2.1 Flashcards
(18 cards)
what is social control?
involves persuading or compelling people to conform to society’s norms, laws and expectations
- internal forms
- external forms
what are internal forms of social control?
controls over our behaviour that come within ourselves - from our personalities or our values (self control)
how does Freud’s psychoanalytic theory relate to internal forms of social control?
- we conform to society as our super ego tells us to.
- it develops through early socialisation within the family.
- its function is to restrain the selfish, ‘animal’ urges of the id which would lead us into antisocial and criminal behaviour
how does tradition and culture relate to internal forms of social control?
- we come to accept its values, norms and traditions as part of our identity e.g. believers follow the religious traditions that they have been raised in
how does the internalisation of social rules relate to the internal forms of social control?
- we internalise these rules through socialisation, form our parents or from wider social groups and institution such as religion, school and peer groups.
- Rational ideology - we internalise social rules and use them to tell us what is right and wrong, which enables us to keep within the law.
what are external forms of social control?
aim to ensure we conform to its expectations and keep to its rules through agencies
what are agencies of social control?
organisations or institutions that impose rules on us in an effort to make us behave in certain ways
- there are negative sanctions but agencies of social control can give positive sanctions to those who conform
how does the criminal justice system relate to external forms of social control?
- the police - have powers to stop and search, arrest, detain and question suspects
- the cps - can charge a suspect and prosecute them in court
- judges and magistrates - have powers to bail the accused or remand them in custody and to sentence the guilty
- the prison service - can detain prisoners against their will for the duration of their sentence and punish prisoners misbehaviour
how is coercion related to external forms of social control?
- involves the use of force in order to make someone do something (physical or psychological violence)
- e.g. sending someone to prison for stealing
how does fear of punishment relate to external forms of social control?
- its a form of coercion as it involves the threat that force will be used against you if you don’t obey the law
- deterrence, right realists argue that fear of being caught and punished is what ensures that many would-be criminals continue to obey the law
what is control theory relative to external forms of social control?
- why people obey the law
- they are controlled by their bonds to society which keep them from deviating
according to Hirschi, what are the four elements of the individual’s bonds relevant to external forms of social control?
- Attachment
- Commitment
- Involvement
- Beliefs
what does attachments mean in Hirschi individuals bonds?
the more attached we are to others the more we care about their opinion. the more we will respect their norms the less likely we will be to break them.
what does commitment mean in Hirschi individual bonds?
how committed we are to conventional goals such as succeeding in education. the more we are committed yo a conventional lifestyle, the more we risk losing by getting involved in crime, so the more likely we are to conform
what does involvement mean in Hirschi individual bonds?
the more involved we are in conventional, law-abiding activities the less time and energy we will have for getting involved in criminal ones
what does beliefs mean in Hirschi’s individuals bonds?
if we have been socialised to believe it is right to obey the law, we are less likely to break it.
what do control theorists advocate for?
- the role of parenting in creating bonds that prevent young people from offending
e.g. argue that low self-control is a major cause of delinquency, and that this results from poor socialisation and inconsistent or absent parental discipline
what does Riley and Shaw say in relation to control theory?
argue that 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 consequeces of offending
