4.2.1.4 Identity and age, disability, ethnicity, gender, nationality, sexuality and class Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 2

The 20 questions

1. Which concept describes the social expectations and roles associated with particular stages of the life course, such as childhood, adulthood and old age?

   • Class consciousness, in which awareness of shared economic position shapes a person's social roles
   • Age identity, in which social expectations and roles are attached to particular stages of life
   • Biological ageing, in which physical changes in the body determine the roles that people perform
   • Ethnic identity, in which cultural heritage and ancestry determine the expectations placed on individuals

2. Which idea does the social model of disability emphasise?

   • Disability is a religious concept that reflects the will of God, which social policy cannot change
   • Disability is caused largely by social barriers, such as inaccessible buildings and discriminatory attitudes
   • Disability is a fixed identity that cannot be affected by changes in social policy or attitudes
   • Disability is caused entirely by an individual's impairment, with no role for social barriers at all

3. Which contrast is made by the medical model of disability in relation to the social model?

   • The medical model argues that disability has no connection with health, while the social model argues it does
   • The medical model locates disability within the individual's impairment, while the social model locates it in social barriers
   • The medical model argues that disabled people should not be treated, while the social model argues they should
   • The medical model locates disability in social barriers, while the social model locates it in the individual's impairment

4. Which concept, associated with Benedict Anderson, describes a nation as a community that people imagine and share, even though they do not know most of its members?

   • Anomie, in which the breakdown of norms leaves individuals without clear guidance on social belonging
   • Cultural capital, in which individuals gain advantage through their familiarity with valued forms of culture
   • Symbolic interaction, in which meanings are created through face-to-face contact between individuals
   • Imagined community, in which national identity is sustained through shared symbols and media

5. Which argument is associated with the view that masculinity is not a single fixed identity, but takes different forms in different contexts?

   • Connell's argument that there are multiple masculinities, with one hegemonic form holding power over others
   • Durkheim's argument that gender is a biological category that determines the division of labour in society
   • Parsons' argument that gender roles are functionally necessary, and identical in all families in society
   • Oakley's argument that gender roles are learned in the family but do not vary between social groups

6. Which concept describes the assumption that heterosexuality is the normal and natural form of sexuality, which shapes social institutions?

   • Heteronormativity, in which heterosexuality is treated as the default that structures social institutions
   • Meritocracy, in which individuals are rewarded according to their achievements rather than their background
   • Secularisation, in which religious beliefs and institutions lose influence over the population in modern societies
   • Ideological state apparatus, in which the state secures consent through institutions such as schools and churches

7. Which statement best describes the way in which sexual identities are regarded in contemporary sociology?

   • They are seen as fixed by biology, and they do not change over the life course or between societies
   • They are seen as entirely irrelevant to social life, because sexuality has no effect on social institutions
   • They are seen as socially constructed and shaped by changing norms, laws and social movements
   • They are seen as a matter of religious doctrine alone, with no connection to social change or policy

8. Which concept describes the way in which ethnic identity can be shaped by shared culture, language, religion and a sense of origin?

   • Class, which refers to a group's position in the economic system, determined by occupation and income
   • Ethnicity, which refers to a sense of shared cultural identity and origin that distinguishes a group from others
   • Status group, which refers to a category of people with a shared lifestyle and social prestige in a society
   • Age cohort, which refers to a group of people born in the same period who share a stage of life

9. Which argument is most often made by sociologists who study class identity in contemporary Britain?

   • Class identity is determined only by a person's religion, which has replaced economic position as the basis of identity
   • Class identity is fixed for life, so changes in occupation and income have no influence on how people see themselves
   • Class identity has disappeared entirely, because all people now have identical incomes and occupations
   • Class identity is less clear-cut than in the past, but economic position and lifestyle still shape social identity

10. Which concept describes the way that ethnic minorities may combine a sense of belonging to their heritage with identification with the wider nation?

