Why is social control important for all societies? Discuss some of its methods.

Every society devises its own standard of bevaviour and exercise upon individuals and groups to maintain order and conformity with the accepted standards of behaviour. It is the controlling and constraining force that brings social harmony and maintains solidarity in the society. In order to exist and progress a society has to exercise a certain control over its members since any marked deviation from the established ways is considered a threat to its well being. Social control refers to the social mechanisms that regulate individual and group behaviour, in terms of greater sanctions and rewards. There is a use of coercion, force, restraint, suggestion, persuasion of a group over another or of a group over its members to enforce the prescribed social rules. That is the society exerts influence, pressure upon its members for the purpose of providing the welfare of the group as a whole. Non-conformity is a deviant behaviour. Informal social control such as customs, ways, religion and formal social control such as law, education, coercion are used to maintain the social order and equilibrium. Different societies exercise social control according to their need and social situation. A primitive tribe may use magic or religious practices to control its members. A peasant society generally use customs, traditions, folkways and mores to regulate social behaviour. The modern urban industrial society uses mass media, socialisation and law as the effective means of social control. Social control is classified into formal and informal type on the basis of the means they employ.

Methods of Social Control

Social control may be informal or formal. When the codified, systematic, and other formal mechanism of control is used, it is known as formal social control. There are agencies and mechanism of formal social control, for example, law and state. In a modern society formal mechanisms and agencies of social control are emphasised. In every society there is another type of social control that is known as informal social control. It is personal, unofficial and uncodified. They include smiles, making faces, body language frowns, criticism, ridicule, laughter etc. There can be great variations in their use within the same society. In day-to- day life they are quite effective. However, in some cases informal methods of social control may not be adequate in enforcing conformity orobedience. There are various agencies of informal social control e.g. family, religion, kinship, etc. Have you heard about honour killing? A sanction is a mode of reward or punishment that reinforces socially expected forms of behaviour.

Informal Social Control: The informal means of social control grow themselves in society. There are various means to exercise informal control which varies from society to society and with time. These are the abiding and controlling forces whose violation is resented and often dealt with minor offences. These are in the form of gossip, slander, criticism, resentment sense of justice, public opinion, sympathy, folkways, mores, customs, morality, religion etc. These are tradition and custom bound and unconsciously created. These are looked upon by the members of society as morally justifiable; hence the public accept these forms of control as enforceable. This kind of social control is more effective in simple societies and where primary group relationship and intimate social interaction exists. No special agency is required to create them. It is exercised through customs, traditions, folkways, mores, religion, ridicule, gossip etc. Informal control prevails over all the aspects of man's life. They are very powerful in primary social groups where interaction is on a personal basis. No man wants to suffer loss of prestige. He does not want to be ridiculed.

Formal Social Control: In large modern societies wherein contacts are impersonal formal methods of social control operate. These are exercised through statutory provision maintained by the state or the organisation upon its members, This is the more developed form of social control of a modern nation state by means of law e.g. Constitution, police and military force, bureaucracy etc. Even in some tribal societies there is a tribal council which clearly maintains a set of regulation and enforce punishment upon the violation of such rules and regulations. Modern organizations like banking, factories, service sector etc have devised a set rules and regulations through which they control the behaviour of their members. Formal controls are deliberately and consciously enacted. Informal means of control get weakened due to anonymity mobility, conflicting values and norms. The formal means such as laws, education, coercion, codes are in operation. 

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