Social class and identity | AQA A-Level Sociology

For Specification 7192

AQA A-Level Sociology | Free Revision Notes

Estimated study time: 40 minutes

exam questions by topic 👇

Social class is one of the seven social characteristics that AQA requires students to relate to identity in contemporary society. This Social class and identity A-Level Sociology revision page examines how class fits into the wider study of the self, identity and difference, including the idea that identities are socially caused and socially constructed. It builds on gender and sexuality [Gender and sexuality] and prepares you for the final Culture and Identity lesson on production, consumption and globalisation [Production, consumption, globalisation and identity].

Learning Objectives 🎯

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

• Explain the relationship between social class and identity within AQA Culture and Identity.

• Examine class identity within the idea that identity and difference are socially caused.

• Examine how class identities may be socially produced or constructed.

• Relate class identity to the wider themes of socialisation, culture and identity.

• Connect class identity with social differentiation, power and stratification.

• Evaluate the continuing significance of social class for identity at the level supported by the provided material.

Revision Notes 📚

Social class and identity within Culture and Identity

AQA requires students studying Culture and Identity to be familiar with sociological explanations of:

• different conceptions of culture

• the socialisation process and agencies of socialisation

• the self, identity and difference as both socially caused and socially constructed

• the relationship of identity to age, disability, ethnicity, gender, nationality, sexuality and social class in contemporary society

• the relationship of identity to production, consumption and globalisation.

Social class is therefore explicitly included as one of the dimensions through which identity must be studied.

This lesson completes the sequence of specified social characteristics begun in age and disability identities [Age and disability identities], followed by ethnicity, nationality, gender and sexuality.

What is social class identity?

The AQA specification explicitly requires students to understand the relationship between social class and identity, but it does not provide a formal definition of class identity.

Social class and the self

Social class appears immediately after AQA's requirement to study:

the self, identity and difference as both socially caused and socially constructed. 

This provides an important sociological framework.

The relationship between social class and identity should therefore not be treated simply as a matter of personal choice or individual preference. Students need to consider it within the wider sociological study of how identity relates to society.

Class identity as socially caused

AQA requires identity and difference to be examined as socially caused.

This means that when social class is studied in relation to identity, it sits within a broader specification requirement to consider social influences on identity rather than understanding identity entirely in isolation from society.

The Culture and Identity topic has already established possible areas of connection through:

• socialisation

• agencies of socialisation

• culture

• the self and identity.

You can revisit this framework through the self and identity [The self, identity and difference].

Class identity as socially constructed

AQA also requires students to understand identity and difference as socially constructed.

This creates a second important framework for examining social class and identity.

How might class identities be socially produced?

The revision plan asks students to examine how class identities may be socially produced.

This learning objective develops AQA's broader requirement that identity and difference should be examined as socially caused and socially constructed.

Social class, socialisation and identity

One of the two AQA core themes is:

socialisation, culture and identity.

Earlier Culture and Identity lessons required students to study:

1. different conceptions of culture

2. the socialisation process

3. agencies of socialisation

4. the self, identity and difference

5. particular dimensions of identity, including social class.

This sequence encourages students to make connections between socialisation and identity.

The specification does not, however, state that any particular agency of socialisation creates class identity in a particular way.

⚠️ Exam point: If you claim that a particular social process produces a particular class identity, you need accurate sociological explanation or evidence to support that claim.

Social class and culture

Culture is another explicit element of the core theme of socialisation, culture and identity.

The Culture and Identity topic begins with several different conceptions of culture before progressing to particular identities.

This means that culture and identity belong within the same broader specification framework.

However, the specification does not itself specify:

• particular class cultures

• a particular relationship between high or low culture and class identity

• particular forms of popular or mass culture associated with social classes.

Social class and social differentiation

Social class has an especially clear connection with AQA's second core theme:

social differentiation, power and stratification.

This makes class particularly useful for recognising how the two core themes can intersect:

Core theme	Connection with this lesson
Socialisation, culture and identity	Social class is explicitly one characteristic to which identity must be related.
Social differentiation, power and stratification	Social class is relevant to the wider study of social divisions and stratification.