    • Subcultural withdrawal, in which individuals reject all connection with the wider society and its values
    • Anticipatory socialisation, in which individuals learn the values of a group they hope to join in future
    • Symbolic violence, in which the dominant culture is imposed on minority groups as if it were natural
    • Hybrid identity, in which individuals draw on more than one cultural tradition to form their sense of self

11. Which argument best describes how gender and class can interact in shaping identity?

    • Class and gender are unrelated, so the experience of a working-class man is the same as that of a middle-class woman
    • Class and gender interact, so that men and women from different classes may experience identity in different ways
    • Class determines gender entirely, so all men are working class and all women are middle class in every society
    • Gender determines class entirely, so all women are working class and all men are middle class in every society

12. Which statement about older people and identity is most consistent with sociological research?

    • Older people's identity is unaffected by social attitudes, since ageing is a purely biological process
    • Older people have no identity at all, because identity ends when a person retires from paid employment
    • Older people all share the same identity, which is determined entirely by their biological decline with age
    • Older people may experience identity in diverse ways, and stereotypes of ageing can shape how they are treated

13. Which concept refers to the process by which a person's sense of national belonging is shaped by citizenship, language and the symbols of the nation state?

    • Global identity, which is shaped by membership of international organisations and the global economy
    • Subcultural identity, which is shaped by membership of a youth group that rejects mainstream values
    • Religious identity, which is shaped by belief systems and participation in religious institutions
    • National identity, which is shaped by citizenship, language, history and national symbols

14. A sociologist argues that a young disabled person's experience of school is shaped by inaccessible buildings and low expectations. Which perspective does this most closely reflect?

    • Positivism, which locates disadvantage in the statistical averages of disabled people's test scores
    • Functionalism, which locates disadvantage in the role that disabled people perform in the social system
    • The medical model of disability, which locates disadvantage in the individual's impairment alone
    • The social model of disability, which locates disadvantage in barriers and attitudes rather than in impairment

15. Which statement best reflects the view of Stuart Hall on identity?

    • Identity is a process of becoming, shaped by history, culture and power, rather than a fixed essence
    • Identity is a purely individual matter that has no connection with history, culture or the exercise of power
    • Identity is determined by the economic base, so cultural meanings have no role in shaping individual identity
    • Identity is a fixed essence that is determined by biology and cannot change over the course of a life

16. Which concept describes the way in which some people's identities are marginalised because they do not fit the dominant norm of gender, sexuality or ethnicity?

    • Assimilation, in which minority groups adopt the culture of the dominant group and lose their own identity
    • Consensus, in which all groups share the same values and accept the dominant norms without question
    • Marginalisation, in which groups that depart from the dominant norm are pushed to the edges of social life
    • Integration, in which all groups are fully included in the mainstream of social and economic life

17. Which concept describes the way that individuals may be treated differently because of their disability, when the environment does not accommodate them?

    • Disabling barriers, which are features of the social environment that prevent disabled people from participating fully
    • Religion, which is a set of beliefs and practices that influence the moral values of people in every society
    • Ageing, which is the biological process of change that happens to people in later stages of the life course
    • Impairment, which is a physical or mental condition that is located within the individual body and its functioning

18. Which example best illustrates the way gender identity is shaped by social expectations?

    • Children have the same interests and abilities regardless of the society in which they are brought up
    • Children are born with a fixed set of abilities that determine their interests and careers for the rest of their lives
    • Children are unaffected by the attitudes of adults, because their identities develop only through biology
    • Children are encouraged to take up different toys and activities depending on whether they are boys or girls

19. Which concept describes the way that ethnic identity can involve both self-identification and classification by others?

    • Nationality, which is defined only by citizenship and the legal status of a person in a particular country
    • Sexuality, which is defined only by the private desires and behaviour of an individual in personal life
    • Class, which is defined only by the occupation and income of a person in the economic system of a society
    • Ethnicity, which is shaped both by how people define themselves and by how others classify and treat them

20. Which statement best describes the way sexuality is viewed in contemporary sociology?

    • Sexual identities are fixed by religious doctrine, which has remained unchanged across all societies and periods
    • Sexual identities have no social dimension, because they are entirely private matters that others never influence
    • Sexual identities and norms are shaped by social, legal and cultural change, as well as personal experience
    • Sexual identities are determined by biology alone, so social norms and laws have no influence on them at all

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