Social Order & Social Control (AQA GCSE Sociology)

What is crime & deviance?

Crime

• A crime is defined as an illegal act punishable by law that, if detected, can result in criminal proceedings

  • Crime involves acts such as robbery, shoplifting, identity theft, terrorism and human trafficking

• Crime is a controversial topic that is covered by the media and politicians

• Sociologists are interested in both the role of deviance in society and criminal behaviour

Deviance

• Deviance refers to behaviour that does not conform to society's rules and norms

• It is disapproved of by most people and, if detected, can result in negative sanctions

• Examples include

  • parking on double yellow lines

  • cycling on the pavement

  • sitting next to a stranger on an empty train or bus

  • drinking or smoking while pregnant

  • extreme body modification, e.g. plastic surgery, face tattoos

  • talking in the cinema

  • wearing the incorrect uniform to school

  • stealing food due to food poverty

• Deviant behaviour includes both legal and illegal activities

  • Legal deviance is behaviour considered 'abnormal' in some way but not punishable by law

The social construction of crime and deviance

• Crime involves legally defined behaviour, whereas deviance involves socially defined behaviour

• Whether an act is defined as criminal and/or deviant changes depends on

  • who performs the act

  • the place and the social context in which it occurs

• Criminal and deviant acts vary between cultures and can change over time

• Therefore, crime and deviance are socially constructed concepts based on the norms and expectations of society

Sociologists' views on crime and deviance

• Sociologists have different views on how crime and deviance are socially constructed

Social order & social control

Social order

• Sociologists are interested in how social order is achieved and maintained over time

  • Two main approaches to explaining social order are the consensus and conflict approaches

Social control

• Sociologists are also interested in understanding why most people conform to the rules of society

  • They are interested in social control - how social groups (such as families and peer groups) control our behaviour and actions

• Methods of social control refer to the processes by which people are encouraged or persuaded to conform to the rules and how society deals with behaviour that breaks these rules

  • Sanctions that aim to limit the frequency of deviant acts, e.g. a prison sentence

  • There are two methods of social control:

    • Formal

    • Informal

Formal methods of social control

• Formal social control is based on written or explicit rules and laws and is linked with how the state controls people's behaviour

• The agencies of formal social control are the bodies that make the laws, enforce them and punish people who break them

Informal methods of social control

• Informal social control is based on unwritten or implicit rules and processes, such as the approval or disapproval of others

• Informal social control is enforced via social pressure by the reactions of agencies of informal control such as family members, teachers, neighbours, friends or colleagues

• They may respond to actions with either positive or negative sanctions:

  • Positive sanctions, e.g. praise, gifts or promotion, which rewards individuals who conform to the group's expectations

  • Negative sanctions, e.g. ridiculing someone, gossiping about them, hitting them or persuading them to change their behaviour because they don't conform to the group's expectations

Effectiveness of social control

• Formal agencies of social control are effective because they have coercive power

  • E.g., removing the criminal from the public

• Formal social control may be ineffective in the following ways:

  • Prisons offer a lack of rehabilitation and a high reoffence rate

  • Some police forces are considered institutionally racist, which leads to mistrust among communities

  • The agencies of social control treat the working class, ethnic minorities and young people more harshly

• Informal social control can be ineffective if family and peers have similar deviant attitudes, such as

  • parents buying their underage children alcohol or vapes

  • parents and their children not valuing qualifications

  • being part of a delinquent subculture as a way of life (Cohen, 1955)

• Informal social control can be effective in the following ways:

  • The hidden curriculum in schools is effective if students attend school and engage with the education system

  • Reward systems in schools prepare students for wider society and future careers

  • Peer groups are effective depending on the group the individual wants to be part of

Formal & informal rules

Formal rules

• Formal rules are written down as laws or codes of conduct

• They guide people's behaviour in many social settings like schools, workplaces, and on public transport

  • E.g., in the workplace, people are expected to follow rules on health and safety

• These formal, written rules have official status, and official sanctions are usually imposed on those caught breaking them, such as

  • imprisonment

  • fines

  • losing a job

Informal rules

• Informal rules are unwritten guidelines on how we are expected to behave in social settings

  • E.g., in a corridor, you would hold the door open for someone walking behind you

• These informal, unwritten rules do not have official status, but friends, family members and peers may apply negative sanctions to those caught breaking unwritten rules, such as expressing disapproval