Family and Education as Social Control Mechanisms

Family as a Social Control Mechanism

• Family is the initial regulator of conduct and socializes members
• Inculcates values like fairness, honesty, teamwork, and empathy
• Children learn through consequences like spanking (punishment) or allowances (rewards)
• Families are vehicles for cultural and religious norms
• Example: Pesach Haggadah during Jewish Passover

Educational Institutions as Social Control Mechanisms

• Schools play a significant role in shaping responsible citizens
• Teachers hold authority, making students receptive to indoctrination
• Schools function as mechanisms for propagating civic values
• Emile Durkheim: Schools are essential for imprinting shared social values
• Education system transmits cultural and societal values through curriculum and PSHE lessons
• Schools can be used to uphold ideologies or engineer social change
• Examples: Joseph Stalin's use of Soviet school system to propagate communist ideology, and Mao Zedong's indoctrination program during the Cultural Revolution.

Workplace Deviance as a Social Control Mechanism

• Rise of industrial organizations has shifted social controls towards organizational communication
• Workplace deviance has increased (cyberloafing, backstabbing, stealing, poor performance)
• Solutions: Self-assessment by management, rewards for compliant employees, and limited employee input into decision-making
• Example: Inviting employees to contribute to organizational mission statements discourages deviance
• Listening and responding to employee concerns can improve employer credibility and shape behavior

Community as a Social Control Mechanism

• Communities deter deviance using formal (police) and informal (norms) methods
• Social recognition for pursuing respectable careers can discourage delinquency
• Fear of ridicule and ostracization can dissuade individuals from crime
• Examples: Midtown Educational Foundation and Metro Achievement Center in Chicago support low-income youth.

Religion as a Social Control Mechanism

• Influences vary based on tradition's metaphysical claims and moral code
• Eastern religions (reincarnation): Good deeds lead to a better afterlife, while bad deeds lead to suffering.
• This belief system encourages individuals to abide by moral standards even without formal social control.
• Karl Marx: Religion is a tool of the ruling class to maintain power and inequality, justifying capitalism and preventing revolution.

Mass Media as a Social Control Mechanism

• Shapes societal behavior both directly and indirectly
• Visual media is powerful in conveying agendas and influencing viewers
• Repeated exposure to certain ideas can shape belief and behavior
• Hypodermic Syringe Model: Media audiences are passive recipients of messages, acting upon them mindlessly
• Examples: News coverage of crime discourages crime, diet programs influence eating habits, movies challenge traditional beliefs.

Surveillance and Social Control

• Modern society is more transparent, with constant monitoring
• Self-surveillance: Monitoring oneself due to fear of judgment from others
• Liquid surveillance: Constant monitoring through number plate recognition, store cards, CCTV, and digital footprints.
• Michel Foucault: Distinguishes between external (panopticon) and internalized (panopticism) surveillance
• Panopticism: The belief of constant visibility, leading to self-regulation and automated domination.
• Example: Individuals using recycling bins, avoiding jaywalking, and following parking regulations due to perceived surveillance.