Conflict Theory Vs Social Control Theory

Social control theory is critical to criminology because of the strength and impacts a relationship or bond between people have. These relationships are influenced and shaped by behavior, personality and the environment they choose to surround themselves in. Direct social control is important for children, having a healthy family relationship and role models create a balance with social control. If a society works together to create positive support for each other it helps control the crime that is once influenced by negative activities and poor role models.

Subsequent thinkers have described different versions of conflict theory; a common theme is that different social groups have unequal power, though all groups struggle for the same limited resources. Conflict theory has been used to explain diverse human behavior, such as educational practices that either sustain or challenge the status quo, cultural customs regarding the elderly, and criminal behavior.

Inciardi proclaimed that critical criminology is “different perceptions that challenge assumptions of mainstream: espoused by a group of U.S. thinkers who emerged in the sixties and seventies and who have been variously labeled as representatives of conflict, radical, critical, or Marxist criminology and etc.” (as cited in Hagen, 2013, p. 184). Critical criminology main focus is to challenge the traditional assumptions and provide alternative approaches to understanding crimes and justice opposed to the theory of mainstream criminology. According to Hagan (2013), “critical criminology consists of five types of theoretical approach: the labeling perspective, conflict theory, and the feminist, new critical and radical (Marxist) viewpoints” (p. 184). The assumptions are difference or rejection to that of mainstream criminology; for example: emphasizing on the social control machinery and instead of criminal behavior (Hagan, 183). Critical criminology view crime and criminal law as the field to unified and laid emphasis on addressing the gaps between different levels of power, chain in command, and inequalities (races and culture) in reference to crime types of crime committed and justice which includes ramification of the deeds under the laws and nature our society.

After reading the article “The Meaning of Social Control” by Peter Berger I agree that social control is present in our daily lives trying to get people to conform in different situations. There are several different kinds of social control from violence, to gossip to even being shunned from a community. In the article it even states, that social control “...refers to the various means used by a society to bring its recalcitrant members back into line. No society can exist without social control (Berger 1).” This quote means without social control people wouldn’t be able to conform to any specific situation which can lead to a lot of issues. Even though conformity in general is perceived as a bad thing it can also be used for good. Like the example given when a police officer gives a person a ticket it teaches the person to not speed or they would get into trouble.

I feel that both theories account for the influence of social privilege and social oppression. They both push the idea of social equality. Social privileges are in our everyday society. Nobody in our society is looked upon as “deserving” to live miserably. Everyone needs food, water, shelter, and clothing, however, not everyone is fortunate to have all or any of those things. Because of this, social workers are a big need in our society. They are such a need because we as a society believe in those social privileges and strive to omit social oppression. Conflict Theory accounts for social privilege because it’s based on survival. It’s based on a individual looking out for his/herself by working hard and providing his/herself with shelter, food, water, and clothing. Also Karl Marx studied social conflict his entire life and wanted to reduce social inequality. The social conflict theory can be described as favoritism. Society tends to show favoritism to the prestigious members of that particular society. Social inequality is shown throughout the world from situations of race, ethnicity, gender, and age. These factors may dictate wealth, schooling,

The functionalist theory is a sociological approach emphasizing how parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability. An example of this is racist beliefs discouraging a minority group from trying to question their lower status in order to maintain stability. Another example of functionalist theory is racial ideologies justifying and encouraging existing practices for social movement. Conflict theory is an approach that assumes that the social structure is understood the most in terms of conflict or tension between minority and majority groups. An example of this is an idea called blaming the victim.

