Age | AQA A-Level Sociology

For Specification 7192

AQA A-Level Sociology | Free Revision Notes

Estimated study time: 75-90 minutes

Age is an important dimension of social inequality because opportunities, rights, status and economic circumstances can vary across the life course and between generations. This Age A-Level Sociology revision page explains how age can form a basis of differentiation and stratification, examines inequalities affecting younger and older people, and evaluates explanations based on ageism, age patriarchy, social construction and generational differences. It develops social stratification [Social stratification and differentiation] and prepares you for the detailed study of age and life chances [Ethnicity, age, disability and life chances]. AQA explicitly requires stratification and differentiation by age.

Learning Objectives 🎯

By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:

• Define age as a basis of social differentiation and social stratification.

• Explain how age may affect status, rights, economic position and opportunities.

• Examine patterns of inequality affecting younger and older people.

• Explain the concepts of ageism, age patriarchy, generation and cohort.

• Analyse social constructionist and structural explanations of age-related inequality.

• Evaluate the importance of age compared with social class, gender and ethnicity.

Revision Notes 📚

Age A-Level Sociology revision overview

Within Stratification and Differentiation, AQA requires students to understand:

• stratification and differentiation by age

• class, status and power as dimensions of inequality

• differences in life chances by age

• the nature, extent and significance of social mobility

AQA assessment material also recognises concepts including ageism, generation, cohort, social exclusion, social construction of age, age patriarchy, poverty, the ageing population, grey power and the grey pound.

This lesson concentrates on age as a basis of inequality. The detailed consequences for life chances are developed in age-related life chances [Ethnicity, age, disability and life chances].

Age as social differentiation

Social differentiation by age means distinguishing people according to their age or age group.

Societies commonly recognise different positions associated with stages of life, such as:

• childhood

• youth

• adulthood

• later life

These categories may be associated with different expectations, responsibilities and opportunities.

Age differentiation does not automatically mean inequality.

For example, if younger and older people have different social roles, this is differentiation.

It becomes stratification if those age differences are associated with unequal:

• rights

• resources

• status

• power

• independence

• employment opportunities

• life chances

Age as social stratification

Age stratification refers to structured inequalities associated with age.

AQA has explicitly assessed age as a dimension of inequality. In its 2020 assessment, students were given the examples that young people do not possess all the same rights as adults and that many older people are no longer in paid employment. They were then required to analyse how age could affect status.

This shows that age can affect people's social positions in different ways at different stages of life.

A useful analytical chain is:

age position → different rights or opportunities → different resources or independence → different status → inequality

📌 Exam tip: Avoid writing as though age inequality only affects older people. AQA explicitly recognises inequalities affecting both younger and older age groups.

Age and status

Status refers to a person's social position or standing.

Age can affect status because societies attach different rights, expectations and opportunities to different age groups.

The AQA 2020 mark scheme gives two particularly clear examples:

• younger people may have restricted opportunities for full-time work, reducing income and independence

• retirement may remove some of the status previously associated with paid employment

Age therefore matters partly because social status can be attached to economic independence and occupational position.

This relationship is developed further in dimensions of inequality [Class, status and power].

Younger people and status

Young people's status may be influenced by their dependence on adults and by restrictions placed on their participation in some areas of social life.

AQA assessment has recognised:

• fewer rights than adults

• restrictions on paid employment

• reduced financial independence

• age patriarchy

• social exclusion

• age-based discrimination

as relevant to age inequality.

The sociological issue is not simply that children and young people are younger.

It is that age categories are connected to different levels of independence, authority and participation.

Older people and status

Age inequality can also affect people in later life.

AQA's 2020 mark scheme identifies retirement as one process through which status may change. Leaving paid employment can mean losing some of the status associated with an occupational role.

Changes in income may also affect:

• economic independence

• consumption

• participation

• life chances

However, it would be inaccurate to assume that all older people necessarily have low status or limited resources.

