Sociology: Social Control, Norms, Folkways, Mores, Custom, and Law

Comprehensive flashcards covering sociological concepts, definitions, and theorists related to social control, norms, values, folkways, mores, customs, and laws.

How does R.M. MacIver define social control?

The way in which the entire social order coheres and maintains itself; how it operates as a whole, as a changing equilibrium.

According to Karl Mannheim, what constitutes social control?

The sum of those methods by which a society tries to influence human behaviour to maintain a given order.

How do William F. Ogburn and Meyer F. Nimkoff define social control?

The patterns of pressure which a society exerts to maintain order and established rules.

What is E.A. Ross's definition of social control?

The system of devices whereby society brings its members into conformity with accepted standards of behaviour.

How does Frederick E. Lumley define social control?

The practice of putting forth directive stimuli or wishpatterns, with accurate transmission to and adoption by others, voluntarily or involuntarily.

How does Luther L. Bernard define social control?

A process by which stimuli are brought to bear effectively upon some person or group, producing responses that function in adjustment.

How do John L. Gillin and John P. Gillin define social control?

The system of measures, suggestions, persuasion, restraint and coercion (including physical force) by which a society brings an individual or sub-group into conformity with the approved pattern of behaviour.

How does Kimball Young define social control?

The use of coercion, force, restraint, suggestion or persuasion by one group over another, or over its own members, to enforce the prescribed rules of the game.

What are the four essential characteristics that describe the nature of social control?

1. It is an influence; 2. It is exercised by society (a group); 3. It is exercised for the welfare of the group as a whole; 4. It is universal.

What is the primary difference between social control and self-control?

Social control operates from without (external influence/regulation by a group), whereas self-control operates from within through an individual's own will and inner realisation.

Which sociologists first used the specific term "social control" in 1894?

Albion Small and George E. Vincent in their work 'Introduction to the Study of Society'.

What was the key difference in focus between E.A. Ross (1901) and C.H. Cooley (1902) regarding social control?

Ross studied the mechanisms and means of control (listing 35 means), whereas Cooley studied the effects of group pressure on personality, the 'looking-glass self', and the social origins of conscience.

According to Kimball Young, what are the three primary purposes or aims of social control?

Conformity, solidarity, and continuity.

What are the three general classifications of motives behind social control?

(i) Exploitative (motivated by self-interest), (ii) Regulative (based on habit and desire for customary behaviour), and (iii) Creative or constructive (based on social benefit).

What potential negative consequences can arise from over-regulation by custom?

Cultural lag, mental conflict, emotional instability, and even psychosis.

How are social values defined, and how do they differ from individual values?

Social values are cultural standards indicating the general good deemed desirable for organised social life and contain a concern for others' welfare, whereas an individual value is sought by a person solely for themselves.

How do Leonard Broom and Philip Selznick define social norms?

Blueprints for behaviour setting limits within which individuals may seek alternate ways to achieve their goals.

What are "operative norms" in sociology?

Norms that are actively sanctioned and enforced in the factual world, distinguished from purely abstract or unsanctioned ideals (such as turning the other cheek).

Which sociologist introduced the concept of folkways in his 1906 classic work?

William Graham Sumner.

According to William Graham Sumner, how do folkways originate?

They develop unconsciously out of experience through trial and error to solve daily problems of living, repeated and passed down by tradition without rational reflection.

How does E.S. Bogardus define folkways?

Mores and all other ways of behaving that are interesting but not essential to group welfare.

What are the four primary characteristics of folkways?

Spontaneous origin, approved behaviour, distinctiveness across groups and societies, and hereditary transmission from generation to generation.

What types of sanctions are typically applied when someone violates a folkway?

Informal sanctions, principally gossip and ridicule.

According to William Graham Sumner, when do folkways become mores?

When folkways take on a philosophy of right living and a life policy of welfare, having added to them conceptions of group welfare and standards of right and wrong.

What biological cell metaphor did William Graham Sumner use to distinguish folkways from mores?

"The folkways are the protoplasm of the cell, the bulky part, while the mores are the nucleus."

According to R.M. MacIver, what are the three functions of mores?

1. They determine much of our individual behaviour; 2. They identify the individual with the group; 3. They serve as the guardians of group solidarity.

How do folkways and mores differ regarding severity, value judgements, and perceived danger of violation?

Folkways carry no strong value judgement and violations are tolerated with near impunity and not seen as dangers to others; mores imply strong value judgements, are deeply rooted, and violations are seen as clear dangers to the rights of others.

How did William James describe habit in relation to society?

As the "enormous fly wheel of society, its most precious conservative agent" that keeps different social strata from mixing.

What is the primary distinction between a habit and a custom?

Habit is an individual, personal phenomenon ("second nature"), whereas custom is a social phenomenon consisting of group-accepted practices repeated across generations.

What did Walter Bagehot identify as the first requisite for the survival of early societies?

A "hard crust or cake of custom" that binds men together.

Why does the authority of custom decline in modern society according to Karl Mannheim?

Because the modern money economy and impersonal relations disintegrate customs, which grow too slowly, necessitating legal rules that can be promptly and uniformly enforced.

How does Max Weber define law?

An order whose validity is guaranteed by the probability that deviation will be met by physical or psychic sanction by a staff specially empowered to enforce it.

How does Benjamin N. Cardozo define law?

A rule of conduct so established as to justify a prediction with reasonable certainty that it will be enforced by the courts if challenged.

What is the distinction between the juristic view and the sociological view of law?

The juristic view defines law as the command of the sovereign or the dictates of the State, whereas the sociological view defines law as rules of right conduct, including primitive customs and rules of voluntary associations.

In the comparison between law and custom, why is law termed "a make" while custom is termed "a growth"?

Law is deliberately created and enacted through the power of the State, whereas custom emerges spontaneously over time without express enactment.

What did Roscoe Pound mean by stating: "Law must be stable and yet cannot stand still"?

Law must maintain social stability and predictability while remaining flexible and adaptable enough to change immediately during crises and evolving social needs.

How does the abolition of law differ from the disappearance of custom?

A law disappears only when formally abolished by a recognised authority, whereas a custom simply fades away without formal abolition or recognition.

Why is the Sarda Act cited to illustrate the relationship between law and custom?

It shows that when a law is divorced from custom and lacks the moral consensus of society, it becomes artificial and is "honoured more in breach than in observance."