Conformity and Social Control

What is conformity?

Changing your attitude or behaviour in response to group pressure

What is compliance?

Changing public behaviour but not private beliefs to fit in

What causes compliance?

Normative social influence - wanting to fit in or be accepted

What is identification?

Changing behaviour and beliefs while part of/aroung a group, but the change may be temporary

What is internalisation?

Permanently accepting the group’s beliefs both publicly and privately

What causes internalisation?

Informational social influence - believing the group is correct

What is social control?

Ways society encourages people to follow norms and rules

What is informal social control?

Control through socialisation and unofficial rewards/sanctions (family, peers, school)

What is formal social control?

Control by official agencies (police, courts) using laws and formal sanctions

What are rewards and sanctions?

Rewards encourage conformity, sanctions punish/discourage deviance

What are the main formal sanctions in the UK?

Discharge, fines, community sentences, prison

What are the main agencies of social control?

Family, school, religion, media, workplace, peer grouops, police, courts

Give examples of how agencies enforce social control

Family: praise/punishment

School: rules/grades/detention

Workplace: promotion/dismissal

Police/courts: legal sanctions

What is social cohesion?

A shared sense of purpose and belonging that unites society

According to functionalists, how does socialisation maintain society?

It creates value consensus, encouraging people to follow shared norms and values

What balance does Durkheim believe society needs?

Enough social cohesion and control to maintain order, but not so much that it prevents freedom or progress

What are particularistic and universalistic values?

Particularistic: specific to family/group

Universalistic: apply to everyone in society

What are Althusser’s two ways the ruling class maintains control?

Repressive State Apparatus (RSA) and Ideological State Apparatus (ISA)

What is the Repressive State Apparatus (RSA)?

Institutions such as police and army that maintain control through force/coercion

What is the Ideological State Apparatus (ISA)

Institutions such as education and media that control control by influencing ideas and beliefs

What is a subculture?

A group whose norms and values differ from the wider culture

How can someone in a subculture be both conformist and non-conformist?

They may reject mainstream norms while conforming to their subculture’s norms

How do functionalists view youth subcultures?

As a “safety valve” that gives young people identity and allows transition into adulthood

How do Marxists view youth subcultures?

As a working-class resistance to capitalism, expressing frustration with inequality and limited opportunities

What did Angela McRobbie argue about girls’ subcultures?

Girls developed “bedroom subcultures” because they were less visible in traditional male-dominated youth subcultures

Why were girls less visible in early studies of youth subcultures?

Greater parental control and researcher/media bias towards male subcultures

What are some types of subculture?

Youth, religious, ethnic, class, internet/interest-based