New Master Sociology Exam Set

Core Sociological Thinking

Sociological Imagination

Connecting individual experiences and choices to wider social structures, institutions, culture and historical conditions rather than only personal factors.

Social Constructionism

The perspective that social categories, meanings and expectations are created and maintained socially rather than being inherently fixed or natural.

Structure

Patterned social forces, institutions and arrangements that shape, enable and constrain people's opportunities and choices.

Agency

The capacity of individuals to make choices and act within, respond to or potentially change social structures.

Giddens: Duality of Structure

Structures shape human action, while people's repeated actions simultaneously reproduce or transform those structures.

Functionalism

A perspective examining how institutions, shared norms and practices contribute to social order, stability and cohesion.

Conflict Theory

A perspective examining inequalities in power and resources and how institutions may advantage dominant groups.

Symbolic Interactionism

A micro-level perspective examining how everyday interactions, labels and shared meanings construct social reality.

Social Class, Inequality & Life Chances

Social Class

A form of social stratification based on economic and social position, including income, wealth, occupation, education and access to resources.

Stratification

The structured ranking of individuals or groups within a society based on factors like wealth, power, and prestige.

Socioeconomic Status (SES)

A measure of social and economic position based primarily on income, education and occupation.

Structural Inequality

Unequal outcomes produced by social arrangements and opportunities, even without deliberate discrimination by individuals.

Wealth

The accumulated value of assets and material resources owned by an individual or household, minus debts.

Income

Money received over time through sources such as wages, salaries, investments or government payments.

Life Chances

The opportunities people have to access valued outcomes such as education, healthcare, employment and housing based on their social position.

Meritocracy

The idea that rewards are based mainly on ability and effort, which can be questioned when people begin with unequal opportunities.

Formal Equality

Providing everyone the same rights or opportunities despite differences in their starting positions or barriers.

Equity

Fairness that recognises different starting positions and barriers and may provide different support to address them.

Social Mobility

The movement of individuals or groups between social positions or classes.

Classism

Prejudice, stereotypes or discrimination based on perceived social class, including through institutional arrangements.

Credentialism

Increasing reliance on formal educational qualifications for access to employment and social advancement.

Bourdieu & Weber

Bourdieu: Economic Capital

Money, wealth, property and other material resources that provide economic advantages and opportunities.

Bourdieu: Cultural Capital

Socially valued knowledge, language, tastes, behaviours and credentials that institutions may recognise and reward.

Bourdieu: Social Capital

Networks, relationships and connections that can provide information, support and access to opportunities.

Bourdieu: Habitus

Durable dispositions and ways of thinking and acting shaped by social background that influence what feels normal or possible.

Weber: Class

A person's economic position and opportunities within the market, particularly their access to income and property.

Weber: Status

The social prestige, honour or recognition attached to an individual or social group.

Weber: Party

Political or organisational power arising from the ability to organise and influence decisions or resources.

Social Closure

The process through which groups maintain advantages by restricting others' access to valued resources and opportunities.

Bureaucracy

A hierarchical, rule-based organisation that may increase efficiency but can distribute opportunities unequally despite appearing neutral.

Race & Ethnicity

Race

A socially constructed system that categorises people using perceived physical differences like skin colour and facial features and assigns social meanings to those categories.

Ethnicity

A shared cultural identity associated with ancestry, language, traditions, history or cultural practices.

Prejudice

An attitude, belief or judgement about a social group.

Stereotype

A generalised belief about members of a group that can influence how their behaviour is interpreted.

Discrimination

Unequal treatment or action directed towards people because of their group membership.

Institutional / Structural Racism

Policies, practices and interconnected social systems that can collectively produce racially unequal outcomes even without openly racist rules or individual intent.

Intersectionality

A framework examining how dimensions of identity and inequality, such as race, gender and class, interact rather than operating independently.

White Australia Policy

Australian laws and policies beginning around Federation that restricted non-European immigration and sought to maintain a predominantly white population.

Dictation Test

A mechanism under the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 used to restrict immigration by requiring selected migrants to pass a dictation test.

Assimilation

The expectation that minority cultural groups adopt the norms and practices of the dominant culture.

Multiculturalism

An approach that recognises cultural diversity while promoting the inclusion and participation of different cultural groups.

Ethnocentrism

Judging another culture according to the standards of one's own culture, often treating one's own arrangements as normal or superior.

Gender & Sexuality

Sex

Biological characteristics associated with reproduction, distinguished sociologically from the socially organised meanings of gender.

Gender

Socially organised identities, meanings, roles and expectations associated with gender categories that vary across cultures and history.

Gender Roles / Norms

Social expectations about behaviours, responsibilities and characteristics considered appropriate for different genders, which vary across societies and historical periods.

Social Construction of Gender

The idea that societies create and maintain meanings, categories and expectations around gender, supported by their variation across cultures and historical periods.

Patriarchy

A social system in which men collectively hold disproportionate power and authority, contributing to gender inequality.

Connell: Gender Order

The broader pattern of social relationships and institutions through which gender identities and inequalities are organised.

Connell: Hegemonic Masculinity

The culturally dominant form of masculinity that legitimises men's dominance and marginalises alternative masculinities and gender identities.

Connell: Patriarchal Dividend

The collective social and economic advantages men may receive from a patriarchal gender order.

Rich: Compulsory Heterosexuality

The concept that social institutions and expectations position heterosexuality as natural and expected, particularly constraining women's sexuality.

Gender Pay Gap

The difference between men's and women's average earnings across the workforce.

Glass Ceiling

Informal structural barriers that restrict women and other disadvantaged groups from advancing into senior positions.

Invisible Labour

Unpaid or under-recognised domestic, caring and emotional work that is often disproportionately performed by women.

Heteronormativity

The assumption that heterosexuality is the normal or default sexual orientation, marginalising alternatives.

Queer Theory

A perspective challenging fixed categories of gender and sexuality by examining how their meanings and boundaries are socially constructed.

Fa'afafine and Fakaleitī

Culturally specific Samoan and Tongan gender categories demonstrating that gender identities and roles vary across societies.

Researcher Assumptions

Researchers may interpret historical evidence through contemporary gender assumptions, so sociologists should question taken-for-granted interpretations of the past.

Culture, Family & Socialisation

Culture

Shared norms, values, beliefs, meanings and practices that shape the social life of a society or group.

Norms

Shared social expectations about behaviour considered appropriate or inappropriate in particular situations.

Values

Broad ideas about what a society or social group considers important or desirable.

Roles

Expected behaviours associated with a particular social position.

Socialisation

The process through which individuals learn culture, norms, values, identities, roles and social expectations.

Family & Kinship

Family relationships, roles and obligations vary across cultures, including expectations around independence, elder care, childcare, inheritance and kinship.

Historical Change & Gender

Hunter-Gatherer Societies

Evidence about hunter-gatherer societies should not automatically be interpreted using modern assumptions about gender roles and divisions of labour.

Agricultural Revolution

The shift toward agriculture allowed land, livestock and property to accumulate, potentially concentrating economic resources and social power across generations.

Inheritance & Gender Inequality

Inheritance through male lines can concentrate property and power among men across generations, creating a structural source of gender inequality.

Historical Variation & Gender

Changes in gender roles across history show how institutions, property systems, culture and power can shape gender rather than roles being entirely fixed or natural.