Social control in social and biological psychology Flashcards
what is the definition of social control?
the control that society has over individuals, this consists of social mechanisms regulating behaviour which leads to conformity to the rules of a society
who is socially controlled?
the general public - especially children and those who are vulnerable
who exerts social control?
those who are in a position of power or authority over others i.e. the government, police and bosses create the ideas that others are socially controlled to conform to
in what societies does social control occur?
all societies have ways to promote order, stability and predictability in social life
how does social control affect society?
encourages conformity so that society is able to run effectively
why is social control necessary in social psychology?
means that prejudice can be reduced and a sense of order can be created be ensuring workers are obedient towards their boss
Social Psychology - Sherif et al
wanted to find out if prejudice was caused by competition between groups and then reduced prejudice between groups by creating a superordinate goal that they had to work together to achieve
Social Psychology - Milgram Obedience Experiment
having authority over other people causes them to conform even when this is destructive obedience
participants were willing to harm other people
Social Psychology - Social Impact Theory
shows that an individuals behaviour can be controlled with enough strength, immediacy and number of authority figures
Social Psychology - Agency Theory
people will obey authority when they believe that the authority will take responsibility for the consequences of their actions
Biological Psychology - Drug Therapy
medication can be used as treatment to alter the behaviour of individuals such as reducing aggression through decreasing levels of testosterone
Biological Psychology - Raine et al
found differences in the brains of NGRI murderers so it is possible to screen people to find out if they will become a criminal which has lead to procedures such as lobotomy to alter the functions of the brain and therefore alter the behaviour of individuals