AQA also recognises concepts such as grey power and the grey pound, which can be used to challenge an overly simple image of older people as universally powerless or economically disadvantaged.

The social construction of age

One explanation of age differentiation focuses on the social construction of age.

The idea of social construction means that the social significance attached to an age category is shaped by society rather than being determined only by biological ageing.

AQA explicitly recognises the social construction of age within possible material for an age inequality essay.

Different age groups may therefore be associated with particular:

• identities

• expectations

• roles

• behaviours

• levels of status

These expectations can influence how individuals are treated.

Socialisation and age expectations

AQA assessment also shows how age-related expectations may be learned through socialisation.

Its 2023 mark scheme recognised:

• peer pressure from friendship networks

• media representations of stereotypical age roles

• norms and values communicated through the media

as ways individuals may be socialised into age-based identities.

Socialisation can therefore contribute to age inequality if stereotypes about what members of an age group are expected to be like affect their opportunities or treatment.

This connects naturally with age in the media [Media representations of age].

Ageism

Ageism refers to prejudice or discrimination based on age.

AQA's age inequality assessment explicitly states that ageism may affect both young and old people.

Ageism can operate when assumptions about an age group affect:

• employment opportunities

• status

• treatment by others

• participation

• access to opportunities

For example, an age-based stereotype may create an assumption about an individual's ability or behaviour. If that assumption influences how the individual is treated, a social difference has contributed to inequality.

A useful chain is:

age stereotype → prejudice → discriminatory treatment → restricted opportunity → age inequality

Prejudice and discrimination

It is useful to distinguish:

Prejudice is an attitude or judgement about a group.

Discrimination involves unequal treatment.

The two may be connected, but they are not identical.

In an examination, do not simply name ageism. Explain how it creates an unequal outcome.

For example:

An employer may make assumptions about an applicant because of their age. If these assumptions reduce the person's employment opportunities, age becomes a source of economic inequality as well as social differentiation.

Age patriarchy

Age patriarchy describes unequal power relationships between adults and children or younger people.

The concept is accepted in AQA mark schemes both for age inequality and for sociological debates about childhood.

Age patriarchy focuses attention on adult control over aspects of children's lives.

This may include differences in:

• authority

• independence

• participation

• rights

• control over activities

AQA's Families and Households material has, for example, recognised age restrictions, controls on children and inequalities in children's status as sociologically significant.

This provides an important link with children's social position [Changes in the status of children].

Age patriarchy as an explanation of inequality

The argument can be expressed as:

adults possess greater authority → younger people have less control over decisions → unequal power → lower independence or status

From this perspective, inequalities between age groups are not simply inevitable consequences of biological age. They arise partly through the organisation of social relationships.

Evaluating age patriarchy

Age patriarchy provides a useful explanation of unequal power between adults and children.

However, restrictions on younger people can also be associated with protection.

AQA's 2024 assessment on children's status explicitly contrasted protective social policies with age restrictions. Protective policies can give children a special status, while restrictions on employment can limit financial independence.

The same policy may therefore have complex consequences.

For example:

protection can increase children's welfare and status

while

restriction can reduce children's independence

A strong sociological answer recognises both.

Age, rights and independence

Differences in rights are one way age groups may occupy different social positions.

AQA's 2020 item directly identifies the fact that young people do not have all the same rights as adults.

Restrictions can affect:

• independence

• earning opportunities

• participation in adult institutions

• control over decisions

This does not mean that every age restriction is evidence of unfair discrimination.

The sociological question is whether particular restrictions produce or reproduce unequal power and status.

Children as a protected social group

Age-related policies can also improve children's position.

The 2024 AQA mark scheme recognises that policies aimed at protecting vulnerable groups may contribute to a child-centred society and give children a special protected status.

Age stratification is therefore not simply a hierarchy in which one age group always loses.

Age can produce:

• disadvantages

• protections

• privileges

• responsibilities

depending on the area of social life being examined.

