The two main elements of social control. Social control: types and functions

- maintenance mechanism public order through normative regulation, implying the actions of society aimed at preventing deviant behavior, punishing deviants or correcting them.

The concept of social control

The most important condition and effective functioning of the social system is the predictability of social actions and social behavior of people, in the absence of which the social system is waiting for disorganization and disintegration. Society has certain means by which it ensures the reproduction of existing social relations and interactions. One of these means is social control, the main function of which is to create conditions for the stability of the social system, the preservation social stability and at the same time for positive social change. This requires flexibility from social control, including the ability to recognize positive-constructive deviations from social norms, which should be encouraged, and negative-dysfunctional deviations, to which certain sanctions (from Latin sanctio - the strictest decree) of a negative nature should be applied, including including legal ones.

- this, on the one hand, is a mechanism of social regulation, a set of means and methods of social influence, and on the other hand, the social practice of their use.

Generally social behavior personality proceeds under the control of society and surrounding people. They not only teach the individual the rules of social behavior in the process of socialization, but also act as agents of social control, monitoring the correct assimilation of social behavior patterns and their implementation in practice. In this regard, social control acts as a special form and method of social regulation of people's behavior in society. social control manifests itself in the subordination of the individual to the social group in which he is integrated, which is expressed in the meaningful or spontaneous adherence to the social norms prescribed by this group.

Social control consists of two elements— social norms and social sanctions.

Social norms are socially approved or legislatively fixed rules, standards, patterns that regulate the social behavior of people.

Social sanctions are rewards and punishments that encourage people to comply with social norms.

social norms

social norms- these are socially approved or legislatively fixed rules, standards, patterns that regulate the social behavior of people. Therefore, social norms are divided into legal norms, moral norms and proper social norms.

Legal regulations - These are norms formally enshrined in various kinds of legislative acts. Violation of legal norms involves legal, administrative and other types of punishment.

moral standards— informal norms functioning in the form public opinion. The main tool in the system of moral norms is public censure or public approval.

TO social norms usually include:

• group social habits (for example, "don't turn up your nose in front of your own");
• social customs (for example, hospitality);
• social traditions (for example, subordination of children to parents),
• public mores (manners, morality, etiquette);
• social taboos (absolute prohibitions on cannibalism, infanticide, etc.). Customs, traditions, mores, taboos are sometimes called general rules social behavior.

social sanction

Sanction is recognized as the main instrument of social control and represents an incentive for compliance, expressed in the form of encouragement (positive sanction) or punishment (negative sanction). Sanctions are formal, imposed by the state or specially authorized organizations and persons, and informal, expressed by unofficial persons.

Social sanctions - they are rewards and punishments that encourage people to comply with social norms. In this regard, social sanctions can be called the guardian of social norms.

Social norms and social sanctions are an inseparable whole, and if some social norm does not have a social sanction accompanying it, then it loses its social regulatory function. For example, in the 19th century in countries Western Europe the birth of children only in a legal marriage was considered a social norm. Therefore, illegitimate children were excluded from the inheritance of their parents' property, they were neglected in everyday communication, they could not enter into worthy marriages. However, society, as it modernized and softened public opinion regarding illegitimate children, gradually began to exclude informal and formal sanctions for violating this norm. As a result, this social norm ceased to exist altogether.

There are the following mechanisms of social control:

• isolation - isolating the deviant from society (for example, imprisonment);
• isolation - limiting the deviant's contacts with others (for example, placement in a psychiatric clinic);
• rehabilitation - a set of measures aimed at returning the deviant to normal life.

Types of social sanctions

Although formal sanctions appear to be more effective, informal sanctions are actually more important to the individual. The need for friendship, love, recognition, or the fear of ridicule and shame are often more effective than orders or fines.

In the process of socialization of the form external control assimilated so that they become part of his own beliefs. An internal control system is being formed, called self-control. A typical example of self-control is the pangs of conscience of a person who has committed an unworthy act. In a developed society, the mechanisms of self-control prevail over the mechanisms of external control.

