10 So ci al Control

/ 4ontr ol of soci ety ove r the indi vidu al, whe re the und esir abl~
or har mfu l tend enc ies of the man will be red uce d by
emp hasi sing self control. It keeps on changing, in accordance
with changes in the society.

Definition
'It is the way in whi ch enti re social orde r coheres and mai ntai ns
itse lf, how it ope rate s, as a who le or as a cha ngi ng
equ ilib rium '-M aciv er and Page
'It is a soci al proc ess by whi ch the indi vidu al mak es gro up
resp ons ive and by whi ch soci al org anis atio n is bui lt and
mai ntai ns'-La ne

Meaning
It is a system of measures, suggestions, persuasions, restraints,
cohesion and physical codes by whi ch a society brin gs into
conformity to the app rov ed beh avio ur and influence may be
_/

exerted thro ugh various agencies or by society or the gro up.

The effe ctiv ene ss of eac h age ncy dep end s upo n the
-circumstanc~\It is exercised for pro mot ing the wel fare of the
gro up as a whole. The pers on is influenced thro ugh out in the
inte rest of others rath er than in accordance wit h his indi vidu al
inte rest . Social con trol is exercised for som e specific aitn or
goal. The indi vidu al is mad e conscious of othe rs existence and
thei r inte rest and adh eres to the app rop riat e social way s. To
 ·Social Control 263

make the individual as a social being, whereby he found to

conformity with the typical pressure of social control.

Need of Social Control

1. To maintain·the old social order: Members in the society
behave in accord ance with social order. Althou gh
enforcement of the old order in a changing society may
hinder social progress, yet it is necessary to maintain
continuity and uniformity in the society. Eg: The old age
people in the family enforce their ideas over the children.-
2. To establish social unity/ social cohesion/ social solidarity:
To regulat e behavi our in accordance with established
norms which brings uniform ity of behavi our and
promot es the unity among the individuals.
3. To regulate or to control individual behavioll!: No two
individ uals are alike in his or her attitude s, interes t,
habits, ideas. Every movement of them is a possibility of
clashes, conflicts between them. As man become too self-
centere d social control is necessary to preserve the social
interes t and satisfy commands.
4. To provid e social sanction: If the individual violates the
social norms, he is compelled to follow certain measures
to control his behaviour.
5. To check cultural maladjustments: ·,society is subjected to
change for every movem ent.' New invent ions, new
discoveries, new philosophies continue to take origin in
the society.
The individ ual has to adjust himself for meeting the
changi ng needs of society. But all the individuals cannot
adjust themse lves to the change s, which may lead to
cultura l maladj ustmen ts and the people may violate the
social norms. It has to be justified in the name of progress
called 'social reform'. Effective social control is nec~ssary,
as India is passing throug h the transitional period. \
 py Students
26 4 Textbook of So cio log y for Physiothera

..,, lYpes of Social Control

I. Karl Mannheim classified social contr
ol into two types:
ercises upon the
·a. Direct social control: It is the control ex
who are living
individual by the reactions of the people
bourhood, and
within the proximity. Eg: Family, neigh
by the opinion
playgroup. Individual is deeply influenced
ighbours, and
and views of their parents, colleagues, ne
' behaviour is
those who work with them. Individuals
, degradation,
controlled or determined by the criticism
agues, parents,
praise, suggestion or persuasion of colle
etc.,
exercised up on the
b. Indirect social control: The control is
ivi du al by the fac tor s lik e cu sto ms , laws, opinions,
ind
Eg: Secondary
wh ich affects the entire social system.
, rat ion ali se d
gr ou p. Traditions, institutions, customs
behaviour.
into:
II. Kimbell Young classified social control
incentives ha ve an
a. Positive social control: Rewards an d
the ind ivi du al.
im me ns e va lue up on the activities of
·by th e so cie ty ,
Ev er yo ne de sir es to be re wa rd ed
the tra dit ion s,
co ns eq ue ntl y the y ha ve to co nf irm to
th e so cie ty. Eg:
mo res , va lu es , ide als , ac ce pt ed by
wa rd s, fam e, re sp ec t, r(; ?c og nit ion, po sit iv e or
Re
constructive criticism.
Ne ga tive soc ial con trol: A pe rso n is pr ev en ted from do ing
b.
en t. Th e society
so me thi ng wr on g by thr ea t of pu nis hm
es th e pe op le to in du lg e in ce rta in ty pe s of
en.
co ur ag .

