Issues of social control

Question 1

Social control

Answer 1

Refers to how psychology can be used to control members of society, often for the good of other members of society.

Question 2

Social

Answer 2

Social control has shown to be important to maintain order in society e.g. obedience to the police in society.
Understanding the causes of obedience can help educate and prevent blind obedience and help us understand historical events such as mass genocide.
In the military, positions of authority can be identified by their uniforms or badges, this allows them to use their authority to use sanctions to ensure obedience.
Social control can be positive, and research into the social conditions that cause prejudice have led to developments in reducing prejudice. The jigsaw technique (Aaronson et al 1978) is based on the Sherif et al summer camp studies (1954, 1960) where superordinate goals were used to reduce prejudice. Designing classroom and workplace environments that maximise the jigsaw technique can be used to control levels of intergroup hostility and reduce bullying and negative competition.