In the book Introduction to sociology by Giddens et al. talks about, the conflict theory expressed by Karl Marx, he believed that there are people who are able to gain power over others by having all the resources they need, but there are others who struggle because of the inequalities they face. This can cause an individual to engage in deviant acts in order to try and obtain some of the power. In contrast, the control theory states that a person has control of their own behaviors and if they engage in deviant activities it is because they feel obligated to conform to society. Similarly, there are subcultural groups that make their own norms and engage in deviant behaviors because of their lower economic status. People who do not have

They include organizational conflict theory, social conflict theory, social cognitive conflict theory, and social exchange conflict theory. The organizational conflict theory suggests that conflict helps better organizations by leading to greater productivity and creativity. This leads to team members enhancing their decision making, adaptation, cooperation, and most importantly, communication skills, by coming together to brainstorm, strategize, put ideas together, and come up with a solution by utilizing good communication skills. The social conflict theory suggests that conflict is a fundamental part of human social life. It further divides into two categories, comparison of satisfaction and comparison of alternatives. Basically, conflict exists due to an individual or group of individuals wanting to act in the interest of their own desires. The social exchange theory suggests that individuals accurately anticipate outcomes from interactions and conflicts. Therefore, any individual that is in any type of relationship attempts to minimize any costs and maximize the rewards in that relationship. An example of this would be weighing the pros and cons of the relationship. The last theory, the social cognitive theory, suggests that behavior is affected by several factors. These factors include personal factors, environmental influences, and attributes of the behavior itself. Therefore,

One theory that builds upon Conflict Theory and can be used to help examine various unit and segment variations and can also help examine why some officers exhibit deviant behaviors and why other officers do not is Symbolic Interactionism. Using this theory, I will examine the police targeting of citizens, more specifically the politically ostracized, and the spatial and temporal contexts in which this specific targeting occurs. Symbolic Interactionism gives emphasis on the individual meanings and the influences that socialization has when explaining the micro or individual level on interactions between the police and the politically ostracized, which is vitally important to this police brutality examination.

Conflict theory sees social life as a competition and focuses on the distribution of power and inequality. His theory is better at explaining social

Many theorists agree with the same principles of Denisoff, Wahrman (1979), and Dahrendorf (1973) applied to conflict theory which are the basic interests of social life; social life involves coercion and groups with different interests; social life generates opposition, exclusion, hostility, and conflict; social difference involves power; and

Social Control theory explains that everyone has the potential to become a criminal, but most people are controlled by their bonds to society. Social Control theory was developed by Travis Hirsch in 1969. Under the Social Control theory, individuals break the law due to a breakdown with Society’s bond. There are four elements that constitutes society’s bond. These four elements are attachment, commitment, involvement and belief.

Sociological theories have their own interpretation and explanation behind sex and gender. While conflict theory focuses on inequality and an imbalance of power distribution, when applied to gender and sex, men receive more power than their female counterparts. Conflict theory believes that through socialization, men are raised to be superior. From birth, society teaches children to fit into these cultural norms. The traits usually associated with males, the masculine traits, demonstrate power. Young boys are taught the values and norms which focus on power and strength while girls are raised to display the feminine traits of passiveness and submissiveness.

Conflict theory is the theory that human behavior in social contexts is the result of conflicts between competing groups, as different social groups, be they class-, gender- or race-defined, have unequal power and access to power, yet all groups compete for limited resources. This inevitably gives rise to tension and conflict, albeit often of the subtle variety, as oftentimes the conflicts between groups have been institutionalized in society to such a degree that the conflicts and tensions are such an expected part of society that the conflict, and inequality, itself disappears from public sight, and consciousness. For example, an adherent of a world systems theory of conflict would point to the global competition for resources, particularly the inequality between rich and poor nations struggling to provide the basic necessities of life to their inhabitants, as evidence of global conflict. Conflict theories seek to explain the interactions of groups within society, and assert that social order is preserved involuntarily through the exercise of power one social class holds over another (Lindsey, 2010, 7). The conflict between groups is not always obvious or apparent, so it must be unraveled and examined in order to identify and establish the impact of such conflict on society as a whole, as well as individual members and social groupings.

This theory say those who hold the power in contemporary society get to set the rules, controls the law, and decide who is deviant, delinquent, and/or criminal. Their care little of about the moral content of the law as long as it protects the interests of those who hold social and economic power. Social reaction theory and social conflict theory differ on the