Age and employment

Employment is particularly important because occupational position can affect:

• income

• status

• independence

• social participation

• life chances

Age can shape participation in employment at both ends of the life course.

Younger people

Age restrictions and limited access to full-time employment can reduce younger people's:

• earnings

• economic independence

• occupational status

AQA specifically uses this as an example of how age may affect status.

Older people

Retirement can remove an individual from paid employment.

AQA identifies this as potentially involving:

• reduced income

• loss of occupational status

However, experiences will vary according to other resources and social positions.

This is why class must also be considered.

Age and economic inequality

Age groups may differ in their economic circumstances.

The AQA 2021 age question explicitly refers to generation gaps in economic opportunities.

The accompanying mark scheme accepts:

• poverty

• life chances

• social exclusion

• social capital

• generational differences

as relevant concepts.

Age inequality may therefore involve differences in the ability to:

• earn

• accumulate resources

• gain economic independence

• participate as consumers

• access particular opportunities

AQA does not require you to memorise unsupported contemporary statistics. The important examination skill is explaining the sociological relationship between age position and unequal opportunities.

Generations and cohorts

A generation refers to people associated with a broadly similar period within society.

A cohort refers to people who pass through a particular historical period at a similar stage in their lives.

AQA explicitly recognises both generation and cohort as useful concepts for age inequality.

These concepts matter because an apparent age inequality may partly result from the historical circumstances experienced by different generations.

Generation gaps

AQA's 2021 item identifies generation gaps in:

• economic opportunities

• values

• attitudes

This means inequality can arise not simply because one individual is 20 and another is 70, but because different generations may have encountered different economic and social conditions.

A sociologist therefore needs to distinguish:

age effect: inequality related to someone's current stage of life

from

generational or cohort effect: inequality related to the historical circumstances experienced by a particular generation.

This distinction prevents over-simplified explanations.

The ageing population

AQA also recognises the ageing population as relevant when considering age inequality.

An ageing population means that older age groups form an increasingly significant part of society.

This can affect debates about:

• resources

• policy

• family relationships

• employment and retirement

• political influence

The demographic causes and broader effects of population ageing are examined separately in population ageing [Life expectancy and the ageing population].

For this lesson, the key point is that demographic change may alter the balance between age groups and therefore the social significance of age.

Grey power

The term grey power draws attention to the potential influence of older people.

AQA lists grey power as relevant material when evaluating whether age is an increasingly important dimension of inequality.

The concept challenges the assumption that older people must always be socially powerless.

Older people may possess resources that increase their influence.

This produces an important evaluation:

Later life may involve disadvantages in some areas, such as loss of occupational status, while older people may possess significant influence or resources in other areas.

Age groups therefore cannot be treated as internally uniform.

The grey pound

The grey pound refers to the consumer spending power associated with older people.

AQA includes this concept alongside grey power.

Its sociological importance lies in showing that retirement or older age does not automatically mean economic deprivation.

Some older people may have significant economic resources, whereas others may experience poverty.

This immediately brings social class into the explanation.

Age and social exclusion

Social exclusion refers to being unable to participate fully in important areas of social life.

AQA recognises social exclusion as relevant to age inequality.

Age-related exclusion may result when a group has restricted access to:

• employment

• income

• social participation

• resources

• decision-making

The concept is particularly useful because it shows that inequality is broader than income alone.

A person can experience disadvantage through reduced participation or social status even where poverty is not the central problem.

Young people and NEET status

AQA's age inequality mark scheme recognises NEETs as possible sociological material.

NEET refers to a young person who is not in education, employment or training.

The concept can be connected to:

• economic disadvantage

• reduced employment opportunities

• social exclusion

• restricted life chances

However, do not treat NEET status as an inevitable feature of youth. It describes the circumstances of a particular group of young people.

This distinction is crucial because inequalities within an age group may be as important as inequalities between age groups.

Differences within age groups

"Young people" and "older people" are not homogeneous groups.

