Social Control

 All societies have ways to promote order,

stability and predictability in social life.
Without social control, social life would be
unpredictable, even chaotic (disorder).
 There are two broad types of social control:
 Internal

 External
 Internal
Social Control

 Internal social control lies within the individual,

and is developed during socialization. You are
practicing internal social control when you act
according to your conscience (WIJDAN:dari:) (ie. you do
something because it is the right thing to do).

 Most people act according to this internal social

control (ie. they do the right thing) – most of the
time.
 External
Social Control
 The process of socialization does not ensure that all
people will conform (agree) all of the time. For this
reason, external social control must also be present.
 External social control is based on social sanctions –
rewards and punishments designed to encourage
desired behavior.
 Positive sanctions (eg. smile of approval, awards,

raises) are used to encourage conformity.

 Negative sanctions (eg. criticism, fines,

imprisonment) are intended to stop socially

unacceptable behavior.
 Control Theory
 Sociologist Walter Reckless (1973), who developed control
theory, stressed that two-control systems work against our
motivations to deviate (change).
 Our inner controls include our internalized morality—
conscience, religious principles, ideas of right and wrong.
Inner controls also include fears of punishment, feelings of
integrity, and the desire to be a "good" person.
 Our outer controls consist of people—such as family, friends,
and the police—who influence us not to deviate. The stronger
our bonds are with society, the more effective our inner
controls are. Bonds are based on, commitments, involvements
and beliefs.
 Control Theory
 Introduction:
 Control theory explains that societal institutions without
strong control of society can result in deviant behavior.
 Control theory advances the proposition that weak
bonds between the individual and society allow people
to deviate. Establishing strong social bonds, such as
family ties or close community groups, will prevent
crime.
 Control Theory
 According to Travis Hirschi, people will conform to a group
when they believe they have more to gain from conformity
than by deviance.
 Decentralized control or market control is typically
maintained through factors such as price, competition, or
market share.
 Centralized control such as bureaucratic control is typically
maintained through administrative or hierarchical techniques
such as creating standards or policies.
 Mixed control is typically maintained by keeping a set of
values and beliefs or norms and traditions.
 Reckless – Containment (control, prevention)
Theory
 Reckless realized that urban life contained many temptations
(desire) to commit crime.

 He suggested that to commit crime the individual must break

through a combination of outer and inner containment. We could
probably accept that inner containment is in reference to self-
control and outer containment is social control(s).
 His main focus of concern, however, was on inner containment.
Our inner containment, it was suggested, could control our
behavior even when our external environment was changing.
 Yet again, it was the parents who were seen as the most
influential source on control and behavior. Reckless considered
the four key factors to be:
Four Key Factors
 Four Key Factors
 Self-Concept - where the individual has an image of himself as
either the type of person to adhere (attached) to the law or to
break it.
 Goal Orientation - in reference to a person having a sense of
direction in life, a purpose, an aspiration towards a 'goal' which
is realistic and achievable in a legitimate way.
 Frustration (irritation) Tolerance - considers that there must be
biophysical desire(s) that urge us towards deviant behavior that
are compounded by society frustrating/thwarting our success
due to the different opportunities available to us.
 Norm Retention (control) - this is the adherence and acceptance
of laws, codes, norms, customs and so on.
 Social Bond Theory
 Social bonding theory is a control theory built upon the
assumption that people are inherently self-interested;
therefore, it seeks to explain why some people refrain
(stop) from crime rather than engage in crime. The theory

posits (put into) that offending behavior is caused by

weakened or broken social bonds with law-abiding
people and institutions. Social bonds consist of four
elements (attachment, commitment, involvement, and
belief) and the presence of each element facilitates law-
abiding behavior.
 Social Bond Theory

There are 4 elements to Hirschi’s theory:

1) Attachment
 Attachment refers to sensitivity to and interest in
others; it is how strongly we are tied to others. This
requires sensitivity to the needs of others and an
interest in their welfare.
 There are 3 prime locations for attachment:
 parents
 school
 peers
 Social Bond Theory

2) Commitment
 This refers to the extent to which we are

committed to conventional (normal, regular) forms of

action (school, work, etc).
 Commitment requires time, energy and

effort. The more we develop this

commitment, the more we have to lose if we
commit deviant acts and are caught.
 Social Bond Theory

3) Involvement
 This refers to the amount of time that
we are involved in conventional
activities (primarily through school,
recreation (fun) and family).
 Involvement in conventional activities
leaves little time for deviant behavior.
 Social Bond Theory

4) Beliefs
 This refers to an acceptance of conventional
morality and a respect for authority.

Beliefs refers to / implies adhering to such

values as:
 Sharing
 Sensitivity to others
 Respect for society’s legal code
 Social Bond Theory

In a nutshell:

 Basically, Hirschi is arguing that if a person is

bonded to society, they are not as likely to break
the law.
 they have too much to lose
 they have little time to break the law
 they are too sensitive to the feelings of others to
victimize them