Types of social control

In sociology, two main processes of social control are distinguished: the application of positive or negative sanctions for the social behavior of an individual; interiorization (from the French interiorisation - transition from outside to inside) by an individual of social norms of behavior. In this regard, external social control and internal social control, or self-control, are distinguished.

External social control is a set of forms, methods and actions that guarantee compliance with social norms of behavior. There are two types of external control - formal and informal.

Formal social control based on official approval or condemnation, carried out by the authorities state power, political and social organizations, the education system, the means mass media and operates throughout the country, based on written norms - laws, decrees, resolutions, orders and instructions. Formal social control may also include the dominant ideology in society. Speaking of formal social control, they mean, first of all, actions aimed at making people respect laws and order with the help of government representatives. This control is especially effective in large social groups.

Informal social control based on the approval or condemnation of relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, public opinion, expressed through traditions, customs or the media. The agents of informal social control are such social institutions as family, school, religion. This type of control is especially effective in small social groups.

In the process of social control, violation of some social norms is followed by a very weak punishment, for example, disapproval, an unfriendly look, a smirk. Violation of other social norms is followed by severe punishments - the death penalty, imprisonment, exile from the country. Violation of taboos and legal laws is punished most severely, certain types of group habits, in particular family habits, are most mildly punished.

Internal social control- independent regulation by the individual of his social behavior in society. In the process of self-control, a person independently regulates his social behavior, coordinating it with generally accepted norms. This type of control is manifested, on the one hand, in a sense of guilt, emotional experiences, "remorse" for social actions, on the other hand, in the form of an individual's reflection on his social behavior.

An individual's self-control over his own social behavior is formed in the process of his socialization and the formation of socio-psychological mechanisms of his internal self-regulation. The main elements of self-control are consciousness, conscience and will.

- it is an individual form of mental representation of reality in the form of a generalized and subjective model of the surrounding world in the form of verbal concepts and sensory images. Consciousness allows the individual to rationalize his social behavior.

Conscience- the ability of the individual to independently formulate his own moral duties and demand from himself their fulfillment, as well as to make a self-assessment of the actions and deeds performed. Conscience does not allow an individual to violate his established attitudes, principles, beliefs, in accordance with which he builds his social behavior.

Will- conscious regulation by a person of his behavior and activities, expressed in the ability to overcome external and internal difficulties in the performance of purposeful actions and deeds. The will helps the individual to overcome his inner subconscious desires and needs, to act and behave in society in accordance with his convictions.

In the process of social behavior, an individual has to constantly fight with his subconscious, which gives his behavior a spontaneous character, therefore self-control is the most important condition for people's social behavior. Typically, individuals' self-control over their social behavior increases with age. But it also depends on social circumstances and the nature of external social control: the tighter the external control, the weaker the self-control. Moreover, social experience shows that the weaker the individual's self-control, the tougher external control should be in relation to him. However, this is fraught with great social costs, since strict external control is accompanied by social degradation of the individual.

In addition to external and internal social control of the social behavior of an individual, there are also: 1) indirect social control based on identification with a reference law-abiding group; 2) social control, based on the wide availability of a variety of ways to achieve goals and satisfy needs, alternative to illegal or immoral.

Social control can be exercised in institutional and non-institutional forms.

1. institutional form social control is implemented through a special apparatus specializing in control activities, which is a set of state and public organizations (bodies, institutions and associations).

2. Non-institutional form social control - special kind self-regulation inherent in various social systems, control over people's behavior by the mass consciousness.
Its functioning is based mainly on the action of moral and psychological mechanisms, consisting of continuous monitoring of the behavior of other people and assessments of compliance with its social prescriptions and expectations. A person becomes aware of himself by observing other members of society (organizations, groups, communities), constantly comparing himself with them, assimilating certain norms of behavior in the process of socialization. Society cannot exist without mental reactions, mutual evaluations. It is thanks to mutual contacts that people realize social values, acquire social experience and skills of social behavior.

A variety of institutional social control is state control.Among the types of state control are: political, administrative and judicial.

