Social Control

Definition

Social Control refers to societal and political mechanisms or processes that regulate individual and group behaviour,
leading to conformity and compliance to the rules of a given society, state, or a social group. It is the mean by which
members of a society attempt to induce each other to comply with the societal norms. Social controls influence
behaviour constantly because they are internalized and come into play every time a person has a deviant impulse.
Social control is general method of regulating the behaviour of individuals in a society through accepted social norms.
It is a way to channelize the behaviour of individuals in a society so that they conform to the accepted code of
conduct. Social control is defined as “the way in which the entire social order coheres and maintains itself, operates as
a whole, as changing equilibrium”. This Social control refers to the way society controls our behviour, either through
norms and practices or through the state and its compelling force. The regulation of behaviour in society, whether of
individuals or of groups is undertaken in two ways:
a) By adhering to establish norms and values of society; and
b) By the use of force.
The term “social control” is generally used by sociologists to refer to this first kind of regulation. Individuals differ in
their interests and capacities. If each individual is allowed unrestricted freedom to act and behave, it may lead to
anarchy and disorder in the society. The resultant conflicts, frequent and persistent, would be a constant drain on
society’s energy and efficiency.
As an analogy, we could consider traffic movement on roads in the absence of any traffic rules and traffic signals, etc.
it is easy to imagine the chaos that would rule the roads and the unending traffic jams that would follow. If we add to
it the frustration of the drivers and their heated tempers, it is easy to understand that the end result is totally
undesirable. The fact that traffic rules help to maintain order and efficient movement of vehicle is only due to the
presence of control.

Purpose of Social Control

Sociologists attribute many purposes of social control. The aim of social control is to bring about conformity in a
particular group or society. At times, out of sheer ignorance, individuals could act in a manner that may or may not
benefit them. But certainly society’s interests lie at the collective level. There are other situations when the individual
is perfectly aware of the ill effects of his actions on the society but he continues with his behaviour because it
increases his welfare. For instance, in an industry where the owner is fully aware of the harmful effects of pollution
but does not install pollution control device because he wants to maximize his profits at the cost of safeguarding the
collective interests. Society seeks to regulate the individual behaviour. The purpose of social control is to regulate the
interests of the both the individual and the group in a way that is beneficial to both. The situation in society would be
no different if there was no accepted mode of behaviour. Individuals, therefore, have to be made to co-exist in a
manner that benefits them as well as the groups they comprise of social control becomes a necessity for the following
reasons:
a) To maintain the old order: For continuity and uniformity of a social group, it is important that the old social order
is maintained. This function is fulfilled by the family. The old members of the family initiate and socialize the young
ones into their traditions, value patterns and accepted forms of behaviour.
b) To regulate individual behaviour: Individuals vary in their ideas, interests, attitudes, habits, etc. Even children of
the same parents think and behave differently. Thus their behaviour needs to be regulated in accordance with the
established norms which would lead to uniformity and solidarity of the group.
c) To check cultural maladjustment: Society is changing at a rapid pace. The changes threaten to uproot the
existing social system and replace it with a new system. There is a need for greater social control in order to
distinguish between good and bad and to retain one’s sense of balance and judgment.

Forms of Social Control

In primary groups, the relationships are close, direct and intimate. Social Control is often maintained by informal
mechanism, i.e. customs, traditions, folkways, mores and religions. These are adopted means by informal groups.
Sociologists identify two basic forms of social controls:
1. Internalization of norms and values, and
2. External sanctions, which can be either positive (rewards) or negative (punishment) Social control theory began to
be studied as a separate field in the early 20thcentury. The means to enforce social control can be either formal or
informal. Sociologist Edward A. Ross argued that belief systems exert a greater control on human behaviour than laws
imposed by government, no matter what form the beliefs take.

