Social control

Meaning

According to Mannheim -social control is the sum of those methods by which a society tries to influence

human behavior to maintain a given order.

Social control has been defined by Maclver -as the way in which entire social order coheres and

maintains itself- how it operates as a whole as a changing equilibrium.

To Ogburn and Nimkoff- the patterns of pressure that a society exerts to maintain order and

established rules is social control.

According to Gillin and Gillin- social control is that system of measures, suggestions,

persuasions, restraint and coercion by whatever means including physical force by which a

society brings into conformity to the approved pattern of behavior or subgroup or by which a

group molds into conformity its members.

Any society must have harmony and order. Where there is no harmony or order the society

actually does not exist because society is a harmonious organization of human relationships.

Unless the individuals live up to the prescribed norms of conduct and unless their self-seeking

impulses are subjugated to the welfare of the whole it would be quite difficult to maintain

effectively the social organization.

Society in order to exist and progress has to exercise a certain control over its members since any

marked deviation from the established ways is considered a threat to its welfare. Such control has

been termed by sociologists as social control.

Importance of social control

(i) To Maintain the Old Order:

It is necessary for every society or group to maintain its social order and this is possible only

when its members behave in accordance with that social order. An important objective of social

control is to maintain the old order. Family helps in the realization of this objective. The aged

member of the family enforce their ideas over the children.

Marriages are settled by the elder members of the family. In religious and other matters also the

old parents of the family influence the behaviour of its members. Although enforcement of the

old order in a changing society may hinder social progress, yet it is necessary to maintain

continuity and uniformity in society.

(ii) To Establish Social Unity:

Without social control social unity would be a mere dream. Social control regulates behaviour in

accordance with established norms which brings uniformity of behaviour and leads to unity

among the individuals. The family maintains its unity because its members behave in a similar

manner in accordance with family norms.

(iii) To Regulate or Control Individual Behaviour:

No two men are alike in their attitudes, ideas, interests and habits. Even the children of the same

parents do not have the same attitudes, habits and interests. Men believe in different religions,

dress differently, eat different food, marry in different ways and have different ideologies.

There are so much differences in the ways of living of the people that at every moment there is

the possibility of clash between them. In modern times this possibility has all the more increased

because man has become too self-centered. Social control is necessary to protect social interests
and satisfy common needs. If social control is removed and every individual is left to behave

freely society would be reduced to a state of jungle.

(iv) To Provide Social Sanction:

Social control provides social sanction to the social ways of behaviour. There are numerous

folkways, modes and customs prevalent in society. Every individual has to follow them. If an

individual violates the social norms, he is compelled through social control to observe them.

Thus social control provides sanction to social norms.

(v) To Check Cultural Mal-adjustment:

Society is subject to change. New inventions, new discoveries and new philosophies continue to

take birth in society. The individual has to adjust his behaviour to the changes taking place in

society. But all the individuals cannot adjust themselves to the new conditions. Some become

progressive, others remain conservative.

Forms of social Control

Informal control:

(i) Belief: All these different beliefs influence man’s behaviour in society. The first belief in the

existence of an unseen power leads a man to right action because he believes that his actions are

being watched by an unseen power. The second belief in the theory of reincarnation keeps the

man away from wrongful acts because he believes that in order to have a good birth in next life

he must do good acts in this life. In this way beliefs are powerful influences on human actions.

They are vital for human relations. They define the purposes and interests for the individual and
control his choice of means so that the purposes of the groups may be advanced or at least not

hindered.

(ii) Social Suggestions: Social suggestions also are powerful means of social control.

Suggestion is the indirect communication of ideas, feeling and other mental states. Such

communication may be made through various methods. The first method is putting the life

examples of great men. We place their life ideals before the people and exhort them to follow

these ideals.The type of literature one reads will indirectly influence his mind and consequently

his behaviour.

(iii) Ideologies: Ideology is a theory of social life which interprets social realities from the point

of view of ideals to prove the correctness of the analysis and to justify these ideals. It is the

projection of a certain ideal. Leninism, Gandhism and Fascism are ideologies which have

analysed social realities and laid down an ideal before the people. Ideologies influence social life

to a very great extent.

(iv) Folkways: Folkways are the recognized modes of behaviour which arise automatically

within a group. They are the behaviour patterns of everyday life which arise spontaneously and

unconsciously in a group. They are in general the habits of the individuals and are common to a

group. They are socially approved. They have some degree of traditional sanction. It is not easy

for the members of a group to violate the folkways.

(v) Mores: Mores are those folkways which are considered by the group to be of great

significance, rather indispensable to its welfare. The mores relate to the fundamental needs of

society more directly than do the folkways. They express the group sense of what is right and

conducive to social welfare.

(vi) Customs: Customs are the long established habits and usages of the people. They are those

folkways and mores which have persisted for a very long time and have passed down from one

generation to another. They arise spontaneously and gradually. There is no constituted authority

to declare them, to apply them or to safeguard them. They are accepted by society. They are

followed because they have been followed in the past.