· Political control carried out by those bodies and persons who exercise the powers supreme power. Depending on the political and state structure, these are the parliament, regional and local elected bodies. Political control can be exercised to a certain extent by political parties that have received the support of the majority of the people, especially those represented in government.

· Administrative control carried out executive bodies all branches of government. Here, as a rule, higher officials control the actions of subordinates, inspection and supervisory bodies are created that analyze the implementation of laws, regulations, management decisions, and study the effectiveness and quality of administrative activities.

· Judicial control all the courts at the disposal of the society are carried out: general (civil), military, arbitration and constitutional courts.

However, it is difficult for one state to respond to many social demands and demands, which leads to an aggravation of social conflicts that have a destructive effect on the nature public life. This requires an effective feedback which ensures the participation of citizens in public administration, an important element of which is public control. Therefore, along with state control, special form social control represents public control - public control on the part of society represented by the public, individual citizens, social organizations, associations and movements, as well as public opinion. In a modern democratic society, public control is the activity, first of all, of established institutions civil society and individual citizens - their formal and informal participation in it.

[edit] Types of social control

There are two types of social control processes:

processes that encourage individuals to internalize existing social norms, the processes of socialization of family and school education, during which the internal requirements of society - social prescriptions - take place;

· the processes that organize the social experience of individuals, the lack of publicity in society, publicity - a form of social control over the behavior of the ruling strata and groups;

