Informal Means Of Social Control

Social Control – consists of the forces and processes that encourage conformity, including: self control, informal and formal control

Social Control Theory The social control theory is unlike most criminology theories that attempt to explain why people engage in criminal behavior. Instead, the philosophical framework of this approach focuses on the justifications of why people obey the laws and rules. This unique perspective attempts to provide rationales for how behavior conforms to expected and accepted social norms. The philosophical framework surrounding social control theory is the belief in free will and how individuals are responsible for their own choices.

Social control is when a person unites to society that prevents them from violating rules therefore; if the bond weakens, they are free to commit delinquent acts. Travis Hirschi, a sociologist, argued that the social bond a person maintains with society contains the commitment to the pursuit of conventional activities, such as

These two beliefs make the idea of social control make sense, which is understood to be a group that imposes conformity based on what they have set to be identified as normal. To understand the elements that influence deviance and social control, an individual must understand cultural and societal norms, what is deviant behavior, and the actions that transpire to guarantee social control.

Social control theory is used to help one understand and reduce levels of criminal activity. It is based upon the idea that an individual’s basic belief system, morals, values, commitments and relationships foster a lawful environment. Most individuals who possess these values and beliefs tend to have a level of self-control over their actions and are consequently prepared to remain on the correct side of the law. Furthermore, social control theory is used to examine how society can influence criminal behaviour. It also emphasizes the idea that when an individual is involved and in-touch with their community, they are less likely to commit acts of delinquency.

Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.

Since the inception of human civilization there have been countless cultures and societies which have helped shape the current world today as we know it. The modern human race dates back more than 200,000 years and in that time frame many cultures have risen to great virtue and success only to deteriorate or cease to exist altogether. First before examining one of these cultures we must know what culture truly means. The Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Culture Center defines culture as a “dynamic social system,” containing the beliefs, behaviors, values and norms of a “specific organization, group, society or other collectivity” learned, shared, internalized, and changeable by all members of the society (Watson, 2010). In

According to this theory, people follow social norms because of their attachment to others. People care about others’ perceptions of them, so they are likely to conform to social expectations (Andersen et al., 2016). In the library, people conform to the social rule of keeping quiet because they know that others are expecting them to be. The developer of social control theory, Travis Hirschi, would probably view people’s behavior in the library as a result of their attachment to social norms. Even if people usually would say hello to each other in different settings, the expectations of people in the library stop them from participating in deviant behavior. If Hirschi were to see me performing my norm violation, he would most likely view my deviant behavior as a result of my weakened attachment to social

Informal social controls are any tools that are used to control behavior in everyday social life. Some main examples of informal social control include friends, families, and communities. Formal social controls are mechanisms used by the government to regulate and control human behavior and to make people in the society follow laws and conform to norms. The most important tools include the criminal justice system and the criminal law. (Owen, Fradella, Burke, & Joplin, 2012)

According to the control theory, as we network with the members of our society we will ultimately conform to these norms.

Social control theory is about how society controls how every individual acts, whether they are around positive or negative influences. W.Reckless ‘s containment theory is about the influences in an individual’s life such as peer pressure, family conflicts. It is a theory that says that all humans are subject to criminal behaviour but that many people can resist the criminal behaviour using inner and outer containment. T.Hirschi’s social bond theory is a part of social control theory this part of the theory is saying that the stronger an individual’s bond is to a positive influence the less likely the person is to commit a crime. The crime to be discussed is drunk driving.

It is a violation of social norm, and therefore crime can also be described as an act of deviance. Deviance can be both a minor or major offence. So how do sociologists go about combatting this problem? An act of Social control can be defined broadly as an organized action intended to change people’s behaviour (Innes 2003). The fundamental goal of social control is to maintain social order and the everyday behaviours on which individuals base their lives.

Culture defines people’s values, beliefs, and personal interests. Culture is important because it allows people to maintain a unique identity society. Many cultures have common interests, while others may have customs that differ greatly from that of another. Technology has had a huge impact on present day cultures. Many culture have been altered including my own, and some have been created due to the rise of technology. Cultures differ so greatly that someone belonging to one culture may not agree with the values of another, which then causes social and ethical issues. My culture shares many similarities with others around the world; most of which have connected more people in recent years than ever before. Cultural gaps, and lack of

Thus, the terms culture and society are somewhat interchangeable. Characteristics of culture: Culture is narrow. It prescribes that kinds of behavior considered acceptable in the society. The prescriptive characteristic of culture simplifies a consumer's decision-making process by limiting product choices to those, which are socially acceptable. These same characteristics create problems for those products not in tune with the consumer's cultural beliefs. Culture is socially shared. Culture cannot exist by itself. Members of a society must share it. Thus acting to reinforce culture's perspective nature. Culture is learned. Culture is not inherited genetically; it must be learned and acquired. Socialization or enculturation occurs when a person absorbs or learns the culture in which he or she is raised. Culture facilitates communication. One useful function provided by culture is to facilitate communication. Culture usually imposes common habits of though and feeling among people. Thus, within a given group culture makes it easier for people to communicate with one another. But culture may also block communication across groups because of a lack of shared common culture values. This is one reason why a standardized advertisement may have difficulty communicating with consumers in foreign countries. How marketing efforts interact with a culture determines the success or failure of a

In society, there are sanctions that are used to prevent, stop, and punish behavior viewed as bad or unacceptable. These unaccepted behaviors are called social deviance, and these sanctions are enforced through two forms of social control: formal social control, and informal social control. Both of these forms of social control work towards achieving the same goal: discouraging violations of society’s accepted behaviors, or social deviance, and punishing those who do. But what is the difference between these two forms of social control? How are these social control mechanisms carried out?