-Social control is how we are taught to
stick to the rules that apply in our culture; it
is part of the secularisation process. We
learn to stick to rules by receiving positive
and negative sanctions. Positive
sanctions are rewards for behaving in
socially acceptable ways, and negative
sanctions are punishments for behaving in
socially unacceptable ways.
Informal agencies of social control are
institutions that are not set up specifically
to enforce rules. Informal agencies of
social control include families, peer
groups and the mass media.
Some sociologists have claimed that family structures are
changing; this may have a negative impact on the ability of
families to impose social control on children. Writers such as
CHARLES MURRAY, from a NEW RIGHT perspective, claim
that the number of female-headed single-parent families is
increasing. In these families there is no male authority figure to
impose discipline on children. If there is no male role model to
impose social control on children then this may lead to a lack of
respect for authority later in life and lead to social problems
such as crime.
Feminists are very critical of the
views expressed by the New Right,
they claim that traditional nuclear
families tend to be male dominated
and make women and children
vulnerable to domestic violence and
even child abuse. These experiences
are damaging to individuals and may
lead to a range of social and
emotional problems later in life.
Our peer group becomes more
important to us as we get older,
we look to people of our own age
for guidance about appropriate
ways to behave. In the transition
between childhood and adulthood,
interaction with our peer group
allows us to experiment with the
norms and values of mainstream
culture. In our consumption of
recreational goods the peer group
are a source of positive and
negative informal sanctions. We
learn from them what tastes are
acceptable and what are not.
The mass media are involved in the process of
informal social control as they inform us about what
happens to individuals and groups who break
accepted norms and laws. In media reporting of
crime we are informed about punishments given to
criminals who break the law; this teaches us that if
we break the law we are also likely to be punished.
Religion is also an important informal agency of social
control in many societies, religious beliefs such as the Ten
Commandments in Christianity encourage people to
conform to socially acceptable ways of behaving. Many
religions promise rewards in the afterlife for those who have
lived according to the scriptures of their religion and
punishments such as eternal damnation to hell for those
who have not.