Understanding Social Control
Social control refers to the ways in which society regulates people's behaviour to ensure conformity to social norms. It's essentially how societies encourage 'acceptable' behaviour and discourage 'unacceptable' behaviour. Without social control, societies would struggle to function smoothly as there would be no shared understanding of how people should behave.
Key Definitions:
- Social Control: The methods used by society to encourage conformity to norms, values and laws.
- Formal Social Control: Official mechanisms of control backed by written rules and laws.
- Informal Social Control: Unofficial mechanisms that rely on social interactions and relationships.
- Social Order: The stable pattern of social arrangements within a society.
- Deviance: Behaviour that violates social norms.
👮 Formal Social Control
Formal social control involves official mechanisms enforced by designated authorities. These include:
- Laws and legal system
- Police and courts
- Prisons and detention centres
- School rules and sanctions
- Workplace policies
Example: A person who steals from a shop may be arrested, charged with theft and potentially sentenced to community service or prison time.
💬 Informal Social Control
Informal social control works through social interactions and relationships. These include:
- Disapproval or praise from family and friends
- Gossip and rumours
- Social exclusion or inclusion
- Facial expressions (frowning, smiling)
- Peer pressure
Example: A teenager who swears at the dinner table might receive disapproving looks from parents or be told off.
Agencies of Social Control
Social control is exercised through various institutions or 'agencies' in society. These can be divided into primary and secondary agencies.
🏠 Family
The first and most important agent of social control. Parents teach children right from wrong, acceptable behaviour and social norms through:
- Setting rules and boundaries
- Positive and negative reinforcement
- Role modelling
- Discipline and rewards
🏫 Education
Schools reinforce social norms and prepare children for adult life through:
- Formal rules and sanctions
- Teaching citizenship and values
- Hidden curriculum (punctuality, respect for authority)
- Peer relationships
👥 Peer Groups
Friends and social circles influence behaviour through:
- Peer pressure
- Desire for acceptance
- Group norms and expectations
- Social inclusion/exclusion
Secondary Agencies of Social Control
Beyond primary agencies, several other institutions play important roles in maintaining social control:
🚸 Legal System
The most obvious form of formal social control includes:
- Written laws defining acceptable behaviour
- Police who enforce laws
- Courts that determine guilt and punishment
- Prisons and rehabilitation programmes
The legal system uses deterrence (fear of punishment) and incapacitation (removing offenders from society) to maintain social order.
📖 Media
Modern media has significant influence on behaviour through:
- Portraying 'normal' and 'deviant' behaviour
- Moral panics about certain groups or behaviours
- Celebrating conformity and condemning deviance
- Social media 'call-out culture' and public shaming
Example: News reports on anti-social behaviour often reinforce the idea that such behaviour is unacceptable.
The Effectiveness of Social Control
Different forms of social control work in different ways and contexts. Their effectiveness depends on several factors:
- Internalisation: When norms are fully internalised, people conform without external pressure because they believe the norms are right.
- Visibility: Social control works best when people believe their behaviour is being observed.
- Legitimacy: People are more likely to comply with rules they view as fair and legitimate.
- Consistency: Consistent application of sanctions reinforces expected behaviour.
Case Study Focus: CCTV and Crime Prevention
The UK has one of the highest numbers of CCTV cameras per person in the world. This form of formal social control aims to prevent crime through surveillance. Research shows mixed results:
- Most effective in car parks, reducing vehicle crime by up to 51%
- Less effective in city centres and public housing
- May simply displace crime to areas without cameras
- Raises questions about privacy and civil liberties
This demonstrates how formal social control can be effective but has limitations and potential drawbacks.
Social Control and Deviance
Social control and deviance are two sides of the same coin. Deviance refers to behaviour that violates social norms, while social control aims to prevent or respond to deviance.
⛔ Responses to Deviance
Societies respond to deviance in various ways:
- Punishment: Imposing negative consequences
- Treatment: Addressing underlying causes
- Prevention: Creating conditions that reduce likelihood of deviance
- Tolerance: Accepting some forms of minor deviance
💡 Functions of Deviance
Sociologists like Durkheim argue that deviance serves important social functions:
- Clarifies moral boundaries
- Promotes social unity against 'outsiders'
- Provides a safety valve for discontent
- Can lead to positive social change
Theoretical Perspectives on Social Control
Different sociological perspectives offer various interpretations of social control:
- Functionalist perspective: Social control is necessary for society to function properly. It ensures that people fulfil their roles and maintain social order.
- Marxist perspective: Social control primarily serves the interests of the ruling class by keeping the working class in check and maintaining the status quo.
- Feminist perspective: Social control often reinforces gender norms and patriarchal power structures, controlling women's behaviour more strictly than men's.
- Interactionist perspective: Social control operates through everyday interactions and labelling processes that define certain behaviours as deviant.
Case Study Focus: School Uniform Policies
School uniforms represent a form of social control in educational settings. In the UK, most schools have strict uniform policies that aim to:
- Create a sense of belonging and school identity
- Reduce visible social class differences between pupils
- Prepare students for workplace dress codes
- Minimise distractions and focus on learning
However, critics argue that strict uniform policies can suppress individuality, disproportionately target certain groups (e.g., policies against certain hairstyles) and prioritise conformity over more important educational goals.
Summary: The Importance of Social Control
Social control is fundamental to how societies function. It helps maintain social order by:
- Providing clear guidelines for acceptable behaviour
- Creating predictability in social interactions
- Protecting people from harm
- Resolving conflicts through established mechanisms
- Promoting shared values and social cohesion
However, it's important to recognise that social control can also be oppressive when it:
- Unfairly targets certain groups
- Prevents positive social change
- Restricts individual freedoms unnecessarily
- Enforces harmful or outdated norms
Understanding social control helps us recognise how our behaviour is shaped by society and question whether existing forms of control are fair, necessary and effective.