Name: Ahsan Sohail

Roll No: ADBA-S22-002

Subject: Sociology

*Topic*

Formal and
Informal Social
Control
Social control is the various means by which society regulates
human behavior. Formal and Informal social control are the two
main types, and the most common classifications of the many
forms of social control

Definition:
Formal social controls are actions that regulate human behavior
that are based on law. Informal social controls are those that
serve the same purpose of regulating human behavior but are not
based on laws.
What is Formal Social Control?

Formal social control is often defined as any social control that is

based upon the law. Some authors classify an action as a formal
control as long as it is set by a written and official document, for
example in the rules and regulations of a particular organization.
Any form of control enforced or enacted by the government are
formal social controls. Examples of these are monitoring,
investigations or arrests done by the police, punishments meted
out by judicial courts and policies of regulatory bodies such as the
Food and Drug Administration. A person or group under formal
social control has no choice but to comply. In the past, formal
controls have often focused on crime and punishment, whether
the sanction is for future deterrence or reintegration. Formal
social controls tend to be the favored type in large, urbanized
societies. People in these societies continuously call to their
respective governments to interfere in all sorts of social
interactions and make more and more laws. Members of these
societies also do not know each other very well and so often
resort to formal social controls to resolve their conflicts.
What is Informal Social Control?
Informal social controls are any of those activities that regulate
human behavior and interaction that are not based on laws.
Society most often and most effectively controls the behavior of
its
members through socialization. Informal controls can take the
form of rewards such as praise or compliments, making members
feel socially desirable and therefore reinforce desired behavior.
On the other hand, informal controls can also be in the form of
sanctions such as ridicule or gossip to cull away unwanted
behavior. These informal social controls are enforced primarily
within families, schools or workplaces. People in smaller
communities, where members tend to know each other very well,
often use informal means to control their society even with access
to formal means. When people know each other very well, they
tend to negotiate and resolve a conflict among themselves rather
than resort to a legal intervention. In terms of crime prevention,
members are also more likely to organize and form a citizen
patrol rather than call on police for surveillance.