Two people of the same age may occupy very different positions because they also differ in:

• social class

• gender

• ethnicity

• disability

• economic resources

AQA's 2020 age-and-status mark scheme explicitly states that analysis can consider the extent to which age can be separated from factors such as social class and gender.

This is one of the strongest evaluation points available.

Social class and age inequality

A Marxist or class-based analysis can question whether age is the most fundamental inequality.

The 2021 AQA question explicitly contrasts age with the argument that social class, gender and ethnicity remain more important dimensions of inequality. Its top-level mark scheme expects students to debate the relative importance of these dimensions.

Class may affect experiences within the same age group.

For example, retirement does not necessarily produce the same economic circumstances for every older person.

Similarly, younger people's opportunities may vary according to the resources available to them.

This builds directly on class inequality [Social class].

Evaluating class explanations

A class explanation is useful because it draws attention to unequal resources within age groups.

However, it does not automatically explain why members of different ages:

• possess different legal rights

• experience age stereotypes

• face age-specific discrimination

• occupy different age-related statuses

Age may therefore matter independently of class in some situations.

Gender and age

Gender may also interact with age.

The AQA mark scheme specifically identifies gender as a dimension against which age can be evaluated.

A person's experiences are not determined by age alone.

The significance of age may vary according to whether the individual also occupies an advantaged or disadvantaged position in terms of gender.

This gives an intersectional form of reasoning:

age + gender → particular social position

rather than assuming:

age alone → outcome

Your earlier revision on gender inequality [Gender] helps you develop this comparison.

Ethnicity and age

Ethnicity provides another potential dimension of inequality.

AQA's age mark scheme identifies ethnicity alongside class, gender and disability as relevant when evaluating age inequality.

This again shows why broad statements such as:

"Older people have low status"

are sociologically weak.

Older people from different ethnic and class backgrounds may have very different resources, identities and experiences.

The best answers therefore examine patterns while recognising differences within age categories.

Social constructionist explanations of age inequality

A social constructionist approach focuses on the social meanings attached to age.

Age categories may be given meanings through:

• socialisation

• cultural expectations

• stereotypes

• interaction

• media representations

AQA assessment shows that peer groups and the media can communicate age-related role expectations.

These expectations can matter for inequality where they influence how individuals are judged or treated.

For example:

stereotypical expectation → age-based judgement → different treatment → different status or opportunity

Strength of the social constructionist explanation

This approach helps explain why biological age alone cannot tell us everything about social status.

People of a similar biological age can be treated differently in different social circumstances.

It also explains how attitudes towards age groups may change.

Limitation

A purely constructionist approach may understate material inequalities.

Differences in income, employment or legal rights have real consequences even if social meanings also influence them.

A strong answer can therefore combine social construction with structural inequalities.

Ageism as an explanation

An ageism explanation focuses on prejudice and discriminatory treatment.

Its strength is that it can explain why age affects opportunities even when people have similar individual abilities.

It can be applied to both younger and older people, which reflects the 2021 AQA item.

However, ageism cannot explain every observed difference.

Some age differences may result from:

• legal rules

• employment position

• retirement

• class inequalities

• historical differences between generations

Ageism is therefore one explanation rather than a complete explanation of every age-related pattern.

Age patriarchy as an explanation

Age patriarchy explains inequality through unequal power between adults and younger people.

It is particularly useful for understanding:

• restrictions on independence

• adult control

• differences in rights

• children's lower decision-making power

However, some adult control may also be associated with protection and welfare.

The relationship is therefore more complicated than simply:

adult control = disadvantage.

AQA assessment material on children's status recognises both increased protection and continued restrictions.

Generational explanations

A generational approach focuses on differences between people who have experienced different historical circumstances.

This can explain the generation gaps in economic opportunities explicitly identified by AQA.

Its strength is that it distinguishes social change from simple biological ageing.

However, there is also considerable variation within generations.

A generation contains individuals occupying different:

• classes

• genders

• ethnic groups

• economic positions

Generation should therefore not be treated as a complete explanation on its own.

