Explain the means of social control in a society.

Explain the means of social control in a society.

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Answer:

Generally speaking, social control is nothing but control of the society over individuals. In order to maintain the organisation and the order of the society, man has to be kept under some sort of control. This control is necessary in order to have desired behaviour from the individual and enable him to develop social qualities. Society in order to exist and progress has to exercise a certain control over its members since any marked deviation from the established ways is considered a threat to its welfare. Such control has been termed by sociologists as social control.

Social control is the term sociologists apply to those mechanisms by which any society maintains a normative social system. It refers to all the ways and means by which society enforces conformity to its norms. The individual internalises social norms and these become part of his personality. In the process of socialisation the growing child learns the values of his own groups as well as of the larger society and the ways of doing and thinking that are deemed to be right and proper. But every social group makes errors, great or small, in the socialising the young, says Lapiere. Even at best, the internalisation be so the social norms can scarcely of complete that a person’s own desires exactly coincide with the social expectations of his group.

Means of Social Control: Informal and Formal Means of Social Control!

The means by which individuals are induced or compelled to on form to the usages and life values of the group are so numerous and varied that a classification is not possible, E.A. toss has described a number of means that have been employed by social groups throughout the human history to keep individuals under control.

The important among them are public opinion, law, custom, religion, morality, social suggestion, personality, folkways and mores. E. C. Hayes, another American sociologist, distinguished between control by sanctions and control by suggestion and imitation. By control by sanctions he meant a system of rewards and punishments.

According to him, education s the most effective means of control and the family is the most significant agency. Karl Mannheim distinguished between direct means of social control and indirect means of social control. Kimball Young classified the means of social control into positive and negative means. Reward is a positive means while punishment is a negative means.

F.E. Lumley classified the means of social control into two major categories: those based upon force and those founded on symbols. According to him, though physical force is indispensable in social control, yet it is not merely the force that can manage the individuals. Human societies have to rely upon symbolic devices which are more effective than force.

Lumley put symbolic methods Into two classes. In the first he included means like rewards, praise, flattery, education and persuasion which are designed to direct the individual’s behaviour along certain desirable ends. In the second category he put means such as gossip, satire, criticism, ridicule, threats, name calling, propaganda, commands and punishments which aim at restraint and repression.

Luther L. Bernard distinguished between unconscious and conscious means of control. The most important among the unconscious means of control are custom, tradition and convention. The conscious means of control are those which have been consciously developed and employed by leaders of all types.

According to him conscious means of control are more effective than unconscious ones though the influence of the latter also is quite marked. Bernard also distinguished between exploitative and constructive methods of social control. Exploitative means are such as punishment, reprisals, intimidation, censorship and repression.

Among the constructive methods are included revolution, custom, law, education, social reform, non-violent coercion and belief in supernatural forces. He also divided the means of social control into negative and positive classes.

In the former class fall those means which aim at restraining the individuals: while in the latter category devices utilizing promises and rewards are included. The positive type of control is said to be more effective as well as more desirable because human nature responds more easily to promises than to threats, to peaceful means than to physical coercion.

Some sociologists have classified the social control into informal means or formal means.

Sympathy, sociability, resentment, the sense of justice, public opinion, folkways and mores are some of the informal means of social control. They are very powerful in primary social groups where interaction is on a personal basis. The effectiveness of the informal devices of control, though somewhat lessened in modern large communities wherein contacts tend to be impersonal, may still be observed in small villages. Ross cites instances of such informal social control in “frontier” societies, where order is effectively preserved without the help of constituted authority. In modern times the informal methods have given place to formal ones such as laws, education, coercion and codes.

Informal Means:

The informal means of social control grow themselves in society. No special agency is required to create them. The Brahmins do not lake meat. They lake meals only after bath. The Jains do not take curd. They take their dinner before sunset. The Hindu women do not smoke. One can marry only in one’s caste. The children should respect their parents. All this is due to informal social control.

It is exercised through customs, traditions, folkways, mores, religion, ridicule etc. Informal control prevails over all the aspects of man’s life. Though it is said that people are not afraid of informal social control, yet informal means of social control are very powerful particularly in primary groups.

No man wants to suffer loss of prestige. He does not want to become the target of ridicule. He does not want to be laughed at by the people. He does not want to be socially boycotted. On the other hand, he wants praise, appreciation, honour and recognition by the society.

Thus informal means like praise, ridicule, boycott etc. effectively control his behaviour. Moreover, the child through the process of socialization learns to conform to the norms of the group. A person with socialised attitudes would not do any work which is socially harmful. Thus socialisation also exercises an influence over him.

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