Students should still keep the focus of the particular question clear.

A Culture and Identity question may concern class identity, while a Stratification and Differentiation question may focus much more directly on class inequality, measurement or life chances.

Social class elsewhere in AQA Sociology

Social class appears in several other areas of the AQA specification.

For example, Education requires students to examine differential educational achievement by social class and the relationship between education and class structure. The revision plan develops these areas through social class and educational achievement [Social class and educational achievement] and social class and experiences of education [Social class and experiences of education].

If Stratification and Differentiation is studied as an option, AQA also requires:

• stratification and differentiation by social class

• class, status and power

• differences in life chances by social class

• problems of defining and measuring social class.

The revision plan develops these issues separately through social class [Social class] and defining and measuring social class [Defining and measuring social class].

These links show that class can be relevant across Sociology, but different questions require different focuses.

Do not confuse class identity with class inequality

Class identity and class inequality are related areas of Sociology, but they are not identical specification requirements.

For Culture and Identity, AQA requires:

the relationship of identity to social class in contemporary society.

For Stratification and Differentiation, AQA separately requires topics such as:

• class stratification

• class, status and power

• life chances

• defining and measuring class.

⚠️ In an examination, always identify the actual focus of the question.

If a question asks about class identity, spending most of the response describing economic inequality without connecting it to identity would risk losing focus.

Social class alongside other identities

Social class is one of seven social characteristics that AQA requires students to relate to identity:

• age

• disability

• ethnicity

• gender

• nationality

• sexuality

• social class.

AQA does not state that one of these must always be more important than the others.

Students therefore need sociological evidence and explanation before arguing that social class is more or less significant than age, gender, ethnicity or another characteristic.

The continuing significance of social class

The lesson plan asks students to evaluate the continuing significance of class for identity.

The wording is consistent with AQA's requirement to examine the relationship between social class and identity in contemporary society.

A proper evaluative answer would require appropriate sociological explanations and evidence from specification-compatible teaching resources.

What would evaluation require?

Once appropriate sociological material has been studied, a question about the continuing significance of class should not be answered by simply stating that class "still matters" or "does not matter".

A developed evaluation should:

1. Explain an argument about the significance of social class for identity.

2. Support that explanation using relevant sociological material.

3. Consider a competing explanation or evidence.

4. Compare the relative strength of the arguments.

5. Reach a reasoned judgement about the extent to which class remains significant.

This reflects AQA's wider requirement that students analyse and evaluate sociological theories, concepts and evidence in order to present arguments, make judgements and draw conclusions.

Social class, production and consumption

The final Culture and Identity specification point requires students to examine:

the relationship of identity to production, consumption and globalisation. 

This follows directly after the relationships between identity and the seven social characteristics, including class.

The revision plan therefore moves from this lesson to production, consumption and globalisation [Production, consumption, globalisation and identity].

The specification itself does not state exactly how production or consumption affects class identity.

Students should therefore avoid assuming a particular relationship until it is supported by appropriate sociological material.

Social class and globalisation

AQA also requires the central focus of the course to be contemporary UK society while recognising its globalised context.

Globalisation becomes explicit in the next Culture and Identity specification point.

Contemporary society

AQA specifically requires students to examine social class and identity in contemporary society.

This is important because class identity should not be studied only as an historical or abstract issue.

The course-wide guidance also states that the central focus should be UK society today, while comparative dimensions should be considered where relevant.

Students therefore need contemporary sociological evidence when evaluating the significance of class identity.

The provided specification does not supply particular examples, studies or statistics, so these cannot be added accurately from the available material.

Sociological explanations of class identity

For Topics in Sociology, AQA requires students to examine both:

• sociological evidence

• sociological explanations

for the specified content.

A complete study of class identity therefore requires substantive sociological explanations.

Applying social class and identity in an examination

AQA assesses three assessment objectives.

AO1: Knowledge and understanding

Students need accurate sociological knowledge of:

• the relationship between class and identity

• class identity as socially caused and socially constructed

• sociological explanations

• relevant evidence.

Simply defining social class would not fully address a question about class identity.

AO2: Application

A question may provide an Item describing identity in contemporary society.

Good application means selecting details from the Item and explaining them using sociological knowledge about social class and identity.

For example, if an Item suggests that people's sense of identity is connected with their position in society, a developed answer needs to explain the sociological relationship rather than simply quote the phrase.

AO3: Analysis and evaluation

Students may be required to analyse or evaluate:

• how social class relates to identity

• how class identities are socially produced

• whether class remains significant

• competing explanations of identity

• connections between class identity and wider social change.

A strong evaluative answer reaches a judgement about extent, rather than presenting two opposing claims and stopping.

Key Words 🔑

Key word	Student-friendly definition	How it may be used in an exam
Social class	One of the social characteristics AQA explicitly requires students to relate to identity in contemporary society.	Use when explaining and evaluating the relationship between class and identity.
Class identity	The relationship between identity and social class required within Culture and Identity. The specification does not provide a fuller formal definition.	Use as the central focus when answering questions about social class and identity.
Identity	A core Culture and Identity concept studied as socially caused and socially constructed and related to several social characteristics.	Connect social class to wider sociological explanations of the self and identity.
Socially caused	One way AQA requires identity and difference to be examined.	Use when considering social influences associated with class identity.
Socially constructed	The second way AQA requires identity and difference to be examined.	Use when analysing how class identity may be socially produced.
Socialisation	A required process within the core theme of socialisation, culture and identity.	Link class identity to wider social processes where supported.
Social differentiation	Part of AQA's second core theme alongside power and stratification.	Connect class identity with wider social divisions where relevant.
Stratification	Part of the second AQA core theme and a separate area in the Stratification and Differentiation option.	Distinguish questions about class inequality from questions specifically about class identity.
Contemporary society	The context in which AQA requires the relationship between social class and identity to be examined.	Keep examples and evaluation focused on contemporary social life.

Common Mistakes ⚠️

Mistake: Treating social class and class identity as exactly the same thing

Why this is incorrect: The Culture and Identity specification asks students to examine the relationship of identity to social class. Simply discussing class without connecting it to identity does not address the full requirement.

How to improve: Keep identity at the centre of every explanation. Ask yourself, "What does this point tell me about the relationship between class and identity?"

Mistake: Turning a class identity answer into an essay about class inequality

Why this is incorrect: AQA treats class identity and class stratification as distinct areas of specification content.

How to improve: Use inequality only when it helps explain class identity. Do not replace the identity focus with a discussion of income, life chances or educational achievement.

Mistake: Assuming class identity is fixed

Why this is incorrect: AQA requires identity and difference to be examined as both socially caused and socially constructed.

How to improve: Use sociological explanations that consider the social production or construction of identity.

Mistake: Assuming social class no longer matters

Why this is incorrect: The supplied material provides no evidence supporting this conclusion.

How to improve: Treat the continuing significance of class as an issue to evaluate using sociological theory and evidence rather than as an assumption.

Mistake: Assuming social class must be the most important identity

Why this is incorrect: AQA also requires identity to be related to age, disability, ethnicity, gender, nationality and sexuality.

How to improve: Where the question allows comparison, consider alternative dimensions of identity before reaching a judgement.

Mistake: Forgetting contemporary society

Why this is incorrect: AQA explicitly requires the relationship between social class and identity to be studied in contemporary society.

How to improve: Use relevant contemporary evidence from specification-compatible teaching material when developing explanations and evaluation.

Mistake: Inventing named theories or studies

Why this is incorrect: The supplied specification does not identify particular sociologists or research studies explaining class identity.

How to improve: Only use named sociological material that has been established accurately through appropriate course resources.

Exam-Style Questions ✍️

The specification requires students to study the relationship between social class and identity but does not provide the detailed theories and evidence needed for a full substantive evaluation. The questions below therefore remain within material securely supported by the provided sources.

