Social Control

Social Control is the society’s efforts to regulate it. It is a mechanism developed by society by which society enforces its members for conformity in order to bring social order.

Nature of social control

1. Social control is some kind of pressure and obstacle to individual’s behavior. This is exercised by various means such as public opinion, coercion, power, morality and ideology.
2. Social control promotes the social order and stability reducing the crimes.
3. Social control is the process began from the eve of civilization and it is universal to all societies.
4. Social control varies from society to society as the social norms vary.
5. Social control is exercised through sanction. It may be formal and informal sanctions.
6. Social sanction is mechanism of rewarding to conformity and punishing non-conformity.
7. Social control changes as social expectations change along the time change.
8. Social control brings social conformity, social solidarity and assures the continuity of social group or society.

 

Types of social control

1. Social control by formal sanctions

• It is a social control in which official pressure is given to individual, group or society to conforms social norms and values. For e.g. Police department, courts, prison and military enforce to individual for conformity of law, social norms and values.
• The rules for reward and punishment are clearly stated. Violators of the formal rules are subjects of punishment depending upon the nature of violation.
• The social control by formal sanction has become the most significant control mechanism in modern complex society.

 

1. Social control by informal sanction

In this, unofficial pressure is given to individuals or group for conformity including disapproval ridicule, and ostracism on the one hand (negative sanction) and approval and praise on the other (positive sanctions).

This type of control is effective in primary groups like family, peers, rural community and simple societies.

Agencies of social control

Formal agencies of social control

1. 1.      Control by laws through administrative body like police, courts and army

Law has two ways of regulation.

1. The general attitude of the people about respect for law.

If people respect law, social control is maintained.

1. Threat of coercion

Under the violation of law, people become subject of formal punishment.

1. 2.      Social control by education through formal training to participate in society

• Young people learn social norms through formal education
• They also learn that if social expectation is violated, they become subject of punishment.
• The totalitarian control is school. It shapes the behavior of child into self-disciplined in adult life.

1. 3.      Social control by public opinion:

The public opinion is the common interest, belief and ideology of the majority people. The public opinion controls the individual behavior not to commit any act that goes against the interest of public.

For example: People expect not to abuse child physically. If anyone beats own child, other people expect not to do so, or taken t prison.

The radio, television, newspaper movies and legislator formulate public opinion. These are learned by people and conform it.

1. 4.      Social control by Propaganda:

Governmental department do publicity of their issues in order to help people develop right habits, and practices in them.

E.g.

• Electricity authorities advertise not to steal electricity to control illegal attitude of people.
• Tax department ask consumer to receive tax-bill or vat-bill to control illegal activities.

1. 5.      Social control by coercion:

• Use of coercion mean use of physical forces.
• Coercion is extreme form of formal social control mechanism.
• The coercion guarantees the laws made by state authority.

For example:

Peaceful political demonstration is usually expected. If demonstrate goes for vandalisms, the force or coercion is practiced.

1. 6.      Social control by custom

Customs are self-accepted rules of social life. No one can escape from it.

The custom is conformed unconsciously. These are more influential among rural community or simple society than modern societies.

E.g.

• Obey what father says.
• Help old age parents.
• Don’t exploit poor etc.

1. 7.      Social control by norms and values

Social norms are does and don’t of the society. These are taught by the family, schools and peers. As an individual learns the social rules, begins to conform them.

1. 8.      Social control by religion and morality

• Religion gives the social norms and values. Religion sacrileges the norms and values to meet the group goal i.e. survival in the name of god.
• Morality is the individual conscience about what is good. The pressure of inner conscience forces individual for the conformity.
• The religious beliefs and morality are closely connected. Righteous activities are the value of society. Those are defined by religion. The follower of the religion conform these moral doctrine.

Conformity and Deviance

Conformity is defined as social action performed within socially expected norms in order to achieve social harmony/order.

The conformity is achieved in three ways:

• Immediate conformity which is the result of social pressure or control.
• Long-term result of conformity which is the product of socialization or norms.
• By the agencies of social control.

Deviance:

Failure to conform the social expectation is called deviance or non-conformity.

Deviance/crime are taken as non-conformity of the social norms. These are simple acts, which are labeled as such. It depends upon how others interpret, define or label the act; who commits the act, when and where it is committed, who observes it and interaction between different people involved.

Deviance/Non- conformity may be manifested in four ways:

1. Innovation:

Individual accepts the social values but he finds difficulty to achieve this and doesn’t follow socially expected rules. He innovates new idea to achieve the goal.

E.g. To pass exam is value and cheating is non-conformity.

1. ii.            Ritualism:

Individual conforms the social values but pretends to follow the expected social norm but fruitlessly. E.g. some government ministers receive bribe but they pretend they’ve not received.

1. iii.            Retreatism:

The rejection of the both social values and norms is retreatism.

Such people strongly disapprove the values of the society.

E.g. Drunkards and drug addicts

Outcastes

Vagabonds

1. iv.             
2. v.            Rebellion:

Rebels are those who discard both norms and values of the society and they want to establish new that are suitable for them. They want to reorder society.

E.g.

• Nelson Mandela while imprisoned in South Africa.
• Gandhi rebelling quite India movement.
• Pokhara University student rebelling against exam system.

 

Social Change

Social change refers variation in

• Population,
• Patterns of roles and social interactions.
• Functioning of social structures or social institutions.

Nature of social change

1. Social change is continuous process

• Society undergo endless changes
• These changes are autonomous no one can stop it.

1. Social change happens through time but changes are not caused by time.

The change is governed by various other factors.

1. Social change is the result of a number of factors such as change in environment, culture, organizations, population, technology etc
2. Social change creates chain of changes.

The change in technology may bring change in economy, social interactions, beliefs, education system, political system etc.

1. Social change may be planned and unplanned

• Various autonomous factors govern unplanned social change.
• Planned social change is led by planning commission of state or other similar agencies.

 

 

Causes of social change

Population, environment, organization and technology are four interdependent casual factors for social change

 

Physical environment

(Slow geographical changes; occasional disturbances like storm, earthquake and flood, seasonal variation of climate; and physical changes affected by men as adaptational responses like mining, clear forest for agriculture etc.)

These features have strong limitations on society. These limit / pressure on our culture practices. For e.g. we are pressured into using less water, finding new sources of energy, use less space, controlling pollution and change our farm practices.

Technology:

Technology is the most important of all the causes of social change.

Invention of new technology brings the changes in interaction of people in society. We can consider the effects of automobiles, planes and nuclear weapons in international relationship.

For example:

• New agro-techniques facilitated the changed farming economic life of farming household.
• Advances in communication technology has brought emergence of mass communication, new patterns of organizations etc.
• Development of nuclear energy has changed the world peace process etc.

 

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