Paper 1 Section A - Topic 4 = Social Control

Social control?

Agencies of socialisation can also been seen as mechanisms of social control, ways through which our behaviour is regulated and constrained. Social control is therefore about how we ensure members of society to conform to social norms.

Behaviour is controlled and reinforced by sanctions either rewarding or punishing behaviour

Formal social control

relates to regulation of behaviour based on written down rules

THE LAW/LEGAL SYSTEM - Controls through specific laws which citizens are expected to conform to. E.g. those under 18 aren’t allowed to purchase alcohol in the UK. Business must abide by minimum wage laws - this controls the behaviour of business owners who might have otherwise underpaid their employees.

THE POLICE - The police have adopted ‘military-style’ tactics such as using plastic bullets and water cannons to control people during times of civil unrest. They are also given authority to detain individuals when they are not conforming to the values that society upholds.

THE COURTS - Criminal courts exercise control by punishing deviant or illegal behaviour. If someone commits a crime the courts decide on a suitable punishment such as a prison sentence Previously the death penalty was used to demonstrate how unacceptable some behaviours were - to deter others from committing the same crime.

Informal Social Control

Regulating behaviours subtly, use of unwritten rules to ensure that others conform to the norms of society - its done casually and unofficially.

Done through agents like:

Peer groups - may face social exclusion, deters unsocial behaviour as they do not want to be excluded by peers

Parents - Disappointed reactions or sanctions such as grounding/ taking phone etc.

Work - being passed over for a promotion due to behaviours they deem unacceptable or unprofessional

Magazines - Celebrities can be criticised in magazines for behaviour that society does not agree with.

Informal social control is less obvious but just as powerful at influencing our behaviour due to the majority’s desperation to fit in within society

The overlap between Formal and Informal Social Control

Informal measures of social control often reinforce the formal mechanisms of social control.

WORKPLACE - Employees who undermine the code of conduct - by turning up late or not working as part of a team may experience social exclusion or disapproval for colleagues as well as written warnings.

EDUCATION - Students who break school rules often experience both informal and formal social control. This is through phone calls home, detentions and being ignore or excluded by other students.

RELIGION - To reinforce the written rules, members of religious communities may also use social pressure to regulate the behaviour of others. Muslims may encourage other Muslims to pray. Christians may criticise other Christians for not following ‘the golden rule’.