AQA GCSE Sociology (8192): Social stratification – Revision Notes

For full explanations and worked paragraphs, read the Social stratification study guide first.

These notes 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. The topic is assessed in Paper 2: The sociology of crime and deviance and social stratification (1 hour 45 minutes, 100 marks, 50% of the GCSE). The paper assesses AO1 knowledge and AO2 application at about 20% each of the qualification and AO3 analysis and evaluation at about 10%.

When you are ready, test yourself with the Social stratification practice questions. For crime content on the same paper, use the Crime and Stratification revision notes. Track your progress on the AQA GCSE Sociology hub and checklist.

Key terms

All of these appear in the specification’s key terms list for social stratification (Appendix A, 6.4).

Term	Definition
Social stratification	Division of society into unequal layers of wealth, income, status and power
Functionally important roles	Positions that need rare skills or carry high responsibility (Davis and Moore)
Meritocracy	A system where rewards depend on ability and effort, not background
Ascribed status	Status fixed at birth, such as an aristocratic title
Achieved status	Status gained through effort, such as a qualification
Means of production	Land, capital, labour power, buildings and machinery (Marx)
Bourgeoisie / proletariat	Owners of the means of production / workers who sell their labour
False class consciousness	Workers accepting a system that exploits them
Ruling class ideology	Ideas that make capitalism seem normal and natural
Market situation	A person’s position in the market for skills and pay (Weber)
Life chances	Chances of good outcomes such as health, education, work and housing
Embourgeoisement	The idea that affluent workers become middle class in lifestyle and values
Relative deprivation	Lacking resources for the diet, activities and living conditions widely available (Townsend)
Underclass	A group below the working class, defined by Murray through behaviour and dependency
Culture of dependency	Reliance on benefits as a way of life (New Right)
Poverty trap	Earning more leads to losing benefits, so people gain little from work
Means testing	Checking income before paying a benefit
Authority	Power accepted as legitimate
Pluralism	The view that power is spread among competing groups
Patriarchy	Male domination of society
Glass ceiling	An invisible barrier that stops women reaching top jobs
Social mobility	Movement up or down the class structure, within a lifetime or between generations
Subjective poverty	Whether people see themselves as poor
Universal benefits	Benefits paid to everyone in a group, whatever their income
Ageism	Prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of age
Institutional racism	Racism built into the routines and rules of an organisation

Sociologists at a glance

Who	What	Finding or argument	One evaluation point
Davis and Moore (1945)	Functionalist theory	Stratification is a “universal necessity”: unequal rewards attract the most able into functionally important roles	Low-paid nurses are vital, so pay may follow power, not importance
Marx	Class conflict	Bourgeoisie exploit proletariat; ruling class ideology; class struggle; polarisation leading to revolution	The middle class grew instead of shrinking; no revolution in Britain
Weber	Class, status, party; authority	Class is market situation; middle class expands; status and party are separate; three types of authority	Gives a more detailed picture, but Marxists say it hides the basic owner-worker divide
Devine (1992)	Affluent workers revisited, Vauxhall, Luton	No evidence for privatised instrumentalism; rejected the “new working class” idea; workers resented inherited wealth	One plant in one town, so hard to generalise
Townsend (1979)	Relative deprivation	Deprivation index; over 22% in poverty in 1968 to 1969, against just over 6% on the state standard	The index may record choice, not poverty
Murray (1984)	Underclass, New Right	Welfare creates dependency; signs in Britain: illegitimacy, crime, unwillingness to work	Ignores economic causes; most poor people hold conventional values
Walby (1990)	Patriarchy, feminist	Six structures; shift from private to public patriarchy	Less attention to differences between women by class and ethnicity

Must-know distinctions

• Marx versus Weber on class. Marx: two main classes defined by ownership; polarisation. Weber: owners versus non-owners, but non-owners split by market situation; middle class grows.
• Class versus status. Class is economic. Status is prestige, which can come from occupation, ethnicity, religion or lifestyle (Weber).
• Absolute versus relative poverty. Survival basics versus the normal standard of a society.
• Townsend’s three measures. State standard, relative income standard, relative deprivation (his preferred measure).
• Culture of poverty versus material deprivation. Values passed on versus lack of money and resources.
• Power versus authority. Getting your way versus power accepted as legitimate.
• Traditional, charismatic, rational-legal. Custom and inheritance; exceptional personal qualities; impersonal rules.
• Formal versus informal power. Official position or law versus personal influence, peer pressure or money.
• Private versus public patriarchy. Control by fathers and husbands versus segregation in low-paid public work.
• Universal versus selective benefits. Paid to all in a group versus means-tested.