Topic social control is inextricably linked with deviance, deviant behavior, although it has a broader, sociological significance.
It is possible that the desire for order is innate in man. In any case, all scientific, philosophical, religious constructions are aimed at revealing the patterns (order!) of the World or bringing Order into the Chaos of Being. In a broad, general scientific sense, order is certainty, a regularity in the arrangement of system elements and their interaction with each other. In relation to society, order is understood as certainty, regularity in the structuring of society and the interaction of its elements (communities, classes, groups, institutions).
Social control- a mechanism of self-organization (self-regulation) and self-preservation of society by establishing and maintaining a normative order in a given society and eliminating, neutralizing, minimizing norm-violating - deviant behavior.
But it's too much general definition in need of comments.
One of the main questions of sociology is how and why is the existence and preservation of society possible? Why does it not disintegrate under the influence of the struggle of various, including antagonistic, interests of classes and groups? * The problem of order and social control was discussed by all sociological theorists from O. Comte, H. Spencer, K. Marx, E. Durkheim to P. Sorokin, T. Parsons, R. Merton, N. Luhmann and others.
* Turner J. The structure of sociological theory. S. 27, 70.
So, O. Comte believed that society is bound by “general consent” (consensus omnium). One of the two main branches of sociology social static (other - social dynamics) - is, according to Comte, the theory of social order, harmony. And basic social institutions (family, state, religion) were considered by scientists in terms of their role in the integration of society. In other words, how institutions social control. Thus, the family teaches to overcome innate egoism, and the state is called upon to prevent the “radical divergence” of people in ideas, feelings and interests*.
* Comte O. The course of positive philosophy // Ancestors of positivism. SPb., 1912. Issue. 4.
G. Spencer, who also stood at the origins of sociology and adhered to organismic ideas about society, believed that three organ systems are inherent in a social organism: supporting (production), distributive and regulatory. The latter just ensures the subordination of the constituent parts (elements) of society to the whole, i.e., it essentially performs the functions social control. Being an evolutionist, H. Spencer condemned revolution as an unnatural violation of order*.
* Spencer G. Basic principles. SPb., 1887.
The starting point for the sociology of E. Durkheim is concept of social solidarity. Classification related to solidarity concepts dual ("dual"). There are two types sociality: simple, based on consanguinity, and complex, based on the specialization of functions that arose in the process of division of social labor. For simple sociality mechanical solidarity of a homogeneous group is characteristic, for a complex one - organic solidarity. To maintain mechanical solidarity, repressive law is sufficient, providing for severe punishment of violators. Organic solidarity should be characterized by restitutive (“restorative”) law, the function of which is reduced to “ easy recovery the order of things." Looking ahead, we note that this idea of ​​“restorative law”, “restorative justice” as an alternative to criminal, “compensatory” justice (retributive justice) has become widespread in modern foreign criminology. The more cohesive the society, the higher the degree social integration of individuals, the less deviations (deviations). And the inevitable conflicts in society should be resolved peacefully.
* Durkheim E. On the division of social labor. Method of sociology. M., 1990. S. 109.
The views of the scientist evolved from the primacy of duty and coercion social norms to voluntariness, personal interest of individuals in their acceptance and following them. The true basis of solidarity, according to the “late” Durkheim, is not in coercion, but in an internalized (learned by the individual) moral duty, in a sense of respect for common requirements (group pressure).
Start of special studies social control its functions, institutions, methods are associated with several names. Different authors solve the question of priority in this area of ​​sociological knowledge in different ways.
Undoubtedly a major contribution to the study of problems social control introduced by W. Sumner. Already in his early works he considered the processes control society over the environment and coercive pressure (“collective pressure”) on the members of society, ensuring its cohesion*. Sumner proposed a typology of sources (means) of collective pressure: folk customs including traditions and customs; institutions; laws. These three social mechanisms provide conformity, but are not sufficient for solidarity, which is itself a by-product of conformity.
* Sumner W. Folkways. Boston, 1906.
As we already know, the key in the theory of G. Tarde - a representative of the psychological direction in sociology and criminology - is "imitation", with the help of which the scientist explained the main social processes, character social facts, the structure of society and the mechanism of its cohesion*. Not surprisingly, typical social The relationship is the teacher-student relationship. G. Tarde gave great attention research various forms deviance, revealing their statistical patterns. He believed that the results of such studies make it possible to put under control spontaneous social processes. An important factor social control is the socialization of the individual.
* Tard G. Laws of imitation of St. Petersburg, 1892 (last edition - 1999).