Social Deviation and Tolerance

Social control is the means by which members of a society attempt to induce each other to comply with the society's
norms. Social controls influence behaviour constantly because they are internalized and come into play every time a
person has a deviant impulse. Deviance describes as actions or behaviours that violate cultural norms including
formally-enacted rules (e.g., crime) as well as informal violations of social norms (e.g., rejecting folkways and mores).
It is the purview of sociologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and criminologists to study how these norms are created,
how they change over time and how they are enforced. Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or
permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, i.e. of allowing or permitting,
only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or
preserve". Toleration may signify “no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant
religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken or
harmful”. Tolerance is an attitude of mind that implies non-judgmental acceptance of different lifestyles or beliefs,
whereas toleration implies putting up with something that one disapproves of.

What is Social Deviance?

• Social deviance is any transgression of socially established norms. Deviance can be informal and formal. a. Minor
transgressions of these norms can be described as informal deviance. b. Formal deviance or crime involves the
violation of laws.
• Social norms and the punishments for violating them change over time and from place to place.
• There are couple ways to classify deviant behaviour; it can be formal or informal, and voluntary or involuntary.
Depending on the situation and the norm or value being violated, different levels of deviance are achieved. For
instance, an involuntary violation of an informal norm is far less offensive than a voluntary violation of a formal norm
(i.e. Law). The distinction between formal and informal deviance rests in the definition society gives to the action, and
the manner in which they do so. Formal norms and values would be laws, regulations, rules and codes of conduct, for
example. Reactions to transgressions against formal norms and values are external to individuals in the form of
punitive action, such as fines or imprisonment. Examples of informal norms and values include customs and
traditions. Reactions to informal deviance are typically internal to the individual. Consider walking into a building on
a windy day, and the person ahead allows the door to slam shut on the follower. The follower would have an internal
reaction. Not all deviance is a voluntary action. Physical and mental disabilities can be examined as deviant behaviour,
as they do not conform to the normal definition of a person. Often there are informal reactions to physical disability or
mental disability, however from time to time there are formal sanctions imposed upon those who are disabled.
Deviance and Social Control
1. Norms or rules about what members of a society should and should not do are universal, that is all societies have
them and the members of all societies enforce them.
2. Some norms apply in specific contexts, settings, or situation. i.e. Laughing at a funeral.
3. Some norms apply to the behaviour of members of certain groups or collectivities but not to others. i.e. Street
Gangs.
4. Some norms apply to everyone in a given society. i.e. Killing a baby
Methods of Social Control
Following are the methods of social control:
1. Internal
2. External
3. Informal
4. Formal
5. Semi-formal
1. Internal Social Control
The process of internalizing the norms of society and accepting them as valid. It operates through the process of
socialization, that is learning and adopting the norms of the society or a particular group or collectivity within the
society.
Agents of Socialization
i) Earliest Agent - The Family: Its primary function is to help children internalize the norms of the society in which
they live. Failure to socialize, leads to behaviours that society regards as deviant.
ii) Later Agents - Schools, Peers and the Mass Media: When one accepts the norms of society as valid the norms
are internalized. Thus, a person feels guilty if they engage in behaviour society considers wrong. But there are always
some people, usually a minority, who don't accept the legitimacy of the norms, society turns to external social control.
2. External Social Control
Society's effort to bring those who "stepped outside the lines" back into line. It is made up of the system of rewards
and punishments, sanctions that persons, parties, and agents use to induce others to conform to a norm. Thus, a
Positive Sanction is a reward and a Negative Sanction is a punishment. But a great deal of social control is coercive
and repressive; it relies on punishment and force.
3. Informal Social Control
• Interpersonal actions between and among people to remind someone that their behaviour upsets or pleases them. i.e.
frowning, smiling, criticizing, praising, shunning or being warm.
• Informal agents of social control act on their own, in an unofficial capacity.
4. Formal Social Control
An effort to bring about conformity to the law by agents of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) i.e. police, courts and
correctional institutions. Formal Agents of Social Control
• Agents who have legitimate power to make people conform to the law.
• Formal agents occupy a specific status in bureaucratic organization. It is this position which gives them the
legitimacy to sanction wrongdoers for violating the formal code. But formal and informal social control can operate at
the same time. i.e. A drug dealer who is arrested by the police and shunned by his neighbors.
5. Semi-Formal Social Control
• A huge territory of noncriminal, non-penal bureaucratic social control, administered by the government, which
attempts to deal with the troublesome behaviour of persons under their authority.
• If a person’s behaviour becomes extremely troublesome, an array of agencies, bureaucracies, and organizations may
step in to handle or control that person, to punish or bring him or her into line with the rules. These employees of these
agencies are known as Professional Controllers. i.e. social workers, psychiatrists, truant officers, and representatives,
functionaries and officers of mental hospitals, civil courts, social welfare offices, unemployment offices, departments
of motor vehicles, and public schools.

