Social Control Theory

A great deal of fictional films and literature deal with the concept of society. Writers have played around with the idea of societies that are different from the world we know. While some portray this in optimistic ways and others darker, what these works have in common is the idea of social control – wherein people are forced to conform to means that are believed to benefit their society.

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.

In 1969, social control theory was developed by Travis Hirschi. This theory has also been known to be called the social bond theory – when

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

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.

The social control theory in essence is a change in the social sanctions of the men in the church. The higher the sanctions the less likely a Christian man will continue with unsanctioned activities such as pornography. (Wright, 2016). The family discusses how football, church activities and other social events could take precedence over pornography in their household. Mr. and Mrs. Jenson made a commitment to be there for each other so that TJ can have a healthier sex life. By doing this Tim is learning how he can walk closer with God and still be a healthy young man who respects himself as well as his

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.

General Topic: The research and experiments done in this study were about the “role of individual differences in the general desire for control in conformity situations”. The results from all of the three experiments were interpreted as a model for the motivational part of the desire-for-control construct (Desire for control is a need to have dominance over social situations to minimize the extent of power others have.)

Social control is the way society reacts to behavior and people it considers as deviant, problematic, worrying, threatening, troublesome or undesirable in some way or another. There are three different types of social control: private, parochial, and public. The most basic form of social control is at the private level. This is also referred to as a primary form of social control. At the private level social control is carried out by family, friends, and other informal social groups that have the capacity to exercise social control through criticism, praise, ostracism, and even violence. The second form of social control is at the parochial level and is also known as secondary social control. At the parochial level social control is exercised by community organizations such as schools, churches, neighborhood groups, and businesses that often have a stake in individual behavior, but do not have the same sentimental attachment as those at the private level. Social control levied by those at the parochial level, for example, can take the form of a verbal reprimand by a neighbor or sanctions meted out by a school principal or church official. The third form of social control is exercised at the public level. At the public level social control is exercised by governmental organizations such as the police and regulatory agencies. This form of social control is often called to action when other strategies exercised by the private and parochial levels have

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

The theoretical stability of social control theory rests upon the existence of four variables which are not only thought to have a correlative relationship amongst each other but are viewed as pivotal perquisites in deterring deviant behavior. These variables are attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Attachment refers to the obligatory connections and expectations that relate the individual to other persons in society. Through the individual's attachments to other people's expectations, norms become internalized by the individual. Commitment refers to the fear of law-breaking behavior and assumes that the organization of society is situated such that the interests of most persons of the given society would be endangered if they decide to engage in criminal and/or deviant acts. Involvement refers to the conventional activities that makes a person too busy to find time and/or the opportunity to engage in deviant behavior. As for Belief, the theory holds that a common, if not, single value system exists in society in which both he law-abiding individual as well as deviant both value. The opinions and impressions that are dependent on constant social reinforcement comprise belief. A person is more likely to conform to social norms when he believes in them. However, there is possibly a wide variability amongst the society as to how much one adheres to the belief that they should obey the norms and rules of society.

The social control theory suggests that individuals all have the potential to violate the law and that modern society presents many opportunities for illegal activity. It bases itself off of self control, a strong moral sense that renders a person incapable of hurting others or violating social norms. Isn’t it true, then, that other’s define morals differently and in a different manner, therefore defining their own sense of self control?(Much like the functionalist disadvantage that not everyone has the same beliefs!) For example, self control to me would be to refrain from quitting my part time nanny job due to the amount of stress it places on myself and my immediate relationships. Self control to someone else would be to refrain from stealing money from their place of

Formal social control is a form of control that is “carried out by authorized agents, such as police officers, judges, school administrators,

Education is an important structure in society that shapes the most important years of your life, and therefore many theorists have ideas about what is wrong with education, what is right, and what needs to change or develop. Education is confined a lot by social control and social reproduction. Social control is a concept that refers to how social systems control the way we feel, think, behave, and even how we should present ourselves. These can appear openly, shown as rules and laws, or they could be not openly acknowledged and just appear as the “common” thing to do. Social reproduction is the reproduction of inequalities throughout generation-to-generation, one way education does this is how it supplies “wealthy” schools more and “poor” schools less. Michael Apple and Maxine Greene both define Social reproductions and Social Control. Throughout this text, I will explain the theories of Greene and Apple, as well as comparing and contrasting them against one another while applying some of my own experiences of education.