2.1 Explain forms of social control Flashcards
What is social control?
Persuasion and methods to compel people to conform to societal norms, laws and expectations, for society to run fluently
Explain the Moral conscience/Superego regarding internal social control
According to Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory, we conform to societal rules as our superego tells us to, the superego forms a part of our personality and tells us what is right and wrong, and inflicts guilt when we fail to resist urges that break these rules
It develops through early socialisation with our families
Explain Tradition and culture regarding internal social control
Culture becomes part of us through socialisation, the norms and traditions part of our identity, e.g. Muslims fasting in Ramadan - important in being accepted in certain communities
How are societal norms and rules internalised?
Through socialisation involving rules from parents, school, culture and peer groups society’s moral code become our own personal rules so we willingly conform to it
Explain how agencies of social control work
- Organisations or institutions that impose rules on us so we behave in certain ways, e.g. Parents sending naughty children to bed or friends shunning a liar, or a teacher giving a disruptive student detention
- However, positive sanctions reward those who conform, e.g. teachers giving gold stars to hard working students, positive reinforcement mirroring Skinner’s operant learning theory
List 4 agencies of the criminal justice system who enforce social control
1 Police, by stop search and arrest
2 The CPS can charge a suspect and prosecute them in court
3 Judges and magistrates can bail or remand the accused in custody, and sentence the guilty
4 The Prison service detains prisoners against their will during their sentence and solitary confinement can be used to punish in prison bad behaviour
Explain fear of punishment as a form of external social control
People conform as they do not want to be punished against their will
What does control theorist Hirschi argue and what are his 4 4 elements of society
*Delinquent acts occur when an individual’s bond to society is weak or broken’
1 Attachment - The more we are attached to others the more we care about their opinion and respect their norms, e.g. parents and teachers
2 Commitment - The more we are committed to a conventional lifestyle e.g. pursuing academic careers, the less likely we get involved with crime
3 Involvement - The more we are involved in lawful activity e.g. youth clubs or sport, the less likely we are to get involved in crime
4 Beliefs - It has been socialised to believe it is right to obey law
Control theorists have said the lack of parental supervision can lead to what?
Delinquency
Walter Reckless points out what?
The importance of parenting and socialisation - we have psychological tendencies that can lead to criminality but effective socialisation can lead to ‘internal containment’
Feminists have used the control theory to argue what?
The patriarchy controls females more closely making it harder for them to offend, e.g. Women spend more time on domestic duties