Question 1

Identify one social characteristic, other than social class, that AQA requires students to relate to identity. [1 mark]

Question 2

State the two ways in which AQA requires identity and difference to be understood. [2 marks]

Question 3

Outline two ways in which social class and identity connect with wider AQA Culture and Identity content. [4 marks]

Question 4

Item A

A sociologist is studying class identity in contemporary society. The researcher argues that people's identities should not be understood only as individual characteristics and instead considers wider social influences and social processes.

Using Item A, explain two ways in which the research reflects the AQA Culture and Identity specification. [6 marks]

Question 5

Item B

Some sociologists are interested in whether social class remains important for people's identities. Others emphasise that identity may also relate to characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity and sexuality.

Using Item B and your knowledge of the specification, explain two issues that a sociologist would need to consider when studying the continuing significance of class for identity. [6 marks]

Question 6

Analyse two ways in which the study of class identity connects the two AQA core themes. [8 marks]

Question 7

Analyse why a sociological study of social class and identity should distinguish class identity from class inequality. [8 marks]

Question 8

Evaluate the view that social class should remain an important consideration when sociologists study identity in contemporary society. [10 marks]

Answers and indicative mark scheme

Question 1

Award 1 mark for any one of:

• age

• disability

• ethnicity

• gender

• nationality

• sexuality.

Question 2

Award 1 mark each for:

• socially caused

• socially constructed.

Total: 2 marks

Question 3

Award up to 2 marks for each developed connection.

Possible content includes:

• Social class is one of the characteristics explicitly related to identity.

• Identity and difference must be examined as socially caused.

• Identity and difference must also be examined as socially constructed.

• Socialisation, culture and identity form one AQA core theme.

• Social differentiation, power and stratification form the second core theme.

• Social class therefore provides a possible point of connection between the two themes.

Total: 4 marks

Question 4

Possible applications include:

• Item A focuses specifically on class identity, corresponding with AQA's requirement to examine the relationship of identity to social class.

• Its rejection of an entirely individual explanation can be linked to AQA's requirement to examine identity and difference as socially caused.

• Its reference to social processes can also be linked to the social construction of identity.

• Its focus on contemporary society directly reflects the wording of the specification.

Higher marks require clear explanation of the relationship between Item A and sociological content.

Question 5

Possible developed points include:

• Item B raises the continuing significance of social class, which connects with AQA's requirement to relate class to identity in contemporary society.

• Other characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity and sexuality are also explicitly included in the specification, so class should not automatically be assumed to be the only relevant identity.

• Identity must be considered as both socially caused and socially constructed.

• A valid evaluation would need evidence and sociological explanations rather than an unsupported claim that class does or does not matter.

Two developed explanations are required for full marks.

Question 6

A strong response could analyse:

Socialisation, culture and identity: Social class is explicitly related to identity, while earlier Culture and Identity content requires students to examine socialisation and the socially caused and constructed nature of identity.

Social differentiation, power and stratification: Social class is also closely relevant to the second core theme because class is an explicit dimension of stratification elsewhere in the specification.

The strongest answers should explain how class identity can provide a connection between the study of identity and the study of wider social differentiation without treating them as identical.

Question 7

A developed response might explain that:

• Culture and Identity specifically focuses on the relationship between social class and identity.

• Stratification and Differentiation separately includes class inequality, class, status and power, life chances, and problems of defining and measuring social class.

• A discussion of inequality may sometimes help illuminate identity, but it does not automatically answer a question about identity.

• Examination answers therefore need to maintain the conceptual focus of the question.

Higher-level analysis should show why confusing the two could lead to sociologically relevant but poorly focused material.

Question 8

Arguments supporting the importance of class can securely begin from the fact that AQA explicitly requires the relationship between identity and social class to be studied in contemporary society.

Evaluation should also recognise that:

• AQA requires several other dimensions of identity, including age, disability, ethnicity, gender, nationality and sexuality.

• Identity must be understood as both socially caused and socially constructed.

• The course also requires identity to be related to production, consumption and globalisation.

• A claim about the extent of the continuing significance of class requires sociological explanations and evidence.

A reasoned conclusion should therefore distinguish between two claims. It is secure to say that social class remains a required sociological dimension of identity within the AQA specification.