tiv ity of pr om isi ng re wa rd s, als o di sc ou ra ge s an d

ac
en ts pe op le fro m m an y ac tiv iti es by fe ar of
pr ev
hm en t. Fe ar of the se pu nis hm en ts he lps th e pe op le
pu nis
en t fro m vio lat ing the so cia lly ac ce pte d cu sto ms ,
to pr ev
rb al pu ni sh me nt ,
tra dit ion s, va lue s an d ide als . Eg: Ve
de fam ati on , ne ga tiv e criticism.
 Social Control 265

III. Informal social control.

Formal social control.
a. Informal social control: Socially desirable behaviour will
be performed, where the individual will follow the
norms, standards formed by the society. The primary
group will formulate the controlling measures. Eg: mores,
traditions, customs, etc.
b • Formal social control:- They are specifically designed for
control. Secondary groups like social institution
formulates the norms, rules and regulations to control
the people's behaviour within the society. Eg: Law, police,
army, code, custody.
IV• According to Hayes: .
a. Control by sanctJ~n. Eg: Awarding the obedient and
punishing the miscreant.
b • Control py socialisation and education.

Formal Agencies of Social Control

Law
The society [Link] size and complexity, consistihg of riumber
of organisations, institutions and structures. Informal means
of social control are no longer sufficient to maintain social
order and harmony. Therefore, the law provides uniform
norms, rights, responsibilities and penalties throughout a social
system. Laws are prominent means of social control, laws are
formulated by legally authorised bodies or agencies to control
the deviated b'e haviour and to develop desired social
behaviours.
Functions of law are
• To follow the rights and to act cooperatively. Laws will
protect the society and contributes for its welfare. Thus
law controls the conduct of the people of the state, grants
everyone the opportunity to progress.
 Education
a pr oc es s of so cia lis ati on , it pr ep ar es th e ch ild
Education is
in g an d re fo rm s th e att itu de s wr on gl y formed by
for social liv
ad y. It co rre ct s th e be lie f an d re m ov es th e
ch ild re n al re line, cooperation,
ch es th em th e va lu e of di sc ip
prejudice. It tea du al the qualities
sa cri fic e. It in sti lls in th e in di vi
tolerance an d
irn es s, se ns e of rig ht an d wr on g. Thus ed uc at io n
of honesty, fa
op le po lit e an d w ha t th ey ou gh t to be. Education
makes the pe
e us e of va rio us ca pa cit ies , ab ilities, intelligence,
teaches m an th
m th e ab ili ty to su cc ee d in hi s st ru gg le fo r
etc. it gi ve s hi le ar ns to re sp ec t
ar t of ad ap ta tio n. Th e ch ild
existence. It is an
in io n an d ad vi ce of ot he rs, he nc e ed uc at io n is a ne ce ss ar y
the op
e of social control.
condition for th e pr op er exercis

Coercion
fo rc e to ac hi ev e a de sir ed en d. It m ay be ph ys ic al
It is the us e of
It is th e ul tim at e m ea ns of so cial co nt ro l, w he n
or non-violent.
he r m ea ns fai l. In th e co er ci on ph ys ic al w ay of do in g
all ot
as bo di ly in ju rie s, im pr iso nm en t an d pe na lty sh ou ld
things su ch
ef fe ct up on th e of fe nd er bu t it do es no t ha ve
ha ve im m ed ia te
rin g ef fe cts . So ci et y ha s to pr ot ec t its ow n ci tiz en .
en du

Control
Informal Agencies of Social
w ith in th e so cie ty , an d no sp ec ia l ag en cy is re qu ire d
Gr ow th
. It is ex er ci se d th ro ug h cu st om s, re lig io n,
to cr ea te th em
, fo lk wa ys , m or es . It pr ev ai ls in al l aspec~s of m an 's
tra di tio ns
w an ts pr ai se , ap pr ec ia tio n, ho no ur an d
life. Th e in di vi du al
th e so cie ty . Th e ch ild th ro ug h th e so ci al isa tio n
re co gn iti on by
nf irm s to th e no rm s of th e gr ou p. A pe rs on w ith
pr oc es s co
ed at tit ud es wi ll no t co m m it so ci al ly ha rm fu l ac tiv iti es .
socialis

Beliefs
ic tio n, th at a pa rti cu la r th in g is tru e. Be lie fs in flu en ce
It is a co nv
tio n an d th ey ar e vi ta l fo r hu m an re la tio ns . Th ey
hu m an ac
 Social Control 267

d~fine ~e purpose, interests for the individu 1 d

his choice of means. a an control
a. The belief
t in. the existence of unseen power: It leads man
to per orm right actions because he believ h . .
are being watched b est at his actions
. . Yan unseen power.
b. The belief
£ m the theory of reincarnati on.. It keeps the man
away rom the wrongful acts because he believes that t 0
~ave a good birth in the next life, he must do good deed
m the present life. s
c. Th~ belief i_n the nemesis (The Goddess of Vengeance):
Th1s re?ulates mans' behaviour as he believes that he will
be punished whenever wrong act is done.
d. Belief in the existence of hell and heaven: Individual believes
that heaven is full of luxuries, fairs and romance and
hell is full of terror, miseries and tortures. If one does good
deeds and actions will attain heaven after death is the
common belief.
,,
·: e. Belief in the immorality of the soul: It leads man to avoid
such actions as it causes pain to the souls of the ancestors.

