Forms of social control

Forms of social control

1. Internal social control

   • Internal social control
   • Tradition
   • Internalization of social rules

2. External social control

   • Coercion
     • Coercion is the use of for a desired end. This can be physical or non-violent
       • Non-violent coercion example scan include strikes/boycotts, or non-co-operation
       • Physical examples include bodily injury, imprisonment, or in some countries the death penalty
   • Fear of punishment
     • This is the use of punishment as a threat to stop offending is called deterrence, there are two assumptions
       • Individual deterrence: This is punishment imposed on offenders to deter them from committing crimes
       • General deterrence: This prevents others from commiting similar crimes, for example, when we see somebody get a prison sentence or a fine, it shows us the consequences of the actions and we are therefore less likely to commit similar crimes.

3. Control Theory

   • These try to explain why people do not commit crimes by supporting the view that people require nurturing in order to develop attachments or bonds why are key to producing internal controls such as a conscience.
     • This view sees crime as the result of insufficient attatchment and commitment of others.
       • This links in with Walter Reckless' theory and Hirschi's theory
         • Reckless
           • Walter Reckless combines the internal and external forms of social control and refers to these as inner and outer containment:
             • Inner containment refers to our upbringing and inflluene from our family, whereas outer containment refers to our influenc of social groups and laws in society
               • A combinatination of inner and outer containment prevents people from deviating from social norms and values and committing crimes
           • He considers the four key factors which prevents someone from committing a crime, these are self-concept, Goal orientation, Frustration tolerance, and Norm retention
             • Self-concept: An image of someone's place in society or of one's value o others
             • Frustration tolerance: The ability a person had to endure the tension and preserve equanimity when met with obstacle's. It is a feature of normal cognitive and effective development
             • Goal Orientation: This describes the actions of people + Organizations regarding their primary aims
             • The adhearence andacceptence of laws, codes, norms, customs and so on
         • Hirschi
           • Hirschi believed that people must form social bonds to prevent criminal behaviors. These are Attachment, commitment, Involvement, and belief.
             • Attachment: The emotional ties we feel to others. If we do not feel such attachment, then we may not care what they think if we behave in a deviant way e.g. a teacher, a friend, a colleague. What they think about our behavior acts as a control on our actions
             • Commitment: Our investment in our relationships with others. We do not want our reputation to detiorate. This acts to inhibit any action which might destroy that reputation. The more committed we are to our social relationships, the less likely we will be to jeopardize them.
             • Belief:
             • Involvement: