Eduqas GCSE Sociology key terms

A tendency for participants to give answers that make them appear acceptable or favourable rather than answers that accurately reflect their views or behaviour.

A situation in which people or groups are prevented from participating fully in society’s social, economic, political or cultural life.

Damage to a person’s relationships, reputation or social position resulting from research or its consequences.

Enabling people or groups to participate fully in society by removing barriers to opportunities, resources and community life.

Unequal access to resources, opportunities and rewards between social groups.

An established arrangement which meets important social needs and organises behaviour, such as the family or education system.

The process through which people learn society’s norms and values.

An economic system based on collective or social ownership of the means of production rather than private ownership for profit.

Limited social contact and access to supportive relationships. A person can experience this even while living with other people.

Movement between positions in society's social hierarchy, such as movement from a working-class background into a professional occupation.

An explanation that locates disability in the barriers society creates for people with impairments, rather than in the impairment itself.

A shared expectation about how people should behave in a particular society, group or situation.

The relatively stable and predictable organisation of social life.

The continuation of social class inequalities from one generation to the next.

The sense of belonging and connection that binds people together in society.

The organisation of society into unequal layers with different access to resources, power, status and opportunities.

A way of grouping people by their social and economic position, often using information about their occupation and employment.

Parsons’ term for the family’s role in providing emotional support that helps adults cope with the stresses of everyday life.

Using the same questions, procedures or recording categories for each participant so that results can be compared and the research repeated.

The institutions that govern a society and enforce its laws, including government, police and courts.

Government action that influences or regulates people's lives, including decisions about family size.

A government-funded school that does not charge tuition fees.

A person’s social position and the respect or prestige attached to it.

The frustration experienced when someone cannot gain the respect or social standing they seek through accepted routes.

An oversimplified generalisation about the characteristics or behaviour of a group.

Social disapproval attached to a characteristic, behaviour or status, such as being divorced.

Merton's explanation that pressure to achieve society's success goals, combined with unequal access to legitimate ways of achieving them, can produce deviance.