TABLE OF CONTENTS

● Introduction………..

● Social Control………

● Definitions of Social
Control……….

● Needs of Social Control………

● Agencies of Social
Control…………
.
● Conclusion………
INTRODUCTION
Sociology is built around the concept of social control. Everyone
expects us to act in a
certain way. It includes everything from how to eat to respecting our
elders to driving on the left side of the road and obeying the laws of
the land. The very basic idea behind adhering to certain desired rules
is to enable collective social life. Community life is only possible in the
context of social constraints, because social living necessitates the
sacrifice of individual interests.
Family, school, religious institutions, and the media are some of the
agents that reinforce and maintain these rules. Many sanctions are
imposed indirectly, by instilling certain values in the socialised
individual. As a result, most people conform not out of fear, but because
they have been internally conditioned to do so. In its most basic sense, ‘social control'
refers to a society's ability to regulate itself in accordance with
desired principles and values.

SOCIAL CONTROL
Society is a collectivity of groups and individuals. It exists for the welfare and
advancement of the whole. The mutuality, on which it depends, is possible to sustain
by adjustment of varied and contradictory interests. The structure pattern continues
to exist because of its inbuilt mechanism and sanction system.
Social control which implies the social intercourse is regulated in accordance with
established and recognised standards, is comprehensive, omnipotent and effective to
stimulate order, discipline and mutuality; and to discourage, and if need be, to punish
the deviance. The aim of social order, Parsons has well said, is “nipping deviant
tendencies in the bud”. If that be not done, social order would cease to exist; the law
of the brute would prevail. The world would be that ‘brutish’ and ‘nasty’ state will
prevail in society.
The term, ‘social control’, is widely used in sociology to refer to the social processes
by which the behaviour of individuals or groups is regulated. Since all societies have
norms and values governing conduct (a society without some such norms and values
is inconceivable), all equally have some mechanisms for ensuring conformity to
those norms and for dealing with deviance. Social control is consequently a
pervasive feature of society, of interest to a broad range of sociologists having
differing theoretical persuasions and substantive interests, and not just to sociologists
of deviance.
Some theorists, such as Émile Durkheim, refer to this form of control as regulation.
Sociologists identify two basic forms of social controls:
a) Internalization of norms and values
b)External sanctions, which can be either positive (rewards) or negative
(punishment).

DEFINITIONS :-
According to Morris Janowitz, social control focuses on the capacity of a social
organisation to regulate itself, this concept of self - regulation can be applied to the
actions of individuals and organizational units. Without social control even the best
intentioned efforts at cooperative endeavour would quickly dissolve into would
quickly dissolve into uncoordinated separate actions by various participants.
According to Fairchild, It is the process which helps a society to secure conformity
to individuals as well as groups.
Mannheim says, it is the collection of methods which can help to influence human
behaviour to retain social order.
It is very clear that it stops deviation to social norms and bring control and conformity
in a society. It is the collective behaviour through which the process of social order
remains constant.

NEEDS OF SOCIAL CONTROL:-

Social control is necessary for an orderly social life. The society has to regulate and
pattern individual behaviour to maintain normative social order. Without social
control the organization of the society is about to get disturbed. If the individual is
effectively socialised, he confirms to the accepted ways from force of habit as well as
from his desire of being accepted and approved by other persons.
1. Reestablishing the Old Social System:
The main need of the social control is to keep the existing order intact. In other
words it is the desire of the society to make its member to live in manner in which
their forefathers have been living. 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.
2. Regulation of Individual Social Behaviour:
Social control is necessary in order to regulate the individual behaviour in
accordance with the social objectives and social values. This helps to maintain the
social order. 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 social organization effectively. Hence, social
control is necessary for the society in order to exist and progress.
3. Obedience to Social Decisions:
Society takes certain decisions. These decisions are taken in order to maintain and
upheld the values of the society. Through social control attempt is made to get the
social decision obeyed.
4. To Establish Social Unity:
Unity is not possible without social control. Social control regulates the behavior of
individuals in accordance with established norms which brings uniformity of
behavior and brings unity among the individuals.
5. To bring Solidarity:
Social control is to create the feeling of solidarity in the minds of people. In the
competitive world, the weaker group may be exploited by the stronger group or
equally powerful groups may clash among themselves. This affects the harmony and
order. Some groups may develop anti-social attitudes and pose danger to the
organization of the society. Therefore, there is necessity for the different groups and
institutions.
6. To bring Conformity in Society:
Social control is intended to bring about uniformity in the behaviour of the individual
members of the society and to bring about different types of conformists in their
societies.
6.

7. To Provide Social Sanction:

Any marked deviation from the accepted norms, is considered a threat to the welfare
of the group as a whole. Hence, sanctions are used by the group to control the
behaviour of the individuals.
8. To Check Cultural Maladjustment:
Society is continuously undergoing changes. The individual has to adjust his
behaviour according to changes taking place in the society. But all the individuals
cannot adjust themselves to new situations. Some may become deviants. Thus, social
control is necessary to cheek maladjustment of individuals.
No doubt social control is needed to prevent the society from disintegration. The
need is greater in modern society because of its highly complex character and
disintegrating forces present in it, says Kimball Young. Ithas become the habit of the
people to violate rules and social norms. If the agencies of social control do not act
effectively society may suffer from chaos and disintegration.

