Sociology GCSE
Sociology GCSE glossary
26 key terms for Sociology GCSE, A to Z, each linked to the topic pages that use it.
B
- Bourgeoisie
- The Marxist term for the ruling class who own the means of production (factories, land, businesses) in a capitalist society.AQA
C
- Correspondence Principle
- The Marxist idea that the norms and values taught in school directly mirror those required in the capitalist workplace.AQA
- Cultural Capital
- The knowledge, attitudes, values, language, and tastes possessed by the middle class that give them an advantage in the education system.AQA
F
- Functionalism and the Fit Thesis
- Analysis of Talcott Parsons' argument that the nuclear family emerged to meet the requirements of industrial society, specifically geographical and social…AQA
G
- Globalisation and Postmodern Crime
- Investigation into how global connectivity has facilitated new forms of criminality, including cybercrime, human trafficking, and environmental degradation.AQA
H
- Hidden Curriculum
- The informal, unofficial, and often unintended lessons, values, and perspectives that students learn in school.AQA
I
- Interpretivism and Qualitative Depth
- The rejection of scientific empiricism in favor of exploring social reality through the eyes of the participants.AQA
L
- Labelling
- Attaching a definition or meaning to an individual or group, often based on stereotypes.AQA
- Life Chances
- The opportunities an individual has to improve their quality of life, including access to education, health, and wealth.AQA
M
- Marxist and Feminist Critiques
- Examination of the family as a unit of consumption and an instrument of ideological control (Marxism) or a site of patriarchal oppression and unpaid domestic…AQA
- Material Deprivation
- A lack of the basic physical resources and wealth needed for educational success (e.g., housing, diet, computers).AQA
- Meritocracy
- A society where individuals achieve their status and position based on their own talent, ability, and effort, rather than inherited wealth.AQA
- Methodological Pluralism and Triangulation
- The strategic integration of multiple methods or data sources to offset the inherent weaknesses of a single approach.AQA
N
- Norms
- Specific rules or guidelines that govern behaviour in particular situations.AQA
P
- Patriarchy
- A system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it.AQA
- Positivism and Quantitative Logic
- The application of natural science logic to sociology, emphasizing the collection of objective, measurable data to identify causal laws and correlations.AQA
- Postmodernity and Family Diversity
- Evaluation of the shift from fixed life courses to 'reflexive biography' where individuals exercise choice in forming 'pure relationships' and 'negotiated…AQA
- Power and Authority
- The distribution of power within social institutions and the methods by which social order is maintained or challenged by different social groups.AQA
- Power and Social Control
- Analysis of how formal and informal agencies of social control maintain order and the extent to which they serve the interests of dominant social classes.AQA
- Proletariat
- The Marxist term for the working class who must sell their labour to survive.AQA
S
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
- When a prediction about a person (e.g., a teacher's label) causes them to act in ways that make the prediction come true.AQA
- Social Construction of Deviance
- Examination of how definitions of crime and deviance are not fixed but vary across time, culture, and social context, influenced by the power to label.AQA
- Social Stratification
- The hierarchical arrangement of social groups based on wealth, power, and status, leading to unequal life chances and social exclusion.AQA
- Socialisation
- The lifelong process of learning the culture, norms, and values of a society.AQA
- Socialization and Identity
- The mechanisms through which individuals internalize cultural norms and values, and the role of agencies like family, education, and media in identity…AQA
V
- Values
- General beliefs and principles that a society considers important and desirable.AQA
Where these terms come from
Each definition is one we publish on a Sociology GCSE topic page or study guide. Open a term to see how each exam board words it and which topic it belongs to. For the full course, go to Sociology revision or the glossary for every subject.
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