100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
A-level Sociology: Research methods and Social Inequalities $4.50   Add to cart

Study guide

A-level Sociology: Research methods and Social Inequalities

2 reviews
 126 views  1 purchase
  • Course
  • Institution
  • Book

The revision materials contain in-depth essay plans and responses to questions based on the exam board (OCR) and contains a quality written notes that will get you to the top of the mark scheme and full marks. Also contains specific information and theories that can help you apply to each question.

Preview 1 out of 39  pages

  • December 5, 2019
  • 39
  • 2019/2020
  • Study guide

2  reviews

review-writer-avatar

By: babybaudelairee • 5 months ago

review-writer-avatar

By: hafsasharif • 3 year ago

avatar-seller
RM+SI- Research methods and Social inequalities

X= Times
OK= Own Knowledge (sociologists + theories)
SC= Subculture
PT= Patterns and trends
E= Evaluation

Assess Functionalist explanations of patterns and trends in social class inequality (40
marker)

Functionalists argue that society works best when there is agreement or consensus over
shared values. This is developed by Parsons who argued that in all societies some
individuals are better than others at achieving things that are regarded as worthy of reward
according to the prevailing value consensus. For example, he suggests that most people
agree that in modern industrial societies, entrepreneurs and executives who successfully run
businesses deserve the highest rewards because they contribute most to the smooth
running of society. //Therefore, people in these roles perform to the highest standards so it
leads to shared values and stability of society and ppl who do not work in these role deserve
little promotions.
(E) However, stratification is not an inevitable part of all societies. This is reinforced
by New-Right thinkers, like Saunders. For example, he argues that a society based on
social equality would only be possible if considerable force was used. Saunders also
suggests that there should be a principle of equality of opportunity whereby everyone
has the same chance to compete for unequal rewards. This therefore means that
everyone can be rewarded in the same way whether they deserve it or not, unlike
functionalists who suggests only some people deserve high rewards. Therefore,
functionalists explanations may not actually lead to the smoothness of society but
can create hostility, suspicion and mistrust between sections of society, because of
allowing individuals to have higher rewards than others and so there explanations
may not provide a full picture of the pattern and trends in social class inequality.

Functionalist also argue that it allocates the right people to do the most important roles. For
example, Davis and moore argued that this ensures that the most important positions in
society are filled by the most able people by offering them higher rewards, such as in terms
of income and status. Thus, training to be a doctor requires people with very high
educational qualifications and demands a long period of training and a lot of responsibility.
Therefore, suggesting to motivate the best people, we need to offer doctors higher rewards
than other less demanding jobs.
(E) ​However, training may be a sacrifice because Tumin criticises D+M by suggesting
that in reality, going to university has its own rewards, such as freedom and the
chances to learn what we are interested in and most graduates more than make up for
lost earnings in their first ten years of work. Additionally, many more people may
achieve the ability to be doctors and business executives but have simply never had
the opportunity. This discaated that D+M assume that only a small number of people

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller zainabr123. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for $4.50. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

72042 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now

Start selling
$4.50  1x  sold
  • (2)
  Add to cart