AQA GCSE Sociology (8192): Social stratification – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers from your board or school.

These questions cover section 3.6 Social stratification (3.6.1 to 3.6.6) of the AQA GCSE Sociology (8192) specification, Version 1.2 (June 2026), for GCSE exams 2019 onwards. Social stratification is assessed in Paper 2: The sociology of crime and deviance and social stratification, a 1 hour 45 minute written exam worth 100 marks and 50% of the GCSE. All towns, organisations, people and data below are fictional.

Revise first with the Social stratification study guide and Social stratification revision notes. For more Paper 2 questions, try the Crime and Stratification practice set. Track your progress on the AQA GCSE Sociology hub and checklist.

Questions

1. According to Weber, which type of authority rests on acceptance of shared impersonal rules?

A. Traditional B. Charismatic C. Rational-legal D. Informal

[1]

2. Devine returned to Luton in the late 1980s to test an idea about affluent workers. Which idea was it?

A. Social closure B. Privatised instrumentalism C. False class consciousness D. Culture of dependency

[1]

3. Explain what Townsend meant by relative deprivation. [2]

4. Identify and explain one difference between Marx’s and Weber’s views of socio-economic class. [3]

5. Describe what Walby meant by the change from private patriarchy to public patriarchy. [3]

6. Study the item and answer the questions that follow.

A fictional survey in the town of Harwick asked 400 households whether they lacked items on a deprivation index (for example, a warm winter coat for each adult, a week’s holiday away from home, having friends round for a meal). Households lacking three or more items were counted as deprived.

Income group	Households surveyed	Households lacking 3 or more items
Lowest fifth	80	44
Second fifth	80	22
Middle fifth	80	12
Fourth fifth	80	6
Highest fifth	80	2

(a) Calculate the percentage of all Harwick households counted as deprived. [1] (b) Compare the lowest and highest income fifths, using figures from the table. [2] (c) Explain one reason why a sociologist might question whether this index measures poverty accurately. [3]

7. Read the item.

At Calloway Foods, a fictional family firm, the managing director is the founder’s grandson, who took over when his father retired. Shift manager Dana issues the rotas and can discipline staff under the company handbook. Femi, a forklift driver with 20 years’ service, holds no official title, but when he refuses overtime most of his crew follow him.

Using the item, identify and explain two different sources of power or authority. [4]

8. Read the item.

A columnist in the fictional Eastmere Gazette writes: “On the Hollins estate, three generations of some families have never held a steady job. Benefits have made idleness a way of life, and the rise in vandalism shows values have broken down.”

(a) Explain how Murray would interpret the columnist’s view. [2] (b) Explain one criticism of this interpretation. [2]

9. Explain one way globalisation may have increased poverty in the UK, and one way UK governments have tried to reduce poverty or unemployment. [4]

10. Explain how age and disability can each affect a person’s life chances. [4]

11. Study the item.

Fictional average annual pay in the city of Brightmoor:

Occupation	Pay
Care worker	£24,000
Staff nurse	£36,000
Company lawyer	£96,000
Chief executive of a large firm	£600,000

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that differences in pay between occupations reflect how functionally important those occupations are. [12]

12. Discuss how far sociologists would agree that, in the UK today, equality laws mean gender no longer shapes who holds power. [12]

Answers

1. C. Rational-legal [1] [1] Examiner insight: “Informal” is a source of power, not one of Weber’s three types of authority; that distractor catches students who mix the two lists.

2. B. Privatised instrumentalism [1] [1] Examiner insight: Culture of dependency belongs to Murray; learn which concept goes with which named sociologist, because the options pair them deliberately.

3. Lacking the resources to obtain the diet, activities and living conditions [1] that are widely available in the society in which a person lives [1]. [2] Examiner insight: The second mark needs the comparison with the rest of society; “not having enough money” alone scores one mark at most.

4. Marx saw two main classes defined by ownership of the means of production [1]. Weber agreed owners and non-owners were the main divide but split non-owners by market situation [1], so professionals with skills in demand earn more than manual workers, giving a more complex class structure [1]. [3] Examiner insight: “Explain” needs the reason behind the difference (market situation), not just a statement that Weber saw more classes.

5. In private patriarchy women were controlled directly by fathers or husbands [1]. In public patriarchy women have access to public life, such as paid work [1], but are segregated into low-paid, low-status jobs where they are collectively disadvantaged by male-dominated society [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Describe both forms; answers that explain only public patriarchy lose the mark for what it replaced.

6. (a) 86 ÷ 400 × 100 = 21.5% [1] (b) 55% of the lowest fifth were deprived compared with 2.5% of the highest fifth [1], so the lowest fifth were 22 times as likely to be deprived [1]. (c) The index may record choice rather than lack of resources [1]. For example, a household may skip a holiday away because the adults prefer to stay at home, not because they cannot afford it [1]. This could inflate the number counted as deprived, which is the criticism made of Townsend’s index [1]. [6] Examiner insight: In (b), quote both figures and draw a comparison from them; describing one group only does not answer “compare”.

