UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE LOCAL EXAMINATIONS SYNDICATE
Joint Examination for the School Certificate
and General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
SOCIOLOGY
2251/2
PAPER 2
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER SESSION 2001
1 hour 45 minutes
Additional materials:
Answer paper
TIME
1 hour 45 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
Write your name, Centre number and candidate number in the spaces provided on the answer paper/
answer booklet.
Answer three questions.
Answer no more than two questions from any one section.
Write your answers on the separate answer paper provided.
If you use more than one sheet of paper, fasten the sheets together.
INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES
The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.
This question paper consists of 7 printed pages and 1 blank page.
SB (SLC) QK11795/2
© UCLES 2001
http://www.xtremepapers.net
[Turn over
2
Section A
Family
1
The extended family is found mainly in traditional societies. Family units tend to be smaller in
modern industrial societies, although a modified form of the extended family survives.
(a) What is meant by the term ‘extended family’?
[2]
(b) Why is the extended family usually associated with more traditional ways of life?
[6]
(c) What factors have led to the decline of the extended family in modern industrial societies? [6]
(d) What evidence is there that a modified form of the extended family exists in modern industrial
societies?
[6]
2
3
Divorce rates in most modern industrial societies are high and still rising. For example, more than
one in three marriages end in divorce in the UK today.
(a) What is meant by the term ‘divorce rates’?
[2]
(b) Describe two forms of marital breakdown apart from divorce.
[4]
(c) Why are divorce rates at such a high level in some countries?
[7]
(d) What are the effects on society of a high divorce rate?
[7]
The functions of families in modern industrial societies have changed, but that does not mean that
families are less important than they were in the past.
(a) What are the main functions of families in traditional societies?
[5]
(b) How have these functions changed as societies have modernised?
[5]
(c) In what ways might it be argued that families are as important today as they were in the past?
[5]
(d) What support does the family receive from the State in modern industrial societies?
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[5]
3
Section B
Education
4
There are differences in the performance of boys and girls at school and the subjects they choose
to study may be influenced by gender.
(a) What is meant by ‘gender’?
[2]
(b) Using examples, explain gender differences in the choice of subjects at school.
[6]
(c) How might the behaviour of teachers in the classroom help to explain differences in the
educational performance of boys and girls?
[6]
(d) What factors apart from the behaviour of teachers help to explain differences in the
educational performance of boys and girls?
[6]
5
It is claimed that formal education systems give children from poor backgrounds a chance to be
successful in society.
(a) What is meant by the term ‘formal education’?
[2]
(b) In what ways can formal education systems give children from poor families a chance to be
successful in society?
[6]
6
(c) What factors hinder children from poor backgrounds in being successful at school?
[6]
(d) What can schools do to improve the opportunities of children from poor families?
[6]
In some societies young people are regarded as a separate group with their own subculture. This
is sometimes called youth culture.
(a) What is meant by the term ‘subculture’?
[2]
(b) What are the main features of youth culture?
[6]
(c) What factors explain the growth of youth culture in modern industrialised societies?
[6]
(d) Why is youth culture not a common feature of traditional societies?
[6]
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4
Section C
Culture, Communications and the Mass Media
7
News reporting involves filtering and selecting the items that are printed and broadcast. This
sometimes leads to accusations of bias and distortion.
(a) What is meant by the phrase ‘bias and distortion’?
[2]
(b) In what ways might news coverage be biased and distorted?
[6]
(c) What processes in the gathering and editing of news might lead to bias and distortion in the
reporting of events?
[6]
(d) How might government censorship affect bias and distortion in the media?
8
[6]
Those who control the mass media in modern industrial societies have access to considerable
power.
(a) Identify three groups that can influence what is published and broadcast by the mass media.
[3]
(b) What trends are there in the ownership and control of the mass media in modern industrial
societies?
[5]
(c) In what ways might control of the mass media be a source of power?
[6]
(d) To what extent might it be argued that those who control the mass media have too much
power?