(vii) Religion: Religion also exercises a powerful influence upon man’s behaviour in society.

The term religion has numerous definitions. Religion is an attitude towards superhuman powers.

It is a belief in powers superior to man. It expresses itself in several forms like superstition,

animism, totemism, magic, ritualism and fetishism. Religion pervades practically in all the

societies, though there may be different forms of religious beliefs and practices.

(viii) Art and Literature: Art in its narrow sense includes painting, sculpture, architecture,

music and dance. Literature includes poetry, drama and fiction. Both art and literature influence

the imagination and exert control on human behaviour. The martial music of the military band

arouses feelings of determination and strength.Literature also influences human behaviour in

society. We have ‘good’ literature and ‘bad’ literature. A good literature possesses an indefinable

quality which makes it live through the ages. Ramayana, Bhagvadgita and Mahabharat are

classical works of great social value. On the other hand, detective literature may have its effect

on crime.

(ix) Public Opinion: The influence of public opinion as a means of social control is greater in

simple societies. In a village the people are known to one another personally. It is difficult for a

villager to act contrary to the public opinion of the village. Public opinion greatly influences our

actions. For fear of public ridicule and criticism we do not indulge in immoral or anti-social

activities.
Formal Agencies:

(i) Law: Law is the most important formal means of social control. Early societies depended

upon informal means of social control but when societies grew in size and complexity they were

compelled to formulate rules and regulations which define the required types of behaviour and

specify the penalties to be imposed upon those who violate them. Law is a body of rules enacted

by legally authorised bodies and enforced by authorized agencies. It defines clearly rights, duties

as well as the punishments for their violation. The modern societies are large in size. Their

structure is complex consisting of a number of groups, organisations, institutions and vested

interests. Informal means of social control are no longer sufficient to maintain social order and

harmony. Perforce modern societies had to resort to formal means of social control.

(ii) Education: Along with law, the importance of education as a means of social control is

being growingly realized. Education is a process of socialization. It prepares the child for social

living. It reforms the attitudes wrongly formed by the children already. Thus, a family may make

the child superstitious education will correct his beliefs and remove his prejudices.It teaches him

value of discipline, social cooperation, tolerance and sacrifice. It instills in him the qualities of

honesty, fair play and a sense of right and wrong. The importance of education for creating right

social attitudes among the youth cannot be minimised. It is sad to note that education in India has

miserably failed to create right social attitudes among the youth of the country and act as an

effective means of social control.

(iii) Coercion: Coercion is the use of force to achieve a desired end. It may be physical or non-

violent. It is the ultimate means of social control when all other means fail. Physical coercion
may take the form of bodily injury, imprisonment and death penalty. Physical coercion is without

doubt the lowest form of social control.Non-violent coercion consists of the strike, the boycott

and non- cooperation. A person who threatens to withdraw his support from a friend if he does

not give up smoking, is using non-violent coercion to change his action. The students may go on

strike to force the Principal to ensure them adequate library facilities.

Forms of social control as given by Karl Mannheim:

(a) Direct social control:

That type of social control which directly regulates and controls the behaviour of the individual

is called Direct Social Control. This type of control is to be found in family, neighbourhood,

play-groups and other types of primary groups. In these institutions, parents, neighbours,

teachers, classmates etc., keep control over the behaviour of the individuals.

(b) Indirect social control:

In this type of social control distant factors keep control over the behaviour of the individual.

Such a type of control is exercised by secondary groups through customs; traditions, rationalised

behaviour etc. and public opinion are important forms of indirect social control.

Forms of social control as given by Georges Gurvitch:

(a) Organised social control:

In this type of social control, the behaviour of the individual is regulated either through voluntary

means or through democratic ways. This is done through natural ways of social control.
(b) Unorganised social control:

This social control is exercised by values of culture and usages, traditions, fashion, symbol etc.

This is an elastic type of social control and is related to day-to-day life.

(c) Spontaneous social control:

This type of social control is exercised by ideas, rules and regulations, values, norms etc.

Forms of social control as given by Kimball Young:

Well-known social thinker Kimball Young has categorised social control under the following

two heads:

(a) Positive social control, (b) Negative social control

(a) Positive social control:

In this type of social control positive steps such as reward, the policy of appreciation etc. are

used for keeping the person under control. As a result of these steps man tries to behave in the

best possible manner in the society.

(b) Negative social control:

This is just reverse of the positive form of social control. In this form of social control individual

on the fear of punishment and derecognition by the society is made to behave in conformity with

the values of the society.

Edward C. Hayes’s classification of social control:

(a) Control by sanction:

In this type of social control, those who act according to the values of the’ society are rewarded,

while to those who act against the norms of the society are punished.

(b) Control by socialisation and education:

Through education and socialisation, the child is taught to act according to the norms of the

society.