For E. Ross, solidarity and cohesion are secondary to social control. It is he who binds individuals and groups into an organized whole. key concept concept of E. Ross - "obedience" *. It can act in two forms: personal-informal and impersonal-official. The first is based on consent. The second is provided through control. Perhaps E. Ross proposed the first classification of mechanisms social control: interior control- ethical and external - political. For the first, group goals are important, for the second, the institutionalized apparatus of means (legal, educational, etc.). More E. Ross considers the family as a factor social control shaping and implementing behavior patterns. The internalization (assimilation) by the individual of these models as personal ideals best ensures obedience.
* Ross E. Social Control. NY, 1901.
R. Park identified three forms social control: elementary sanctions, public opinion, social institutions. In one form or another, these forms control considered by various authors.
From the vast scientific heritage of M. Weber, his constructions of three ideal types of domination are directly related to the problem under consideration: rational, traditional, charismatic *. They can also be considered as types social control. M. Weber himself believed that "the legitimacy of the order can only be guaranteed internally", namely: effectively-emotionally - by devotion; value-rationally - by faith in the absolute significance of order as an expression of immutable values; religiously - the belief in the dependence of good and salvation on the preservation of order. The legitimacy of the order can also be guaranteed by the expectation of external consequences, including law, coercion. The first type of legitimacy, legal or formal-rational, is based on interest. In a rational state, they obey not individuals, but established laws. Their implementation is carried out by the bureaucracy (classic examples are modern bourgeois England, France, the USA). The second type - traditional is based on mores, traditions, habits, which are attributed not only legality, but also sacredness. This type is inherent in a patriarchal society, and the main relationship is master-servant (a classic example is the feudal states of Western Europe). The third type - charismatic (Greek charisma - a divine gift) - is based on the extraordinary abilities of a person - a leader, a prophet (be it Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Buddha or Caesar, Napoleon, finally - A. Hitler, I. Stalin, Mao ...). If the traditional type of domination is supported by the usual - mores, traditions, habits, then the charismatic one rests on the unusual, extraordinary, amazing, supernatural. Weber viewed charisma as a "great revolutionary force" that interrupted the gradualism of traditional development. He was lucky not to live in his native country to the charisma of Hitler, as well as other "leaders" with an extraordinary "gift" ...
*Weber M. Staatssoziologie. Berlin, 1966.
The work of our compatriot P. Sorokin, forced to live and work in exile since 1922, thanks to the coming to power in Russia of charismatic leaders, is largely devoted to the topic social regulation of human behavior. The title and content of his first major scientific work Petersburg period "Crime and Punishment, Feat and Reward" is devoted to the mechanism social control*. There are stable forms social behavior - "due", "recommended", "prohibited" and forms social reactions to them are negative (punishment) and positive (reward) sanctions. In general, these forms constitute the regulatory substructure. In "The System of Sociology"** P. Sorokin, paying tribute to the problem social order, examines the mechanism of "organized" forms of behavior. Social reactions to biopsychic stimuli, repeating many times, develop into a habit, and when realized, into a law. The totality of conscious forms of behavior in various areas of social life forms institutions, the totality of the latter constitutes social order or organization.
* Sorokin P. Crime and punishment, feat and reward. SPb., 1913.
** Sorokin P. The system of sociology. Pg., 1920. T. 1.
P. Sorokin attached great importance social stratification and social mobility (in fact, he introduced these concepts into scientific circulation). Hence the role concepts"status" ("rank") as a set of rights and obligations, privileges and responsibilities, power and influence. Difficult vertical mobility eventually leads to a revolution - "shaking up" social strat. Unnatural and violent nature social revolutions makes them undesirable. And the best way to prevent revolutions is to improve the channels of vertical mobility and social control.
In his main work "Social and Cultural Dynamics" * P. Sorokin summarizes his understanding social. Its specificity is the "non-material" component: "norms - values ​​- meanings". It is the presence of values ​​and norms, as well as meanings (without taking into account which it is often impossible to distinguish between a fight and boxing, rape and a voluntary sexual act, etc.) that characterizes social being, in contrast to the inorganic and organic levels of being.
* Excerpts from this fundamental four-volume work, see: Sorokin P. Man. Civilization. Society. M., 1992. S. 425-504.
Problem social control is essential for functionalism and constitutes a significant part of the theory social actions. According to her the largest representative– T. Parsons, Reproduction Functions social structures are provided by a system of beliefs, morality, socialization organs (family, education, etc.), and normative orientation in the theory of action plays the same role as space in classical mechanics. In "Structure social actions” Parsons raises the most important question for him: how do the social systems? He sees the answer in two main mechanisms that integrate personality into social system: mechanisms of socialization and social control*(note that from our point of view, socialization is one of the mechanisms social control).
