AQA 2018 A Level Sociology paper 2

How was paper 2 everyone?
I do families and households, and media.

Anyone else doing media I’m so glad the hypodermic syringe came up!

The families and households but I wasn’t too happy about but I still answers the questions ok-ish.

I also found it really hard to put sociologists down but I could identify what a Marxist would think or feminist overall.

Could have gone better, could have been a lot worse

The paper seemed okay although demographic changes & childhood??? and postmodernism (I never get postmodernism tbh)??

I'm gonna briefly type up what I did to answer each one, please tell me if you agree or disagree.


Families & Households

Govt policies and family 10 marker

Welfare benefits E.g housing etc especially to Lone-parent households - New Right - Murray incentives to become one

More equality for all relationships. Civil partnership act (2004), same sex marriages (2014) leading to more same-sex marriages as they become stable (weeks: chosen families).


Demographic changes and childhood 10 marker

More generations in family - beanpole, extended (modern or extended ties. Wisdom and help in childhood. Children spend more time with grandparents. However young people (on whom both old and children are dependent on) become a sandwich generation - mainly women. Affect child-parent relationship.

Fewer children - child centered. Net drain on parents income, quality not quantity. Lavish lifestyles - better education, housing etc. However differs in context on social factors. Poorer children may not get all this. Womack - Poorer families lead desperate lives.


postmodernism 20 marker - I waffled like anything

Intro - oppose functionalist and New Right about Nuclear family on family type as it is a meta-narrative. No longer in an orderly modern world we are a chaotic postmodern stage (Giddens). More individual choice creating diversity/fragmentation.

Giddens - pure love. Relationships only last until they serve needs of the couple rather than the family. However contradicts himself saying that social factors E.g social class limit the choice people have.


Stacey - Women have been key in changing family structures (drivers seat) by greater independence (E.g jobs/education etc) Decides what suites them - New family types E.g divorce extended family. However difference feminists argue that not all women have the same power.


Chester - Postmodernists overestimate the extent of change in family life. Most people are in some type of nuclear family at some point in time. Only movement is from conventional to non-conventional family. However family structure differentiates according to ones life history - Teenage mom's family different to a working women in terms of choices of family.


Conclusion - Despite diversity it doesn't mean that the importance of family is declining. Family is based on love. Variety of structures not exactly biological anymore could be friends, pets etc. Hareven.




Media

Media portrayal of young people 10 marker

Blamed for social problems E.g increasing crime rate. Scapegoats used as punchbags. Conceals/hides inequality and failures of structure E.g Marxism. Wayne et al on content analysis. Symbolic annihilation of young people.

Media gaze from a white middle-class male established in his career thus older. Thus from on older persons perspective in line with the dominant ideology.


Democratic process 10 marker

Social media - revitalizing democracy. Platform to anonymously voice their opinion and concerns. Minority groups and young people feel more involved. Social change for like-minded people E.g change.org However Hill & Hughes 78% are mainstream points of view. People select who to follow on social media limits their exposure.

Citizen journalism - pressures mainstream media to incorporate it into mainstream news. Bivens grassroots alternatives challenge biases in mainstream media. More points of view available. However Keen - crowd produces E.g wikipedia have unchecked information which could mislead voters etc.


Models 20 marker

Info - active Vs passive set up debate

Hypodermic syringe model - what it is. Media violence and imitation (Bandura et al). However model assumes the audience as homogeneous. Media violence could cause sensitization.

Two step flow model (Latz and Lazarfield or whatever)using opinion leaders who pass on their interpreted version of messages to their followers. Audience not directly effected. However fails to explain why the opinion leaders are the only ones who are active the audience are passive.

Cultural effects model - According to social characteristics the audience accepts dominant reading of the encoded messages (Hall), negotiated reading to fit in with their believes (Morley) or rejects it completely (oppoisitional). Shows media is active. However for many media is the only source of info people have.

Conclusion - audience is not homogeneous, live within the world therefore into oblivious etc.




How much would you give me out of 80?

OMG i WROTE EVERYTHING you wrote in your 20 marker for families whatttttttt im shook - although I did mention Beck in another paragraph too but anyways that layout you just wrote- I did exactly in that format wowwwwww

I thought religion was ok actually, but the 10 markers seemed quite similar so I think I repeated myself a bit. The 20 marker wasn't the best but I don't think I screwed it too much.

guys how did you all do in paper 3??

Kinda felt it was too easy... but defo haven't achieved full marks. That makes grade boundaries will be put up.
I loved that we had two research methods questions, but must admit I went over theory so much to be asked nothing on it xD

yeah i know! that was a whole year wasted tbh
what did you write for the 30 marker?