Culture,

identity &
socialisation
Conformity and non-conformity;
the agencies and processes of
social control.
 Social conformity – acting in accordance
with norms and social expectations.

Conformity
Conformity can only occur when people
agree on norms and values – value
consensus. Value consensus leads to social
order. This is maintained by formal and
informal agencies of social control.
Agencies of social control are also agencies
of socialization. They help inculcate norms
and values into people to ensure
conformity.
 Primary socialization – the first
and most important period of
socialization in which the
individual learns the basic norms
of behavior. This is usually taught
by the family, through imitation,
manipulation and canalization.
Secondary socialization – further
socialization carried out through
different stages of a person’s life.
For example, this is done through
the education system and
workplaces, where peer groups
are predominant.
 Socialization process

Imitation: young children learning by copying the

behavior of others

Manipulation: how parents and others encourage

some behavior and discourage other behavior

Canalization: channeling children towards

activities that are considered appropriate for them
 Sanctions & rewards

Sanctions – ways of punishing or

rewarding acceptable or unacceptable
behavior, usually used in the sense of
punishment. Sanctions enable the Rewards – a positive sanction so that
community to return to its original someone is praised or better off
stability. Collective sanctions are
common in traditional societies, such
as ostracism by the community.
 Formal & informal social control

Informal🡪 Usually done by the family or peer groups (peer pressure).

Expressed through sarcasm, criticism or ostracism. Effective way of
teaching people how to regulate behavior and emotions.

Formal🡪 Carried out by authorities such as school administration,

police, or law courts. These institutions use coercion and threat of force
and arrests to get people to comply to rules. Common forms of formal
sanctions include fines, arrests, community service and prison
sentences.
 Family🡪 Families carry out
primary socialization and teach
impressionable children to
regulate their behavior. This is
done through children imitating
adults, or adults enforcing
Agencies of restrictions on children.

social control Socialization also makes people

aware of the consequences of
going against norms and values,
such as guilt, ridicule and
disapproval. This encourages
social conformity
Educational institutes🡪 Schools enforce rules and
regulations that students must adhere to.

Schools have a hidden curriculum that

involuntarily teaches students the norms and
values accepted in their environment. People
consciously or subconsciously pick up on social
cues.

Schools employ rewards in the form of praise,

merits, certificates, awards and good grades.

Sanctions include detention, negative comments,

imposition, confiscation of items and contacting
parents and complaining.
Religion 🡪 Religions offer
guidelines and rules for people
to follow.

They also lay out rewards and

sanctions for a person’s
behavior. For example, if a
person is very devout and good,
religious beliefs might state that
they will attain enlightenment
and may go to heaven.
• Media 🡪 The media portrays role
models and examples of rewards for
good behavior and sanctions for
deviance.
• This enforces society’s definitions of
what is right and wrong
Workplace🡪 Workplaces enforce rules
and regulations and contain norms
that people need to follow to properly
assimilate into their environment.

Rewards include bonuses, promotions

and vacations.

Sanctions include demotions, extra

work, pay cuts and being fired.
• Peer groups🡪 People are constantly
looking to others for judgment and
approval and due to a person’s need
to belong; many people conform due
to peer pressure. Risk of rejection or
disapproval from their peers can
influence an individual’s decisions
and actions.
 • Functionalists, like Durkheim,
argue that society needs social
control in order to enforce
norms and values. This
establishes value consensus
and a collective conscience of
what is right and wrong, which
Functionalist view of helps keep social order.
Without social control
social control enforcing social order, society
will break down.
 • Marxists, like Althusser, argue
that social institutions like the
media and education are
ideological state apparatuses
that reflect the ideologies of the
ruling class and help keep them
in power. This is a form of
brainwashing, conditioning the
working class to accept their
position in society and conform
to the ruling class’ will.

Marxist view of
social control