The Role of Social Control and Values in The Society

The norms and values, are both very different concepts as social norms are rules and behaviours that people stand by as there socially accepted. Functionalists believe that we learn these standards by being exposed to them through social media or religion or being taught them as children by our parents. Individuals are expected to follow socially excepted rules which are excepted behaviour off society these are conventional responses.  However, values are guide lines that everyone follows which are decided as either good or bad. 

Social control is when rules and laws of the structure of society effects human behaviour, it’s achieved through different social structures. Without social control civilisation and societies wouldn’t be able to function. Socialization throughout life from when we were born is what causes our personal social order to develop. Understanding the behavioural and interactional expectation from family, peers and education. This socialization whist we are developing teaches us how to behave and think in an effective way that allows for efficient participation in society. Refusal to participate in these social norms that are mandatory for all can lead to consequences serious and in serious depending on how we have obstructed the tiers of social control created for us. 

There are 2 types of social control. Informal and formal, informal social control involves a form of social control enforced by family and peers, adopting values and norms through socialisation adopting a type of belief system. With rewards and punishments enforcing informal social control. Examples of this could be good grades, job promotions and social popularity for positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement could influence, relationships ending or poor grades. Formal social control is being organisations such as the government and military enforce social control, police are the most likely enforce this type of control.

As an infant we are totally dependent on others. Therefore, the family is one of the most important ingredients in developing a child’s socialization. This is from the habits, attitudes and beliefs from there specific social group which the child grows up with. Family is considered to be a really important as it plays a massive part of the socialisation method as it’s the centre of a child’s life as there fully dependent on their guardians, these people are who influence how we behave as they learn us to look after ourselves, as they teach us as well as society how to act towards people by helping us to develop our own values and norms. Our whole family are the people who teach us about relationships with certain people this could be friends towards family members, intimate partners etc. Through the family the child grows up being learnt how to be a parent, a loving partner this will be from living in a family either all this aspect which the child learns from either their mother or father although when a child is brought up with either a single parent or parents which are apart this can effect their future relationships and their behaviours towards friends, family and future partners. Family can also affect how belief system as we tend to grow up to think the same as our family’s as that’s all we know until we can really learn and educate ourselves when we are older. This can be the same for social status, values and norms as we have a reflection of what our parents think and their own opinion.

In conclusion,  as we form social skills with others we start to see what our boundaries are in social situations and show what is acceptable. Everyone can have their own set of values as it comes from people’s family’s and how and where the grow up as a child they develop their own values. Nevertheless social control within society defines what is good and what is bad for everyone as it sets equal rights and values. 

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