Professional Ethics

SS-301

Lecture 6
Social Control and the Value System

Dr. Rana Muhammad Asad Khan

Assistant Professor
[email protected], asad.khan@fcm3,paf-iast.edu.pk
03314438163

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 Social control is described as a certain set
of rules and standards in society that keep
individuals bound to conventional
standards as well as to the use of
formalized mechanisms.

Social These mechanisms establish and enforce a

standard of behavior for members of a

control society and include a variety of

components:
• such as shame, coercion, force, restraint, and
persuasion.
Social control is exercised through
individuals and institutions, ranging from
the family, to peers, and to organizations
such as the state, religious organizations,
schools, and the workplace
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 The term social control has also been
linked to the term delinquency,
defined as “deviancy”, which is the
violation of established mores, social
norms, and laws.
Social
control More serious acts of delinquency are
defined as consensus crimes and
conflict crimes that are determined
by society and the law to inhibit
unwanted or negative behavior as a
form of social control.

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 Need of Social Control

Needisofnecessary
• Social control Social forControl
an orderly
social life.
• The society has to regulate and pattern
individual behaviour to maintain
normative social order.
• Without social control the organisation of
the society is about to get disturbed.

• If the individual is effectively socialized, he

confirms to the accepted ways from force
of habit as well as from his desire of being
accepted and approved by other persons.

• If he is inadequately socialized, he tends

to deviate from the accepted ways, but he
is forced towards conformity by the
pressures of social control.
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 Need of Social Control
Need of Social Control
• According to Kimball Young, it is
necessary “to bring about
conformity, solidarity and
continuity of a particular group or
society”.
• It is possible only through social
control.

• Society must make use of its

mechanism to accomplish the
necessary order and discipline.

Conformity: compliance with standards

Solidarity: unity
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 1. Re-establishing the Social System
it is the desire of the society to make its
member to live in way their forefathers have
been living.
Views in 2. Regulation of Individual Social Behaviour
different ways in order to regulate the individual behavior in
accordance with the social objectives and
about the social values. This helps to maintain the social
need of social order.
control 3. Obedience to Social Decisions
Through social control attempt is made to get
the social decision obeyed.
4. To Establish Social Unity
Social control regulates the behaviour of
individuals in accordance with established
norms which brings uniformity of behaviour

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 5. To bring Solidarity
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
Views in themselves.
different ways 6. To bring Conformity in Society
about the to bring about different types of conformities
in their societies
need of social
7. To Provide Social Sanction
control Any marked deviation from the accepted
(Cont..) norms, is considered a threat to the welfare of
the group as a whole.
8. To Check Cultural Maladjustment
Society is continuously undergoing changes.
The individual must adjust his behaviour
according to changes taking place in the
society.

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 Types or Forms of
Social Control
(a) Direct social control
• directly regulates and controls the behavior
of the individual
• is to be found in family, neighborhood, play-
groups and other types of primary groups.
• In these institutions, parents, neighbors,
teachers, classmates etc., keep control over
the behavior of the individuals.

(b) Indirect social control

• distant factors keep control over the
behavior of the individual.
• secondary groups through customs;
traditions, rationalized behavior etc.
• public opinion are important forms of
indirect social control.
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Forms of social control as given by
Gurvitch

(a) Organized social control

• the behavior of the individual is regulated either through
voluntary means or through democratic ways.
(b) Unorganized social control
• exercised by values of culture and usages, traditions, fashion,
symbol etc. Related to day-to-day life.
(c) Spontaneous social control
• exercised by ideas, rules and regulations, values, norms etc.
(d) More spontaneous social control
• exercised by direct social and group experience, such as,
aspirations, decisions, desires, etc., is called more spontaneous
social control.
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General views about forms of social control:

(a) Formal social control

• is exercised by known and deliberate agencies of social control, such
as law, punishment, army, Constitution etc. Man is forced to accept
these forms of social control.

(b) Informal social control

• These agencies of Social Control have grown according to the needs
of the society.
• Folk ways, mores, customs, social norms etc. fall under this category
of social control. Generally primary institutions exercise this type of
social control.

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Means of Social • The present-day
Control industrialization, urbanization,
quick means of transport and
communication; desertion of
the villages; mobility of the
people; the rise of towns,
cities and metropolitan areas;
and the mixing of the people,
like of which never had been
before, has brought the old
values to shambles.

• The emergence of new is

stimulating the social process.

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