* For details see: Turner J. Decree. op. pp. 70-72.
The mechanisms of socialization, according to Parsons, are the means by which the assimilation (internalization) of cultural patterns - values, attitudes, language - takes place by the individual. The mechanisms of socialization also provide stable and reliable interpersonal relationships that help relieve tension, anxiety, and fatigue.
Mechanisms social control include ways of organizing the role of the status of individuals in order to reduce tension and deviations. To mechanisms control include: institutionalization (ensuring the certainty of role expectations); interpersonal sanctions and gestures (used by actors social actions for the mutual consistency of sanctions); ritual actions (removal of tension in a symbolic way, strengthening of the dominant cultural patterns); structures that ensure the preservation of values ​​and the distinction between “normal” and “deviant”; structures of re-integration (normalization of tendencies towards "deviation"); institutionalization of a system capable of using violence, coercion. In a broad sense, to the mechanisms social control(more precisely, the preservation of the integration of the social system) also applies to socialization, which ensures the internalization (assimilation) of values, ideas, symbols. Parsons also analyzed three methods social control in relation to deviants: isolation from others (for example, in prison); isolation with partial restriction of contacts (for example, in a psychiatric hospital); rehabilitation - preparation for returning to a "normal" life (for example, with the help of psychotherapy, the activities of public organizations such as "AA" - Alcoholics Anonymous).
The Age of Enlightenment and the 19th century were imbued with faith and hope about the possibility of a successful social control and "order". It is only necessary to listen to the advice of educators, the opinion of scientists and work a little to bring reality in line with Reason...
However, a few questions still remain unclear:
What's happened social“order”, are there objective criteria for its evaluation? For the natural sciences, this is probably the level of entropy of the system - its (entropy) decrease or not increase. And for social systems? Maybe synergetics can help us in answering this question?
"Order" for whom? In whose interests? From whose point of view?
Is a society possible without "disorder"? Obviously not. Organization and disorganization, "order" and "disorder" (chaos), "norm" and "deviation" are complementary (in Bohr's sense). Recall that deviations are a necessary mechanism for change and development.
How, by what means, at what cost is “order” maintained (“ new order A. Hitler, the Gulag “order” of I. Stalin, the establishment of “order” by America in Vietnam and Iraq, the USSR - in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Afghanistan, Russia - in Chechnya)?
In general, “the order that is held together by our cultural learning appears to be extremely vulnerable and fragile. This is only one of the possible orders, and we cannot be sure that it is the most correct.
* Bauman Z. Think sociologically. M., 1996. S. 166.
Social practice of the XX century. with two world wars, the Cold War, hundreds of local wars, Hitler and Lenin-Stalin concentration camps, genocide, right-wing and left-wing extremism, terrorism, fundamentalism, etc. - destroyed all illusions and myths about "order" and opportunities social control(one of the contemporaries remarked: human history divided into “before” Auschwitz and “after”). The amount of crimes committed by the states - "pillars of order", exceeded the crimes of singles by a hundred times. At the same time, the states - "sponsors of the murders" (N. Kressel) - do not "repent" (perhaps with the exception of Germany), but deny, renounce their deeds. S. Cohen in the article “Human Rights and Crimes of States: A Culture of Denial”* names three forms of such refusal (denial):
- denial of the past (denial of the past). Thus, publications appeared in the West declaring the Holocaust a "myth", domestic Stalinists call horror a "myth". Stalinist repressions(however, the recent Duma events on the anniversary of the Holocaust, when many of our elected representatives refused to honor the memory of the victims, indicate that we are “catching up” with the West in this matter...);
- literal denial - according to the formula "we don't know anything";
- sacramental refusal (implicatory denial) - according to the formula "yes, but ...". Thus, the majority of war criminals, under the pressure of facts, admit: "Yes, it was." And immediately follows "but": there was an order, military necessity etc.
* Cohen S. Human Rights and Crimes of the State: the Cultural of Denial. In: Criminological Perspectives. A Reader. SAGE, 1996. P. 489-507.
It is not surprising that postmodernism in the sociology of the late 20th century, starting with J.-F. Lyotard and M. Foucault, comes to the denial of the possibility social control over deviant manifestations, expressed categorically and succinctly by N. Luhmann in the words chosen as an epigraph to this chapter. And although it is likely that realistic-skeptical postmodernism - as a reaction to the illusions of the beautiful-hearted Enlightenment - is as one-sided as the Enlightenment itself, however, some considerations of a general scientific nature (in particular, the law of increasing entropy in a system) incline us to the side of postmodernism. “The victory of order over chaos is never complete or final... Attempts to construct an artificial order in accordance with an ideal goal are doomed to failure”*.
* Bauman Z. Think sociologically. M., 1996. S. 192, 193.
