All Topics  
Social control

 

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link

 

Social control


 
 


Social control refers to social mechanisms that regulate individual and group behavior, leading to conformityConformism

Conformism is a term used to describe the suspension of an individual's self-determined actions or opinions in favor of obed...
 and compliances to the rules of a given societySociety

A society is a grouping of individuals, which is characterised by common interest and may have distinctive culture and inst...
 or social group. Many mechanisms of social control are cross-culturalCross-cultural

cross-cultural may refer to*cross-cultural studies, a comparative tendency in various fields of cultural analysis...
, if only in the control mechanisms used to prevent the establishment of chaosChaos

Chaos typically refers to unpredictability....
 or anomieFacts About Anomie

Anomie, in contemporary English, means a condition or malaise in individuals, characterized by an absence or diminution of s...
. Some theorists, such as Emile DurkheimÉmile Durkheim

mile Durkheim was a french sociologist, considered by many to be the father of modern sociology, contributing to its accept...
, refer to this form of control as regulationRegulation

A regulation is a legal restriction promulgated by government administrative agencies through rulemaking supported by a thre...
. Sociologists identify two basic forms of social control:

  1. InternalizationInternalization

    In social sciences such as psychology and sociology, to internalize something is to incorporate that something into one's '...
     of normsNorm (sociology)

    In sociology, a norm, or social norm, is a rule that is socially enforced....
     and values, and
  2. The use of sanctionsSanctions (law)

    Sanctions are usually monetary fines, levied against a party to a legal action or his attorney, for violating rules of proce...
    , which can be either positive or negative.


Social control theorySocial control theory

In criminology, Social Control Theory as represented in the work of Travis Hirschi fits into the Positivist School, Neo-Clas...
 began to be studied as a separate field in the early 20th century. Sociologist Edward A. RossEdward A. Ross

Edward Alsworth Ross was an American sociologist and a major figure of early criminology....
  argued that beliefBelief

Belief is usually defined as a conviction of the truth of a proposition without its verification; therefore a belief is a su...
 systems exert a greater control on human behavior than specific laws, no matter what form the beliefs take. The means to enforce social control can thus be either formal or informal.

Informal social control

The social values that are present in individuals are products of informal social control. It is exercised by a society without explicitly stating these rules and is expressed through customs, norms, and moresMores

Mores are strongly held norms or customs....
. Individuals are socialized whether consciously or subconsciously. During informal sanctions, ridicule or ostracization can cause a straying towards norms. Through this form of socialization, the person will internalize these mores and norms. Traditional societyTraditional values

Traditional values refer to those beliefs, moral codes, and mores that are passed down from generation to generation within ...
 uses mostly informal social control embedded in its customary cultureCulture

The word culture, from the Latin colo, -ere, with its root meaning "to cultivate", generally refers to patterns of ...
 relying on the socializationSocialization

Socialization is the process by which human beings or animals learn to adopt the behavior patterns of the community in which...
 of its members to establish social order. More rigidly-structured societies may place increased reliance on formal mechanisms.

Informal sanctions may include ridicule, sarcasm, criticism and disapproval. In extreme cases sanctions may include social discriminationDiscrimination

The word discrimination comes from the Latin "discriminare", which means to "distinguish between"....
 and exclusion. This implied social control usually has more effect on individuals because they become internalizedInternalized

!-- Do not use the "dated prod" template directly; the above line is generated by "subst:prod|reason" -->...
 and thus an aspect of personalityPersonality psychology Overview

Personality psychology is a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual different processes - that which m...
.

As with formal controls, informal controls reward or punishPunishment

Punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a subject as a response to some unwanted behavior or disobedi...
 acceptable or unacceptable behaviour (i.e., devianceDeviance

Deviance can refer to one of several topics, including:...
). Informal controls are varied and differ from individual to individual, group to group and society to society. For example, at a women's instituteWomen's Institutes (British)

The Women's Institutes are membership organisations for women in England and Wales....
 meeting, a disapproving look might convey the message that it is inappropriate to flirt with the minister. In a criminal gang, on the other hand, a stronger sanction would be applied in the case of someone threatening to inform to the police.

