1. 1
An Introduction to A2 Sociology
Welcome to the start of the second year of your
Sociology course. We hope you will enjoy studying the
subject in more depth and that you will find the new
topics both interesting and exciting.
By the end of this unit you should be able to:
- know about the topics you will be studying this year
- be aware of the examination format for this year of your
study
- begin to understand how this year is different from your AS studies
- reflect on your study habits from last year and identify possible improvements in
these for this year
How is this different from AS-level?
Well, obviously the topics are different although you will still need to use and
remember theories and concepts you encountered last year. The skills to be assessed
are the same but you will be expected to show greater depth when using them. There
is also more emphasis on the different theories or perspectives which sociologists
have used. You will also look in more depth at the research issues related to how
sociologists do their studies. For example, one debate you will meet is the question of
how far sociology can be considered to be a science.

2. 2
Task 1
Assess how far you were successful in doing each of the following.
I hope you have been honest in this self assessment. If you have, you should be able
to identify one or more areas that you can target for improvement this year.
Be careful not to assume that your A2 studies will be just the same as your AS year.
Do you remember how different your AS year was from your GCSEs?
Task 2
Now try to identify up to three things you intend to change in order to improve your
study habits:
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2
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Key study skill(s) How successful was I?
Being self motivated and organised
Keeping to work schedules
Preparing effectively for tutorials
Completing all work to deadlines
Asking for help when in difficulty
Reading and studying more widely
Planning and following a revision
programme

3. 3
The topics studied at A2 involve concepts of power and authority, and will incorporate
ideas and theories from last year.
Task 1
How do you define power?
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Power is used and experienced by all of us, every day. If we obey someone else, we do
so because they have power over us.
Sociologists are interested in power in all senses, not just as something related to
politics and government.
What is coercion?
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What is authority?
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Weber suggested that to understand how some people get
others to obey, we need to distinguish between two types of
power: coercion and authority.
Yep, it’s one of them with the beard!!!

4. 4
In your own words, define:
Charismatic authority:
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Traditional authority:
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Legal-rational authority:
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5. 5
Task 2
Look at the pictures and label what form of authority each has. Explain your reasons.
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6. 6
Functionalists see power as a ….
OMG! … resource and, as such, characterised by consensus and
legitimacy.
Parsons argued that power results from the sharing of collective resources in order
to achieve social and cultural goals.
Power is a functional resource benefitting society: it helps maintain social order and
helps to strengthen social solidarity.
Task 3
What is meant by ‘social order’? Give an example of a social institution that helps
maintain social order.
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Marxists argue that power arises out of the
economic system found in capitalist societies. The dominant class has control of the
means of production, such as capital, land, factories, technology and raw materials;
this is the bourgeoisie, the upper middle class and ruling class. The proletariat, the
lower middle class and working class, are exploited and thus suffer limited power.
Give two criticisms of Marxist theory.
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7. 7
Powerful Individuals
Heads of state, business and religious leaders, opinion makers and criminals; who do
you think is most powerful?
Task 4
Construct a list of your top ten most powerful people; these can be real individuals or
characters from any form of media. But you need to justify your reasons.
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Me and Power
Task 5
Construct a flow diagram with a box in the centre
symbolising yourself. Draw lines to other boxes
which contain the names of significant people in your life, e.g. friends, brothers and
sisters, parents, relatives, teachers, employers, workmates.

8. 8
Use a different colour pen to symbolise the type of power relationship you have with
these people – for example: if the relationship is based on authority draw a red line,
as you would from you to your teacher. Some relationships may be based on coercion,
persuasion, influence, manipulation, even ideology – use different colour lines to
symbolise these. You may have to add categories or adapt existing ones.
Me
MHS
Dad
Mum
Students
Daughter
Partner
Brother
Friends

9. 9
voting Behaviour
In recent decades, the number of people not choosing to vote has increased very
considerably. Approximately 30% of the population does not vote.
Non-voting is highest in the most socially disadvantaged areas, and perhaps reflects a
belief by the people who live there that politicians are simply not interested in doing
anything for them.
Task 6
Why don’t people vote? Can you think of, at least, three reasons.
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How do you think the behaviour of voters has changed over recent decades?
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10. 10
What general factors might affect voting behaviour?
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Age
Stereotypically many older people
would vote for the Conservative Party
because they favoured the elderly by
introducing policies that would make them feel safe, this is also known as the ‘grey
vote’.
Many young people often vote for the Liberal Democrats because they are seen as
being the “modern party”. They reach out to
those young voters and introduce policies that
would favour them.
Task 7
Why do you think young people might not be
interested in voting?
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11. 11
What would make you vote for a political party?
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Social Class
Social class was the main determinant of voting
behaviour back in the 1960s because in the 1960s
Britain was a country in which social class was much
more apparent and easy to define. Broadly speaking,
people were ‘categorised’ as the Upper Class, the
Middle Class and the Working Class.
What political parties do you think the social
classes tended to vote?
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Why might social class not be a factor in today’s voting?
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12. 12
Data Response Question
Read the Item below and answer (a) and (b) that follow.
Item
(a) Identify and briefly explain three reasons why young people are apparently
uninterested in traditional party politics.
(b) Using sociological evidence, explore the different theories of ‘power’.
Young peoples’ participation in traditional party political activity has been in
decline for some time now. Recent research in a northern industrial town
indicated that fewer than one in two 14 – 18 year olds questioned knew who
the Prime Minister was, and fewer than one in four knew the name of the
Leader of Opposition. Fewer than one in three felt they were likely to vote
once they achieved the age of majority.
However, at the same time as they appear to show little interest in party
politics, most young people express strong views on issues such as global
warming, poverty, homosexuality and so forth. It seems increasingly likely
that, far from being politically apathetic, young people are simply not
interested in traditional party politics.