person at the same time, by marrying again while an existing marriage continues. It is a criminal offence in the UK.

A family in which one or both partners have children from a previous relationship. Also called a reconstituted family or step-family.

In Marx’s theory, the capitalist ruling class that owns and controls the means of production and employs workers.

A person whose earnings provide the main financial support for a household.