Formal social control

Formal social control is expressed through lawLaw

Law is the set of rules or norms of conduct which forbid, permit or mandate specified actions and relationships among people...
 as statuteStatute

A statute is a formal, written law of a country or state, written and enacted by its legislative authority, perhaps to then ...
s, rules, and regulationRegulation

A regulation is a legal restriction promulgated by government administrative agencies through rulemaking supported by a thre...
s against deviant behaviorDeviant behavior

"Deviant" redirects here. For the Pitchshifter album, see Deviant....
. It is conducted by governmentGovernment

A government is a body that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws within a civil, corporate, religious, a...
 and organizationOrganization

An organization or organisation is a formal group of people with one or more shared goals....
s using law enforcementLaw enforcement

Law enforcement may refer to:...
 mechanisms and other formal sanctionsSanctions (law)

Sanctions are usually monetary fines, levied against a party to a legal action or his attorney, for violating rules of proce...
 such as fineFine

Criminal LawA fine is money paid as a financial punishment for the commission of minor crimes or as the settlement of a cla...
s and imprisonment. In democratic societies the goals and mechanisms of formal social control are determined through legislationLegislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body....
 by elected representatives and thus enjoy a measure of support from the population and voluntary compliance.

Applications of social control theory

According to the propaganda modelPropaganda model

The propaganda model is a theory advanced by Edward S....
 theory, the leaders of modern, corporate-dominated societies employ indoctrinationIndoctrination Summary

Indoctrination is instruction in the fundamentals of a science, or other system of belief....
 as a means of social control. Theorists such as Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky

Avram Noam Chomsky is the Institute Professor Emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology....
 have argued that systematic biasBias

A bias is a prejudice in a general or specific sense, usually in the sense for having a preference to one particular point o...
 exists in the modern media. The marketingMarketing

Marketing is a social and managerial function associated with the process of researching, developing, promoting, selling, an...
, advertisingAdvertising

Advertising is the business of drawing public attention to goods and services, and performed through a variety of media....
, and public relationsPublic relations

Public relations is the art and science of managing communication between an organization and its key publics to build, mana...
 industries have thus been said to utilize mass communicationMass communication

Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of various means by which individuals and entities relay ...
s to aid the interests of certain business elites. Powerful economic and religious lobbyists have often used school systems and centralised electronic communications to influence public opinionPublic opinion

Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population....
. Democracy is restricted as the majority is not given the information necessary to make rational decisions about ethical, social, environmental, or economic issues.

In order to maintain control and regulate their subjects, authoritarianAuthoritarianism

This article applies to political ideologies....
 organizations and governments promulgate rules and issue decrees. However, due to a lack of popular support for enforcement, these entities may rely more on force and other severe sanctions such as censorshipCensorship

Censorship is the control of speech and other forms of human expression....
, expulsionExpulsion

Expulsion may refer to:*Deportation, the expulsion of someone from a country, usually an illegal alien....
 and limits on political freedomFacts About Freedom (political)

Political freedom is the right, or the capacity, of self-determination as an expression of the individual will....
. Some totalitarianTotalitarianism

Totalitarianism is a term employed by political scientists, especially those in the field of comparative politics, to descri...
 governments, such as the late Soviet UnionSoviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , more commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a Communist state that existed...
 or the current North KoreaFacts About North Korea

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is an East Asian country occupying the northern hal...
, rely on the mechanisms of the police statePolice state

A police state is a state with authority which uses the police, especially secret police, to maintain and enforce political ...
.

Sociologists consider informal means of social control vital in maintaining public order, but also recognize the necessity of formal means as societies become more complex and for responding to emergencies. The study of social control falls primarily within the academic disciplines of anthropologyAnthropology

Anthropology consists of the study of humanity ....
, political sciencePolitical science

Political science is the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political...
, and sociologySociology

Sociology is the study of society and human social action....
.

See also

  • Social orderFacts About Social order

    Social order is a concept used in sociology, history and other social sciences....
  • Social changeSocial change

    Social change is a general term which refers to:...
  • Social relations
  • Social construct
  • Sexual meaningsSexual meanings

    Sexual meanings are the meanings that are attributed, by a particular cultural-social-historical context, to sexual acts and...
  • Social engineeringSocial engineering (political science)

    Social engineering is a concept in political science that refers to efforts to influence popular attitudes and social behavi...
  • Mass surveillanceMass surveillance

    Mass surveillance is the pervasive surveillance of an entire population, or a substantial fraction thereof....
  • Criminal justiceCriminal justice

    Criminal justice refers to the system used by government to maintain social control, enforce laws, and administer justice....
  • EthicsEthics

    Ethics is a major branch of philosophy....


External links

  • - Outline of an undergraduate course.
  • - Summary of ideas.