7. Dana holds rational-legal authority (a formal source of power) [1] because her power to issue rotas and discipline comes from the company handbook, a set of impersonal rules [1]. Femi has an informal source of power [1], because his influence comes from respect and long service, not from any official position, yet his crew follow him [1]. The managing director’s traditional authority, based on inheritance, is equally creditworthy in place of either point. [4] Examiner insight: Each mark pair needs a named type and a detail from the item; “Dana has power because she is the manager” names no type and earns little.

8. (a) Murray would see the Hollins families as part of an underclass [1], arguing that generous benefits created dependency, so values such as hard work broke down and crime rose, a New Right view [1]. (b) Murray’s definition is cultural and ignores economic causes [1], such as a lack of steady jobs locally; research suggests many people labelled underclass want paid work and stable lives [1]. [4] Examiner insight: In (a), link Murray to the item’s details (generations without work, vandalism); a general summary of Murray gains only one mark.

9. Globalisation has allowed firms to move manufacturing to countries with lower wages [1], causing job losses and unemployment in former industrial areas, which pushes some households into poverty [1]. UK governments introduced a national minimum wage in 1999 [1], which aims to raise the pay of the lowest-paid workers so that work lifts people out of poverty [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Two different parts are asked for; a strong globalisation point with no government policy caps the answer at half marks.

10. Age: ageism can affect older workers, who may be passed over for jobs or training [1], reducing income and leaving them at risk of poverty in later life [1]. Disability: physical barriers or employer attitudes can limit access to work [1], which reduces income and so affects housing, health and social life [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Each factor needs a mechanism and an outcome; naming “discrimination” with no effect on life chances gains only one mark per factor.

11. The real exam marks extended answers using levels of response, not point by point. The points below show indicative creditworthy content.

• Davis and Moore argue stratification is a “universal necessity” for filling roles effectively [1].
• High rewards are attached to functionally important positions that need rare skills or high responsibility [1].
• Application: the chief executive directs a large firm, so functionalists would say high pay attracts the most talented [1].
• The company lawyer’s long training could justify earning more than the staff nurse [1].
• Unequal rewards motivate people to train and compete, so the most able fill the top roles [1].
• Against: the care worker and nurse are vital to society, yet earn least, so pay does not match importance [1].
• The chief executive earns 25 times the care worker; the gap seems too large to be explained by importance alone [1].
• Marxists argue pay reflects power and ownership; top executives can influence their own pay [1].
• Tumin argued unequal access to education stops many able people competing, so talent is wasted [1].
• Feminists note that care work, mostly done by women, is underpaid and unpaid caring at home is ignored [1].
• Evaluation: there is no agreed measure of talent or importance, so the theory is hard to test [1].
• Judgement that weighs both sides, for example that some gaps reflect training and responsibility while others are hard to explain by importance alone [1]. [12]

Examiner insight: Use the table: a comparison such as care worker versus chief executive turns a description of Davis and Moore into evaluation.

12. The real exam marks extended answers using levels of response, not point by point. The points below show indicative creditworthy content.

• Power relationships are relationships in which one group can get its way over another [1].
• For: laws such as the Equal Pay Act 1970 and the Equality Act 2010 make unequal treatment at work unlawful [1].
• Women’s rising entry into professions and politics suggests formal barriers have fallen [1].
• Functionalists see differences in men’s and women’s roles as complementary, not as domination [1].
• Against: Walby argues patriarchy operates through six structures, such as paid work, the state and male violence [1].
• She argues the state does relatively little to protect women and equal opportunities laws are seldom enforced [1].
• Under public patriarchy women are in paid work but segregated into lower-paid, lower-status jobs [1].
• The glass ceiling limits women’s access to senior roles in business and politics [1].
• Double standards in culture and sexuality are largely outside the reach of equality laws [1].
• Marxists argue class, rooted in ownership of the means of production, shapes power more than gender; a wealthy woman may hold more power than a working-class man [1].
• Gender also combines with other factors listed in the specification, such as race, age, disability and sexuality [1].
• Judgement that weighs both sides, for example that laws have removed some formal barriers while the informal structures Walby describes may persist [1]. [12]

Examiner insight: “Today” asks for change over time; Walby’s private-to-public shift lets you show what laws have and have not changed.

Where marks are usually lost

• Naming the perspective but not the sociologist, or the reverse. Pair them every time.
• Mixing up Weber’s types of authority with formal and informal sources of power.
• Quoting a table figure without the comparison or calculation the question asks for.
• Copying the scenario without linking it to a concept such as underclass or rational-legal authority.
• Giving only one side in a “Discuss how far” question, or ending without a judgement.
• Writing about Murray as if his view were established fact rather than a contested New Right argument.
• Treating Davis and Moore’s theory as about wealth or inheritance rather than functional importance.
• Answering a two-part question with only one part.

Next steps

• Check any weak areas against the Social stratification study guide.
• Find your gaps across the whole course with our free diagnostics.
• Want help with extended answers? Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

AQA GCSE Sociology (8192) specification, Version 1.2 (June 2026), for GCSE exams 2019 onwards: section 3.6 Social stratification (3.6.1 to 3.6.6), Appendix A 6.4 key terms and Appendix B 7.4 Social stratification.