Podcast
Questions and Answers
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates formal social control?
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates formal social control?
- A community organizing a fundraising event for a local charity.
- A workplace terminating an employee for violating company policy. (correct)
- A family grounding their child for misbehaving.
- A group of friends teasing a member for wearing unfashionable clothes.
Socialization primarily ensures complete uniformity in behaviors and beliefs across a community.
Socialization primarily ensures complete uniformity in behaviors and beliefs across a community.
False (B)
Briefly explain how the media can act as an agent of informal social control.
Briefly explain how the media can act as an agent of informal social control.
The media reinforces societal norms and expectations by showcasing acceptable and deviant behaviors, influencing public perception and behavior.
________ social control is maintained through customs, traditions, and peer influence, rather than legal enforcement.
________ social control is maintained through customs, traditions, and peer influence, rather than legal enforcement.
Match each agent of social control with its method of influencing behavior.
Match each agent of social control with its method of influencing behavior.
According to Marxists, how do social controls primarily function in society?
According to Marxists, how do social controls primarily function in society?
Overuse of coercion in formal social control typically leads to increased social stability and reduced dissent.
Overuse of coercion in formal social control typically leads to increased social stability and reduced dissent.
Describe one way in which peer groups can exert informal social control.
Describe one way in which peer groups can exert informal social control.
________ youth subcultures, such as punks and goths, often challenge mainstream norms through their style and behavior.
________ youth subcultures, such as punks and goths, often challenge mainstream norms through their style and behavior.
Which of the following best describes the primary function of social control?
Which of the following best describes the primary function of social control?
Flashcards
Socialization
Socialization
The process where individuals learn the skills, knowledge, values, and roles of their community, leading to conformity.
Social Control
Social Control
Ensuring individuals conform to societal rules and values through formal and informal methods.
Formal Social Control
Formal Social Control
Control enforced by official institutions using coercion, punishment, and laws.
Informal Social Control
Informal Social Control
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Family as Informal Control
Family as Informal Control
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Peer Groups and Subcultures
Peer Groups and Subcultures
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Media as Social Control
Media as Social Control
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Religion as Social Control
Religion as Social Control
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Social Control - Key Takeaway
Social Control - Key Takeaway
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Study Notes
- Socialisation involves individuals acquiring the skills, knowledge, values, and roles essential for community participation.
- While generally effective, socialization doesn't always prevent deviation from norms, which necessitates social control.
Social Control
- Social control ensures adherence to societal rules and values.
- Individuals accept social controls because they acknowledge their long-term benefits.
Types of Social Control
- Social control can be categorized into formal and informal types.
Formal Social Control
- Formal social control is enforced by official institutions.
- It employs coercion, punishment, and laws to ensure conformity.
- Negative sanctions in formal control include imprisonment, corporal punishment, and capital punishment.
- The overuse of coercion can cause protests, riots, and overall social instability.
- Examples of formal agencies of control are the military, police, judiciary, educational institutions, and workplaces.
- Governments often try to persuade people that laws protect everyone equally, fostering control by consent.
- Marxists criticize this idea, suggesting social controls mainly serve the interests of the wealthy by keeping the poor subservient.
Informal Social Control
- Informal social control is maintained through daily interactions and cultural elements.
- It is upheld by families, peer groups, schools, media, religious institutions, and communities.
- Informal control relies more on traditions, customs, and social pressure rather than legal enforcement.
- Families use praise (positive sanctions) and punishment (negative sanctions) to shape behavior.
- Parents may use rewards like praise or gifts, and punishments like time-outs or taking away privileges, to instill discipline.
- Physical punishment remains legal in some countries, such as China, while others have banned it.
- Peer pressure from friends and youth subcultures can sometimes lead to deviant behavior.
- Youth subcultures, like punks and goths, challenge mainstream norms.
- Peer groups utilize respect and ridicule as methods to enforce social norms.
- Media reinforces norms by depicting certain behaviors as either acceptable or deviant.
- The media can stereotype social groups, such as portraying women as caregivers, thereby reinforcing gender roles.
- Filipinos in Europe maintained their cultural values through social media.
- Religion uses spiritual rewards, such as heaven, and punishments, such as hell, to guide behavior.
- Religious law influences government policies and punishes non-believers in some societies.
Key Takeaways
- Social control maintains order using both formal institutions and informal mechanisms.
- Formal control involves coercion and legal measures, while informal control involves social pressure and cultural expectations.
- Excessive formal control can lead to resistance and social unrest.
- Media and religion shape behavior, sometimes reinforcing inequality or cultural norms.
- Social control is dynamic, with societies adapting and changing their control mechanisms over time.
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