Role of School and Teacher in Developing Social Control

School in the modern time is treated as the most suitable, active and formal agency of education. As per the changing
need of the hour, school develops and grows with its specific goals. It is emerged out of the demand for education and
pressure on the parents regarding their educational pursuit. The word ‘School’ has been derived from the Greek word
‘Skhole’ that means leisure. It was before in the ancient Greece to utilize leisure time in a systematic way. But now
this concept has changed to prime time activity. It is an essential investment field now on which the entire
superstructure of life of the individual and nation will build. The two main functions of schools are to educate students
and to socialize them. Schools teach general skills, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as specific skills
needed for the workplace. Human capital is the knowledge and skills that make someone more productive and
bankable. Schools transmit values, beliefs, and attitudes that are important to society. This hidden curriculum serves to
form a more cohesive society but has also been used to impose the values of a dominant culture on outsiders or
minorities. Schools have been described as sorting machines that place students into programs and groups according
to their skills, interests, and talents. Critics argue that this sorting process is not based solely on merit and that
ultimately it serves to reproduce social inequalities.
Main Function of School:
1. Conservation and Promotion Culture: The school conserves the valuable culture, tradition, values of the society
and helps in promoting and developing these with the rolling of the time. It also spreads the store of culture to the next
generation.
2. All-round Development of the Individual: For all-round development of the individual school has a package of
programmes. Through its different activities, it draws out the hidden potentialities of the child and develops them in a
proper way.
3. Development of Higher Values of Life: School helps in developing and cultivating good and higher values like
truth, sympathy, love, cooperation, etc. in child. Through different social interactions and moral teachings, it spreads
the message of righteous living in a society.
4. Development of Social Responsibility: School is called a society in miniature. Because in school child shares his
feelings with various children coming from different strata. So he learns the lessons of social duty, responsibilities and
understanding the feelings of others. So school helps in social change and social control.
5. Citizenship Training: School creates the first civic society for the child. So child learns the duty and civic rights
for the country as a responsible citizen. So school trains the lessons of citizenship to a child.
6. Adjustability in Society: School prepares child to face the problems of the society. So proper adjustment and
application of learned knowledge can be checked and guided by school. So the main function of the school is to
develop adjustment capacity of an individual.
7. Vocational Training: Through different activities, school provides training in different vocations. It also cultivates
the values of dignity of work and labor. It prepares children to face any challenge in the future to solve their bare
necessities.
The role of school cannot be confined with these lines. In modern days, the role of school has been increasing day by
day. It is called the hub of learning. Every developed state gives first priority to the schools for total national
development. Really, school is now a prestigious institution in the society, which can be called a man-making factory.

Teachers as Social Change Agents

It goes without saying that teachers are responsible for the change that takes place in learners. Their words and actions
trigger positive behavioural and attitudinal changes in learners. But teachers’ role as change agents is not limited to
the school setting and their learners. In the communities where literacy rate is low and people are not aware of their
rights and responsibilities, lack ideas on good health habits, development perspectives, local teachers can act as
change agents. Because teachers are conscious and educated, they can cause change to take place in the community
settings.