AC 2.1 Explain forms of social control Flashcards
social control
involves persuading or compelling people to conform to society’s norms, laws and expectations, which is necessary to enable society to function smoothly
What are the two types of achieving social control
-internal forms
-external forms
Internal forms of social control
-These are controls over our behaviour that come from within ourselves (personalities or values).
-They are a form of self control and this leads to us conforming to the rules of society because we feel that it’s the right thing to do
Freuds psychoanalytic theory
Freud believes individuals conform to society’s expectations because our superego tells us to
What is the superego
Part of the tripartite personality made up of the ID, ego and superego.
The superego develops during the phallic stage due to socialisation and tells us what is right and wrong, inflicting guilty feelings on us
How does the superego develop
through early socialisation within the family as a sort of internalised nagging parent telling us how we ought to behave
How does the superego prevent criminal behaviour
Its function is to restrain the selfish urges of the ID.
If individuals acted on these urges they would cause anti-social and criminal behaviour
It allows us to exercise self control and behave in a socially acceptable way
Tradition and culture as internal social control
-the culture to which we belong also becomes part of us through socialisation and we accept its values, norms and traditions
-believers follow the religious traditions they have been raised in
-conforming to such traditions is an important way of affirming one’s identity and being accepted as a member of a particular community
How are social rule and morality internalised
-socialisation
-rational ideology
socialisation
The process by which we internalise parents rules and traditions as our own and society’s rules become our own personal rules and moral code
Rational ideology
the term used to describe the way in which we internalise social rules and use them to tell us what is right and wrong. This helps us to be law abiding.
External forms of social control
Society has external forms of control that aim to ensure we conform to its expectations and keep to its rules through agencies of social control
Agencies of social control
organisations or institutions that impose rules on us in an effort to make us behave in certain ways
Examples of agencies of social control
Family, peer group and education system
How do agencies of social control link to skinners operant learning theory
-Agencies use positive and negative sanctions to reward and punish behaviour.
-Positive sanctions reinforce the behaviour and increase the likelihood that it will happen again
-negative sanctions punish the behaviour and decrease the likelihood that it will happen again
The criminal justice system
contains several agents of social control, that have the power to use formal legal sanctions against individuals to make them conform to society’s laws
Agents in the criminal justice system
-police
-CPS
-judges and magistrates
-the prison service
the police
have powers to stop, search, arrest, detain and question suspects
the CPS
can charge suspects and prosecute them in court
judges and magistrates
have powers to bail the accused or remand them in custody and to sentence the guilty to a variety of punishments
The prison service
can detain prisoners against their will for the duration of their sentence and punish prisoners misbehaviour
coercion
Involves the use of threat or force to make someone do or stop doing something. This may be in the form of physical or psychological violence
Example of coercion
Sending someone to prison for stealing as it aims to prevent further offending
fear of punishment
a form of coercion that aims to achieve social control and make people conform to the laws
Deterrence
Right realists argue that fear of being caught and punished is what ensures that many would-be criminals continue to obey the law
Control theory
control theorists ask why people obey the law
Hirschi bonds of attachment
people conform because they are controlled by their bonds to society which keeps them from deviating.
-deviant acts occur when an individuals bond to society is weak/broken
what are the four elements to an individuals bond to society
-attachment
-commitment
-involvement
-beliefs
Attachment
the more attached we are to others the more we care about their opinion of us and we will be less likely to break the rules if we are concerned what our parents ect might think
commitment
the more committed an individual is to a conventional lifestyle the more we risk losing by getting involved with crime
involvement
the more involved we are in conventional, law abiding activities the less energy we will have for getting involved in criminal ones
Example of involvement
youth clubs can be justified as keeping young people out of trouble by filling their time with legal activities
Beliefs
If we have been socialised to believe it’s right to obey the law, we are less likely to break it
Parenting
control theorists argue the role of parenting is important in creating bonds that prevent young people from offending
Gottfredson and Hirschi-parenting
argued that low self control is a major cause of delinquency and that this results from poor socialisation and inconsistent parental discipline
Riley and Shaw- parenting
a lack of parental supervision was an important factor in delinquency
What do Riley and Shaw argue about parenting
parents should:
-involve themselves in their teenagers lives and spend time with them
-take an interest in what they do at school and how they spend time with their friends
-show strong disapproval of criminal behaviour and explain the consequences of offending
Reckless
we have psychological tendencies that can lead to criminality but effective socialisation can provide ‘internal containment’ by building the self control to resist the temptation to offend. External controls such as parental discipline can provide ‘external containment’
feminists
used control theory to explain women’s low rate of offending
Heidensohn
argues that patriarchal society controls females more closely making it harder for them to offend
Heidensohn-example
women spend more time on domestic duties leaving them less time to engage in criminal activity
Feminists- Carlen
Females who do offend had often failed to form an attachment to parents because they had suffered abuse in the family or been brought up in care