Postmodernism and age

AQA identifies postmodernism as one of the perspectives that may appear in answers evaluating age inequality.

It can form part of debates about whether traditional social divisions remain fixed or whether identities and social positions have become more varied.

For examination purposes, the important point is not to name a perspective and move on.

You must use the perspective to answer the specific question, for example whether age is becoming more or less important compared with other social divisions.

Is age becoming more important?

This has been directly examined by AQA.

The 2021 question asked students to evaluate the claim that age is an increasingly important dimension of inequality. The item highlighted:

• rapid social change

• generation gaps in economic opportunities

• generation gaps in values and attitudes

• ageism affecting young and old people

It then challenged the claim by identifying social class, gender and ethnicity as alternative dimensions of inequality.

Arguments that age may be increasingly important

Age can affect:

• rights

• employment

• independence

• status

• economic opportunities

• social exclusion

Ageism can affect both younger and older people.

Generational differences may also become significant during periods of rapid social change.

Arguments that age may be less important than other divisions

Social class may create major differences in resources within the same age group.

Gender may affect opportunities at every age.

Ethnicity may also shape status and life chances.

Different social divisions may therefore overlap.

A stronger judgement

Rather than simply stating "age matters" or "class matters more", ask:

• What form of inequality is being examined?

• Does age independently affect the outcome?

• Could the apparent age difference actually be a cohort effect?

• How much variation exists within each age group?

• Does class, gender or ethnicity modify the relationship?

This creates a more sophisticated evaluation.

Applying age inequality in an examination

Imagine an item stating:

Younger workers have fewer opportunities to enter secure employment, while many older workers leave paid employment through retirement. Both groups may experience stereotypes based on assumptions about their age.

A descriptive answer might say:

"Young and old people can experience age inequality."

A stronger answer develops the process:

younger age → restricted employment opportunity → reduced income and independence → lower status

and:

older age → retirement → loss of occupational role → possible reduction in status

You could then evaluate the explanation by considering:

• social class differences within each group

• whether retirement always lowers status

• grey power and the grey pound

• whether discrimination rather than age itself creates the inequality

• whether the difference represents age or generation

That movement from pattern → mechanism → consequence → evaluation is central to A-Level Sociology.

Key Words 🔑

Key word	Student-friendly definition	How it may be used in an exam
Age stratification	Structured inequality associated with people's age or age group.	Use when linking age to unequal status, rights, resources or opportunities.
Ageism	Prejudice or discrimination based on age.	Use to explain unequal treatment of younger or older people.
Age patriarchy	Unequal power relationships in which adults exercise greater authority over children and younger people.	Apply to inequalities in independence, rights and decision-making.
Generation	A social grouping connected to a broadly similar historical period.	Use when explaining differences between age generations.
Cohort	A group that passes through a historical period at a similar stage of life.	Use when distinguishing cohort effects from simple age effects.
Social construction of age	The idea that society gives age categories particular meanings, expectations and roles.	Use to explain why the social significance of age can vary.
Social exclusion	Restricted participation in important areas of social and economic life.	Link age to employment, income, independence or participation.
NEET	A young person not in education, employment or training.	Use where relevant to young people's economic opportunities and exclusion.
Grey power	The potential social or political influence associated with older people.	Use to challenge claims that older people are always powerless.
Grey pound	The consumer spending power associated with older people.	Use to evaluate claims that older age necessarily means economic disadvantage.

Hints from the Examiner Reports 💡

Examiner hint: Apply the item to the exact outcome named in the question. In the 2024 question on social policies and children's status, weaker responses sometimes wrote about social policies or the history of childhood without explaining their effect on status. Stronger responses connected the item directly to children's changing social position.

Examiner hint: When the item gives specific agencies or processes, use them. In the 2023 age-identity question, some students discussed agencies of socialisation other than those provided in the item rather than fully developing the item material.

