🏛️ social control refers to any strategy that prevents humans from carrying out deviant behaviour and
breaking the law. it persuades or compels people to conform to the rule
Internal Forms of Social Control
Moral Conscience - your conscience tells you not to do things because you have been brought up to know right
from wrong. we suffer from guilt, anxiety and worry when we break the rules or contemplate breaking the rules
Tradition and Culture - our cultural background and upbringing provide us with traditions, customs or norms that
we do not want to breaks
Socialisation - the process through which people learn social norms, values, behaviour, and skills through their
interaction with significant others such as teachers, family, and friends.
Rational Ideology - the idea that people are rational thinkers who weigh the costs and benefits of a potential crime
against the costs and benefits of following the law before deciding to engage in criminal activity.
internalisation of social rules and morality
our conscience and traditions becomes part of our personality
we internalise rules through socialisation.
agents of socialisation include family, education, media, religion
“rational ideology” explains how we internalise social rules and use them to tell us what is right and wrong
internalisation of rules and morality stops us from breaking the law. we have learned the rules so we regulate
our own behaviour
External Forms of Social Control
🏛️ external pressures persuade or compel members of society to conform to the rules
sanctions -
negative sanctions are punishments for breaking the law, positive sanctions are rewards for those who conform.
sanctions are used to either deter people from undesired behaviour or encourage acceptable behaviours
fear of punishment
Individual Deterrence - punishment imposed on offenders to deter them from committing further crimes
General Deterrence - fear of punishment that prevents others from committing similar crimes
Penal Populism - politicians enforce tough on crime approaches to influence voters into thinking they are tackling
the issues
Control Theories
🏛️ Control theories try to explain why people do not commit crimes, Karl Mannheim created a distinction
between direct and formal means of social control and indirect information means of social control
Karl Mannheim
AC 2.1 - Explain Forms of Social Control 1
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