Criminology Critical Thinking 1
Joshua Shaver
Jennifer Edwards, Ph.D.
SOC 4223 Criminology
18 June 2012
Crime: Social Control When it comes to crime and punishment, I do believe that the threat of legal punishment controls the crime rate, but to a certain extent. Individuals have free will to choose to engage in unlawful acts, and that also includes the ability to block out and ignore the fear of legal punishment when engaging in crime. So what are other factors that aid in controlling crime? I believe in social control, which helps to ensure conformity to a norm. It includes all of the processes by which the people of a society define and respond to deviant behavior (Chriss, 2007). Forms of social control may include: internal, external, informal, formal and semiformal social control. Internal social control is the process of internalizing the norms of society and accepting them as valid (Chriss, 2007). This form of social control operates through the process of socialization. Individuals learn and adopt the norms of the society within the society. There are factors (or agents) that help in this process. One is the family. The family helps their children internalize the norms of the society they are apart of. If they fail at this, it may lead to behaviors that the society deems deviant. As the child grows he or she is introduced to other agents such as school, friends and of course the media. When the individual accepts the norms determined by the society in which they live as valid, the person will feels guilty if they engage in behavior outside of these norms that society deems wrong. External social control consists of an effort to bring the individuals who have stepped outside the boundaries back (Chriss, 2007). This is a system used by groups of people to force others to conform to a norm, usually through rewards and punishments. Informal social control may consist of the actions among individuals to remind one another that their behavior displeases them (Chriss, 2007). Things
Jennifer Edwards, Ph.D.
SOC 4223 Criminology
18 June 2012
Crime: Social Control When it comes to crime and punishment, I do believe that the threat of legal punishment controls the crime rate, but to a certain extent. Individuals have free will to choose to engage in unlawful acts, and that also includes the ability to block out and ignore the fear of legal punishment when engaging in crime. So what are other factors that aid in controlling crime? I believe in social control, which helps to ensure conformity to a norm. It includes all of the processes by which the people of a society define and respond to deviant behavior (Chriss, 2007). Forms of social control may include: internal, external, informal, formal and semiformal social control. Internal social control is the process of internalizing the norms of society and accepting them as valid (Chriss, 2007). This form of social control operates through the process of socialization. Individuals learn and adopt the norms of the society within the society. There are factors (or agents) that help in this process. One is the family. The family helps their children internalize the norms of the society they are apart of. If they fail at this, it may lead to behaviors that the society deems deviant. As the child grows he or she is introduced to other agents such as school, friends and of course the media. When the individual accepts the norms determined by the society in which they live as valid, the person will feels guilty if they engage in behavior outside of these norms that society deems wrong. External social control consists of an effort to bring the individuals who have stepped outside the boundaries back (Chriss, 2007). This is a system used by groups of people to force others to conform to a norm, usually through rewards and punishments. Informal social control may consist of the actions among individuals to remind one another that their behavior displeases them (Chriss, 2007). Things
Cited: Chriss, James J. Social Control: An Introduction. Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2007. Print Siegel, L. J. (2011). Criminology, The Core. Lowell: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.