Social Suggestion
It indirectly communicates the ideas, feelings of others, to
follow influence-upon the individuals to perform good deeds.
a. Following the great individuals life goals. Eg: Celebration
of anniversaries of great leaders.
b. Through literature. Eg: Books, journals and papers.
It may inspire the people heroic deeds and develops
communal conservation.
c. Through education. The curriculum should prescribe the
norms, laws, rules and [Link] to learn the desired
social behaviour and to make the individuals as disciplined
citizens.
d. Through advertisement. It depicts the advantage of visiting
certain places suggesting the prestige attached to t~ese
places. Thus suggestions may be conscious or unconscious
either international or national.
 268 Textbook of Sociolog
:: y -:
.. :. :: _ .. :. :: :~ ~ ~ ~ ~ for Physiotherapy Students
5 ll .. ~ _ _ :_ .: .. .~ -- ~
-- -- --
Ideologies
There are powerful dynamic
forces of contemporary socia
life. They express the vital in l
terest of social group and de
the design for a scheme of so sire
cial betterment. They stimula
action and provide [Link] of te~ .
values, which are meaningfu
Completeness and coherence l,
influences the ideology.
Interprets the social reality to
process the correctness and
correlate to these ideas in thei
r social activities. Eg: Gandhism
it in flu en ce s th e social lif •
e to a de ep ex te nt , Lenini '
influences. the social life of sm• I
Russians, Hitler's life influen
Germans, they began to rega ces
rd themselves as a supremac
the world. y in

Communal Codes J

The laws of [Link] by

means of w hi ch the commun
rcises its control over the in ity

i Customs: These are the long es

the people. They persisted fo
dividual.
tablished habits an d uses of
r long time an d ha ve passed
from one generation to anot
her. There is no constitut~d
authority to declare, to appl
y or to safeguard them. Th
are accepted by the society, ey
followed be ca us e th ey have
been followed in the ·past.
Customs are so po w er fu l th
no one can escape their rang at
e. They regulate social life to
great extent. Binds m en to a
gether, controls pu re ly selfi
im pu ls es an d compel th e sh
in di vi du al to co nf ir m to
accepted st an da rd s. They the
act as st or eh ou se for hu m
experiences determining an an
d controlling hu m an behavi
acts as guardian of social so our,
lidarity, st im ul at in g the so
change an d violation of cu cial
st om s is re ga rd ed no t ·only
crime bu t also a sacrilege. a
In H in du societies customs
powerful means of social co are
ntrol bu t in m od er n times th
fo rc es ha s lo os en . It is eir
a ki nd of so ci al ne ce ss
Disobedience of custom br ity .
ings social disgrace. ·
·
 Social Control 269
'
b/folk ways: They are recognised modes of behaviour, which
arise automatically, spontaneously and unconsciously
within the group. These are socially approved and have
some degree of traditional sanction. They are foundation
of group culture and are developed in the society unaided ·
by the law of trial and error. If -an individual does not
follow them he may be socially boycotted by his group or
the society look upon such behaviour as degenerate and
ridicule it. The fear of social ridicule acts as a large measure
of control on the conduct of the individual. Eg: Greeting
each other.
c. Mores: The standardised means and related to the
fundamental needs of the society directly. They express a
sense of light and conducive, which is essential for the
welfare of the group. Eg: Marriage pattern. They incline a
value judgement and mould the behaviour and restrain
the individual from doing antisocial acts. Conformity to
mores is regarded as necessary behaviour, contrary to it is
. ~permitted by the society.
yrvio~als: These are the laws concerning concepts of goodness
and badness. It is a force of the conscience. They change
according ~o their·context, current ethical concepts govern
the social ~ehaviour of the individuals. Eg: Non-violence,
truth, justi~e and equality.
e. Rituals: The~ are the forms of socially accepted behaviour,
which are iinportant in times of festivals anci religious
celebrations. These rituals are to be followed •as a matter
of duty. ··.
/ . Religion: It is an attitude towards super-human power. It is
having several forms like superstitions, animism, totamism,
magic, ritualism. It pervades protectively all the societies.
It influences man's behaviour. It explains certain laws and
makes the people more benevolent, charitable pervading
of all the religions. It emphasises truthfulness and more