AGENCIES OF SOCIAL CONTROL:-

A society maintains social control through effective agencies that
have evolved over time. In addition to folkways, religion, traditional
customs, mores, and so on, society uses law, education, physical
coercion, and codes to exert control over its members. The types of
social control mechanisms employed by society are determined by
the nature of the society in terms of organisational complexity.
1.CONTROL BY LAW
In the modern urban industrial society, the law is the most powerful
tool for social control. In a society with a political organisation of the
state, law appears. Law has been defined in a variety of ways.
According to J.S.Roucek, "laws are a form of social rule emanating
from political agencies." There are numerous sources of law. Laws are
made and legislation is enacted based on social doctrines, ideals, and
mores. When a proper law-making authority enacts a law, it
formalises social control and change. Formal laws are carefully
crafted with careful consideration. Laws are supposed to be definite,
clear, and precise in the Western system, and everyone is treated
equally before the law in identical circumstances. This may not be
true for non-western laws originating in cultures other than European.
Law is enforced by agencies, so formal bodies are established. With
the spread of western civilization and colonisation, the nature of
formal law has become similar in many ways.
2.CONTROL BY EDUCATION
Education is a powerful tool and a social control mechanism in all
forms of society.
Education can simply be defined as the imbibing of social values and
norms by future
generations. All socialising agents, particularly the family, provide
informal education.
Emile Durkheim defined education as "the socialisation of the younger
generation"
because it is through education that society passes on its heritage
from one generation to the next. Formal education, defined as
education imparted by an institution dedicated primarily to it and
equipped with its own tools and techniques, books, and teachers, has
played a critical role in controlling the behaviour of members of
society. Formal education is intended to instil the right kind of
ideology in young members of society so that they can contribute to
the reproduction of society. Religious and patriotic values that are
deemed necessary for the formation of the responsible citizen are
frequently included in formal education.
3.CONTROL BY PUBLIC OPINION
Public opinion is a powerful tool for social control. The term "public
opinion" simply refers to the mass of ideas that people express on
any given issue. In reality, it functions as the majority opinion of
society's members. Furthermore, it is more highly valued in
democratic societies. Public opinion is gathered through various
modern means such as the press, radio, and television, among others.
4.CONTROL BY PROPAGANDA
Propaganda has an impact on people's attitudes, behaviours, faith,
and ideologies. It is also used to replace an older belief system with a
new one at times. It may, however, have both positive and negative
consequences. Most governments and power regimes use
propaganda to influence people's behaviour. Thus, people are urged
to willingly conform to the state's goals through propaganda that
leads them to believe that what society wants is also good for them.
5.CONTROL BY COERCION
Coercion is the use of physical force to stop or control an individual's
or group's behaviour. Coercion is said to be used to regulate the
behaviour of an individual or members of society when they are
forced to follow certain rules under threat or under some imposed
controls. Although everyone may not agree with every situation of use
of force, such as when police use force on peacefully demonstrating
people or when the state uses repressive measures to suppress any
protest, the state is the only agency that uses it legitimately.
6.CONTROL BY RELIGION
Religion is defined as belief in supernatural forces. Religion, according
to MacIver and Page, "implies a relationship not only between man
and man but also between man and some higher power." It is a
powerful social control tool. As a result, it is founded on the belief that
it confirms man's relationship with God and thus constitutes a
religious code. And it is this religious code that becomes significant in
controlling human behaviour.
Religion has a strong hold on people because it combines social
needs with the wishes of a higher power. For example, in many
religions, women are taught that it is their religious duty to serve
men, which is extremely effective in maintaining and perpetuating a
patriarchal society. Similarly, many religions backed kings' rule,
claiming that the king or ruler was divine.
7.CONTROL BY MORALITY
There is a close relation between morality and religion. Morality is “that body of rules
and principles concerned with good and evil as manifested to us by conscience”.
Morality is what makes a person distinguish right conduct from wrong.
But the moral order is not universal and varies from society to
society, and each society imbibes its own norms and values in its
children. In the context of a Western society, one may identify
honesty, faithfulness, trust, fairness, conscientiousness, kindness and
sacrifice to represent some of the moral concepts. The moral order of
Indian society is more towards family and respect for elders and
following rules. The moral order is internalized by the people and
therefore, plays very crucial role in influencing people’s behaviour or maintain
control on members of society.

CONCLUSION
Aside from the aforementioned mechanisms of formal and informal
social control, various social ceremonies in the form of rituals and
fashions are also used to regulate the behaviour of an individual or
members of society. Thus, in order for society to function smoothly
and effectively, some type of inbuilt mechanism is used. Individuals
have a tendency to deviate from desired behaviour due to desires for
themselves, such as pleasure and individualistic goal fulfillment.
People, for example, wish for the good things in life that they may not
be able to obtain through fair means, but rather through anti-social
means such as theft or rule breaking. Social control refers to all of the
mechanisms that are used to regulate individuals' behaviour and
force them to conform to its norms and values. It is the means by
which society maintains normative social order and ensures its
collective life. Mechanisms' effectiveness varies from simple to
complex societies. In a rural traditional simple society, means such as
customs, folkways, and mores are more effective. However, in a
complex urban society, law, education, and public opinion play a
larger role.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

● Principals of sociology with an introduction to social thought, by CN

Shankar Rao
● www.yourarticlelibrary.com

● www.studylecturenotes.com