Examiner hint: For a 10-mark analyse question, identify the two item "hooks" and develop one paragraph from each. AQA advises that introductions and conclusions are unnecessary, and that writing more than two points often prevents sufficient development.

Examiner hint: Do not recite everything you know about age. Recent examiner reports warn that answers lose marks when students focus on terms from the question rather than the precise relationship they have been asked to explain.

Examiner hint: Evaluation should weigh competing explanations and reach a reasoned judgement. Simply placing an age explanation next to a class or gender explanation is weaker than explaining why one challenges or qualifies the other.

Examiner hint: In a 20-mark essay, be selective. AQA reports that a smaller number of theories or arguments developed in depth is usually more effective than listing every perspective you remember. Brief essay plans can also improve structure.

Common Mistakes ⚠️

Mistake: Assuming age inequality only concerns older people

Why this is incorrect: AQA explicitly recognises ageism and inequality affecting both younger and older people.

How to improve: Consider different points in the life course and ask how age affects rights, status and opportunities at each.

Mistake: Treating every age difference as inequality

Why this is incorrect: Social differentiation simply identifies different age positions. Stratification requires an unequal consequence.

How to improve: Complete the chain:

age difference → unequal resource, right, status or power → inequality

Mistake: Saying "ageism" without explaining the process

Why this is incorrect: Naming prejudice does not explain how it affects social position.

How to improve: Explain:

stereotype → prejudice → discrimination → restricted opportunity → inequality

Mistake: Assuming every older person is poor or powerless

Why this is incorrect: AQA recognises grey power and the grey pound, while social class creates important differences within older age groups.

How to improve: Discuss variation within age categories and avoid absolute statements.

Mistake: Assuming every young person has the same experience

Why this is incorrect: Class, gender and ethnicity may produce major inequalities between people of the same age.

How to improve: Use age as one dimension of stratification rather than a complete explanation of an individual's position.

Mistake: Confusing an age effect with a generation effect

Why this is incorrect: Some differences may result from people's present stage in the life course, while others result from different historical opportunities experienced by different cohorts.

How to improve: Ask whether the difference would be expected to change as the person gets older or whether it is associated with the particular generation to which they belong.

Mistake: Treating adult control of children as automatically negative

Why this is incorrect: AQA assessment recognises both age patriarchy and policies that protect children.

How to improve: Evaluate whether a restriction reduces independence, provides protection, or does both.

Mistake: Listing class, gender and ethnicity at the end of an age essay

Why this is incorrect: Simply naming alternative inequalities is not evaluation.

How to improve: Compare them directly:

"Class challenges an age-only explanation because..."

"However, age remains important independently of class because..."

Exam-Style Questions ✍️

Questions

1. Identify one form of prejudice or discrimination associated with age.[1 mark]

2. Identify one concept that refers to unequal power between adults and younger people.[1 mark]

3. Explain the difference between age differentiation and age stratification.[4 marks]

4. Explain two ways in which age may affect an individual's status.[6 marks]

5. Outline and explain two ways in which ageism may create social inequality.[10 marks]

6. Read Item A below and answer the question that follows.

Item A Some young people have limited economic independence because their opportunities to participate fully in paid employment are restricted. At the other end of the life course, leaving paid employment can remove a role that previously provided income and social standing.Age may affect an individual's position in society.

Applying material from Item A, analyse two ways in which age may affect an individual's social position.[10 marks]

7. Read Item B below and answer the question that follows.

Item B Different generations may experience different economic opportunities. Social expectations can also define particular roles as appropriate for younger and older people, and age-based stereotypes may influence how individuals are treated.However, members of the same age group can have very different experiences because they occupy different class, gender and ethnic positions.

Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, evaluate sociological explanations of age-related inequality.[20 marks]

8. Read Item C below and answer the question that follows.

Item C Some sociologists argue that age is becoming increasingly important because economic opportunities vary between generations and both younger and older people may experience ageism.Other sociologists argue that social class, gender and ethnicity produce more important inequalities and that there are major differences between people within the same age group.