[6]
9
Advertising has a strong influence on the lifestyle of people and the consumption of goods and
services in many societies.
(a) What are the main purposes of advertising?
[3]
(b) How does advertising influence patterns of consumption and lifestyle?
[5]
(c) What factors apart from advertising influence patterns of consumption and lifestyle?
[6]
(d) What limits should governments place on the freedom of companies to advertise their
products?
[6]
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5
Section D
Occupations
10 Some people believe that trades unions help to reduce industrial conflict by improving the wages
and working conditions of their members.
(a) What are the main functions of trades unions?
[5]
(b) Why might the existence of trades unions help to reduce industrial conflict?
[5]
(c) What methods can trades unions employ to improve the wages and working conditions of
their members?
[5]
(d) What factors may lead workers to go on strike?
[5]
11 Workers in mechanised factories often find their work dull and stressful. This may lead to
alienation.
(a) What is meant by the term ‘alienation’?
[2]
(b) Explain the factors that may lead workers to feel alienated.
[6]
(c) What changes might management make to help workers in mechanised factories feel less
alienated?
[6]
(d) In what ways might automation reduce the stress and alienation experienced in traditional
mechanised factories?
[6]
12 In general, female workers earn less than men, have fewer opportunities for promotion and
training, and are more likely to become unemployed.
(a) Why are the wages of women generally lower than those of men?
[5]
(b) Why are women more likely than men to become unemployed?
[5]
(c) What might governments do to create more opportunities for female workers?
[5]
(d) What might women do to achieve equality with men at work?
[5]
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6
Section E
Population
13 The rapid growth in world population will affect all societies.
(a) What are the main causes of rapid growth in population?
[5]
(b) What problems may be created by rapid growth in population in developing societies?
[5]
(c) What might governments do to control the rate of population growth in developing societies?
[5]
(d) How might the rapid growth in world population affect modern industrial societies?
[5]
14 The movement of people within or between countries is known as migration. There is a distinction
between ‘voluntary’ and ‘forced’ migration.
(a) What factors may encourage people to move voluntarily from one country to another?
[5]
(b) In what circumstances might forced migration occur?
[5]
(c) Why might a migrant group find life difficult in another country?
[5]
(d) What might be the impact on a society of the arrival of migrants from another country?
[5]
15 Fertility rates in most modern industrial societies have declined sharply over the last 100 years.
(a) What is meant by the term ‘fertility rates’?
[2]
(b) Why have fertility rates in most industrial societies declined so sharply?
[6]
(c) Why do poorer groups in developing societies tend to have larger families?
[6]
(d) What factors might explain a sudden increase in the birth rate in a society?
[6]
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Section F
Crime and Delinquency
16 We know very little about the true pattern of crime in society. The crime statistics provide an
inaccurate and distorted picture.
(a) Why are some crimes not reported to the police?
[5]
(b) Why are some groups more likely to be represented in the crime statistics than others?
[5]
(c) In what ways can the actions of the police lead to an apparent increase in the level of crime?
[5]
(d) What factors might make people more willing to report certain types of crime to the police?
[5]
17 Juvenile delinquency is a social problem primarily associated with young men living in deprived
urban areas.
(a) What is meant by the term ‘juvenile delinquency’?
[2]
(b) Why is juvenile delinquency often linked with deprived urban areas?
[6]
(c) Why is juvenile delinquency rarely associated with young women?
[6]
(d) Why do most juvenile delinquents not continue to be criminals as adults?
[6]
18 The way that people define deviant behaviour may vary from society to society. Likewise, some
groups in society are more likely to be labelled as deviant than others.
(a) What is meant by the term ‘deviant behaviour’?
[2]
(b) Using examples, explain why definitions of deviance vary between societies.
[6]
(c) Which groups in society are more likely to be labelled as deviant?
[6]
(d) How might members of deviant groups seek to change the way their behaviour is viewed by
others?
[6]
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