AC2.1 Explain Forms of Social Control Flashcards
What is social control?
Social control involves forms of pressures to persuade/compel members of a society to conform to the rules. It refers to any technique or strategy for preventing criminal or deviant behaviour in society.
What are the 2 forms of social control?
1) Internal
2) External
What are internal forms of social control?
- forms of control which are inside ourselves
- regulate our own behaviour in keeping with the rules of society.
What are the types of internal social control?
1) Conscience
2) Rational Ideology
3) Tradition, Upbringing and Religion
4) Internalisation of Social Rules and Morality
Explain ‘conscience’ as a form of internal social control.
- referred to as ‘moral compass’
- feelings that tell you what is right or wrong
- people make decisions based on these feelings
Explain ‘rational ideology’ as a form of internal social control.
- using intelligence to decide what to do
- person uses what they know about social norms to make decision on how to act
Explain ‘tradition, upbringing and religion’ as a form of internal social control.
- usually, these are foundations laid in childhood
- traditions such as no TV if you get a detention make people rationalize their own behaviour
- during upbringing, people are told by parents/other family members what is right and wrong and decide what to do based on this information
- people may also not want to upset their parents/family if they are told by them a certain action is wrong so will not commit it
- religion tells people sinning is wrong
- eg Christianity has 10 commandments: ‘thou shalt not kill’ and ‘thou shalt not steal’
- eg Buddhism and Hinduism teaches karma where bad things will happen to you if you are bad
Explain ‘internalisation of social rules and morality’ as a form of internal social control.
- when a person knows what is right or wrong based upon social values
- the knowledge of social values guides their decisions
What are external forms of social control?
- forms of control which are outside of our control
- external pressures to persuade or compel members to conform to rules and expectations
- exist because internal forms of social control don’t always work
What are the forms of external social control?
1) Fear of Punishment
2) Coercion
3) Agents of Social Control
Explain ‘fear of punishment’ as a form of external social control.
People will not want to commit crime or go against social norms as they are scared of the punishment they have received before/seen others receive before.
What are the two types of deterrents that come under ‘fear of punishment’?
1) Individual deterrence
2) General deterrence
What is individual deterrence?
Deterrent aimed at controlling one person.
Give some examples of individual deterrents.
- Suspended sentence
- Conditional discharge
What is general deterrence?
Deterrent aimed at controlling lots of people.