Applying material from Item C and your knowledge, evaluate the view that age is an increasingly important dimension of inequality.[20 marks]

Mark Scheme

Question 1

Award 1 mark for:

• ageism

Question 2

Award 1 mark for:

• age patriarchy

Question 3

Award up to 4 marks.

Indicative content:

• Age differentiation means identifying social differences between people or groups according to age.

• Age stratification exists where those differences are connected to unequal rights, resources, opportunities, status or power.

• A developed answer should clearly explain the unequal consequence.

Example answer: Age differentiation involves recognising different age groups and the social positions associated with them. Age stratification occurs when those differences become inequalities, for example when age restrictions reduce one group's economic independence or decision-making power.

Question 4

Award up to 6 marks for two developed ways.

Possible answers include:

Younger people

Age restrictions may limit participation in full-time paid employment. This can reduce income and financial independence, contributing to lower status compared with economically independent adults.

Older people

Retirement may remove occupational roles that previously provided income and social standing. This may reduce an individual's status.

Alternative developed points concerning ageism, rights or age patriarchy may also be credited.

Question 5

This is an outline and explain question.

Students should develop exactly two ways.

Indicative content may include:

• employment discrimination

• stereotypes restricting opportunities

• reduced status

• social exclusion

• discrimination against younger people

• discrimination against older people

For each point:

1. Identify an ageist belief or process.

2. Explain how it affects treatment.

3. Explain the resulting inequality.

Evaluation is not required.

Question 6

Students should explicitly use both hooks in Item A.

Way 1: Restricted participation in paid employment

• Item A states that some younger people have restricted employment opportunities.

• This can reduce income and financial independence.

• Economic dependence may affect their social status and power.

• Age therefore becomes a basis of stratification rather than merely difference.

Way 2: Leaving paid employment

• Item A refers to loss of paid employment later in the life course.

• Retirement may involve the loss of an occupational role.

• If work provided income and social standing, leaving it may affect economic position and status.

• However, the effect may vary according to an individual's resources and class position.

Higher-mark answers should analyse the link between the item and social position, rather than simply describing young and older people.

Question 7

This is a 20-mark evaluative essay.

A high-level response should include several explanations while maintaining focus on age-related inequality.

Social constructionist explanation

• age categories acquire social meanings

• age-based roles and expectations

• socialisation

• stereotypes

• age identities

Ageism

• prejudice

• discrimination

• restricted opportunities

• effects on both young and older people

Age patriarchy

• unequal authority between adults and younger people

• restrictions on independence and rights

• differences in power

Generational explanation

• generation and cohort

• differences in economic opportunities

• social change

• generation gaps

Evaluation may include:

• social class differences within age groups

• gender differences

• ethnicity

• grey power and the grey pound

• differences between age effects and cohort effects

• protective functions of some age restrictions

• variation within younger and older populations

For the highest marks, alternative explanations should be used to evaluate one another, not simply presented separately.

A reasoned conclusion should judge whether age-related inequality is best explained by discrimination, socially constructed age roles, generational differences or interactions with other dimensions of inequality.

Question 8

This question requires direct assessment of whether age is increasingly important.

Arguments supporting the view may include:

• ageism affecting young and older people

• generation gaps in economic opportunity

• differences in legal rights

• differences in economic independence

• employment and retirement

• social exclusion

• age patriarchy

• changing significance of an ageing population

Evaluation may include:

• social class as a stronger predictor of resources

• gender inequality

• ethnic inequality

• large differences within age groups

• grey power

• grey pound

• distinction between age and cohort effects

• interaction between age, class, gender and ethnicity

For the highest marks, the phrase "increasingly important" should remain central throughout.

A strong conclusion might argue that age is a significant dimension of stratification because it can independently affect rights, status and treatment. However, the effects of age are uneven and often interact with class, gender and ethnicity, so its relative importance depends on the particular inequality being examined.