Perspectives grid

Issue	Functionalist	Marxist	Feminist
Stratification	Necessary; motivates talent	Exploitation by owners	Ignores unpaid work and gender inequality
Class	Reflects merit; mobility possible	Based on ownership of means of production	Class schemes hid women’s own position
Life chances	Differences follow ability and effort	Class is the root inequality	Patriarchy limits women’s chances
Poverty	Gans: poverty has functions for the better-off	Built into capitalism; cheap labour	Women at higher risk through caring and low pay
Power	Used for collective goals; legitimate	Follows ownership; state serves ruling class	Male domination of politics and work

Connections across the course

• Education. Meritocracy links Davis and Moore to Parsons on schools. Class gaps in achievement are a life chances point.
• Crime and deviance. Murray connects the underclass to rising crime. Marxists link crime to inequality.
• Families. Walby’s patriarchal relations of production overlap with the domestic division of labour.
• Methods. Townsend used questionnaires and a deprivation index; Devine used interviews. Both make good examples of how method shapes findings.

Mini essay plan

Question type: “Discuss how far sociologists would agree that welfare dependency is the main reason poverty persists in the UK.” (extended response)

1. Define and frame. Poverty: absolute and relative. The claim matches New Right views and links to the culture of poverty.
2. For: Murray. Underclass; generous welfare creates dependency; signs he named in Britain. Link to the culture of poverty and the cycle of deprivation.
3. Apply. Use a realistic example, such as long-term unemployment across two generations of one family.
4. Against: Townsend. Relative deprivation shows poverty as lack of resources. His measure found far more poverty than the state standard.
5. Against: structural causes. Material deprivation, the poverty trap, loss of industrial jobs through globalisation.
6. Perspectives. Marxist: poverty built into capitalism. Feminist: women’s poverty linked to caring and low pay.
7. Evaluate evidence. Murray’s evidence base is criticised; Townsend’s index may confuse choice with poverty.
8. Judgement. Reach your own conclusion from the evidence you have weighed. New Right writers stress dependency and values; their critics stress low pay, job loss and lack of resources.

Quick self-test

1. What four things did Davis and Moore say a society needs to happen?
2. Name two Marxist terms for the classes in capitalist society.
3. What did Weber mean by “market situation”?
4. Which idea of Lockwood’s did Devine test?
5. Give two of Townsend’s three ways of defining poverty.
6. Which perspective is Murray linked to?
7. What is a poverty trap?
8. Name Weber’s three types of authority.
9. What is the difference between formal and informal sources of power?
10. What is public patriarchy?
11. Give two factors affecting life chances, other than class, listed in the specification.

Answers

1. All roles filled; filled by those best able; necessary training takes place; roles performed conscientiously.
2. Bourgeoisie and proletariat (also petty bourgeoisie, lumpenproletariat).
3. A group’s position in a market economy, which shapes pay and life chances.
4. Privatised instrumentalism.
5. Any two: state standard, relative income standard, relative deprivation.
6. The New Right.
7. Earning more leads to losing means-tested benefits, so people are little better off.
8. Traditional, charismatic, rational-legal.
9. Formal power comes from official positions or laws; informal power from personal influence, peer pressure or money.
10. Women are in public life but segregated into low-paid, low-status jobs (Walby).
11. Any two: gender, race and ethnicity, sexuality, age, disability, religion and belief.

Where marks are usually lost

• Naming a theorist but not their perspective. Always say “the functionalists Davis and Moore” or “the feminist Walby”.
• Treating Weber as a Marxist. He shared the owner versus non-owner idea but rejected polarisation and inevitable revolution.
• Quoting Townsend’s 22% without saying it came from his own relative deprivation measure for 1968 to 1969.
• Presenting Murray’s underclass as fact. It is a contested New Right argument.
• Reporting Devine as supporting embourgeoisement. Her findings do not support it.
• Giving a type of authority without an example, or using “power” and “authority” as if they mean the same.
• In “Discuss” questions, covering one side only. Extended answers need a contrasting view and a judgement.
• Ignoring the item or scenario. Application marks need its details, not a general definition.
• Forgetting the feminist view in 3.6.2 to 3.6.6. Each sub-section names functionalist, feminist and Marxist views.

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.