The key concepts for Cambridge International AS & A Level Sociology are • Inequality and opportunity. Inequality has a major influence on people’s opportunities and life choices. Sociologists study the different forms of inequality (age, ethnicity, gender, class), seeking to understand why inequality exists and how it affects different sections of society.

• Power, control and resistance Power is important in understanding how order and control are achieved in society. There are many different theories about who holds power and how power is used to shape human behaviour. Sociologists are also interested in the ways people oppose and resist the exercise of power.

• Social change and development: Understanding how societies have changed and developed helps sociologists understand how people live today. The change from traditional society to modern industrial society is particularly important. The terms ‘modernity’ and ‘post-modernity’ reflect on this transition and contemporary issues, such as how societies are affected by globalisation and the digital revolution in technology.

• Socialisation, culture and identity Sociologists believe that people learn how they are expected to behave through socialisation. The norms and values learned through socialisation may vary between cultures, impacting social identity. The study of different social identities is central to contemporary sociology.

• Structure and human agency A central debate in sociology concerns the relationship between the individual and society: is behaviour shaped by wider social forces, or is the social world shaped by the actions of individuals? Structural theories focus on how social systems and institutions constrain people’s behaviour. Action theories emphasise how individuals establish meaning through social interaction and how this impacts the behaviour of social groups and institutions.