This does not exclude, of course, the possibility and necessity of systems, primarily biological and social, resist disorganizing entropy processes. As the father of cybernetics N. Wiener wrote, “we are swimming upstream, struggling with a huge stream of disorganization, which, in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics, tends to reduce everything to heat death ... In this world, our first duty is to arrange arbitrary islands of order and system ... We must run as fast as we can in order to stay where we once left off ”*.
* Viner N. I am a mathematician. M., 1967. S. 311.
Most of us fight for life to the end, knowing its inevitability and maintaining courage (or not so much ...) “in spite of” the inevitable (A. Malraux), and “beyond despair” (J.-P. Sartre). But that doesn't change the end result. Each society also ceases to exist sooner or later (how often do we remember Lydia and Chaldea, Babylon and Assyria, the Sumerian empire and the Inca civilization today?). This should not be an obstacle to efforts to self-preserve by organizing and maintaining "order" and reducing chaotic processes, including negative deviant behavior. We must not only forget that organization and disorganization are inextricably linked, one cannot be without the other, and deviations are not only “harmful”, but also “useful” from the point of view of the survival and development of the system.
So the problem social control there is pretty much a problem social order, the preservation of society as a whole.
There is a different understanding social control. At the beginning of the chapter, we gave its most general definition. In a narrower sense social control is a set of means and methods of influencing society on undesirable forms of deviant behavior with the aim of their elimination (elimination) or reduction, minimization.
The social regulators of human behavior are the values ​​developed by society (as an expression of a person’s attitude to certain objects and the properties of these objects that are significant for people) and the norms corresponding to them (legal, moral, customs, traditions, fashion, etc.), i.e. rules , samples, standards, standards of behavior established by the state (law) or formed in the process joint life. The easiest way to transfer rules (and values) is by personal example and imitation (“do as I do”). However, for complex, "post-primitive" societies, it is not enough. Mankind has developed a specific way of forming, preserving and transmitting (broadcasting) values ​​and norms - through signs. J. Piaget argued: “The main realities created social way ... are the following: 1) rules (moral, legal, logical, etc.), 2) values ​​that correspond or do not correspond to these rules, and 3) signs "*. I note that from my point of view, values ​​are primary in this series, and rules are developed in accordance with values, and not vice versa. However, like everything in science, this is a debatable issue. Finally, the accumulation, storage, transmission of information through sign systems is possible only insofar as signs are given meaning, understandable those who perceive them.
* Piaget J. Selected psychological works. M., 1969. S. 210.
Social control is not limited to the normative regulation of people's behavior, but also includes the implementation of normative decrees and non-normative influence on the behavior of members of society. In other words, to social control include actions to implement prescriptions (norms), measures of responsibility for persons who violate accepted norms, and in some states of a totalitarian type, and persons who do not share the values ​​proclaimed on behalf of society.
The main methods social control are positive sanctions- encouragement and negative sanctions - punishment ("carrot and stick", "bait and switch").
To the main mechanisms social control include external, carried out from the outside, various social institutions, organizations (family, school, public organization, police) and their representatives with the help of sanctions - positive (encouragement) and negative (punishment), and internal, based on internalized (learned, perceived as one's own) values ​​and norms and expressed concepts honor, conscience, dignity, decency, shame (it is impossible, because it is shameful, conscience does not allow). To the outside control also applies indirectly, associated with public opinion, the opinion of the reference group with which the individual identifies himself (parents, friends, colleagues). The classic formula for indirect control we find in “Woe from Wit” by A. Griboyedov: “What will Princess Marya Aleksevna say ?!” (unless, of course, the princess represents your reference group).
Distinguish formal control, carried out by special bodies, organizations, institutions and their representatives within their official powers and in a strictly established manner, and informal (for example, indirect), punitive (repressive) and deterrent (preventive, preventive).
It is well known that positive sanctions (reward) are much more effective than negative ones (punishment), and internal control much more effective than external. Unfortunately, humanity, knowing this, more often resorts to external control and repressive methods. It is believed that this is "simpler" and "more reliable". Negative Consequences simple solutions"Don't keep yourself waiting long...
There are various models (shapes) social control and their classification*. One of them, proposed by D. Black (modified by F. McClintock) **, is reproduced in Table. 16.1. Each of the forms shown in the table social control has its own logic, its own methods and language, its own way of defining an event and responding to it. In reality, a combination of several forms is possible.
*Black D. The Behavior of Law. NY: Academic Press, 1976; Daws N. Anderson B. Social Control: The Production of Deviance in the Modern State. Irvington Publishers!:,c, 1983.
** For more details, see the articles by L. Hulsman and F. McClintock in the book: Crime Control Planning. M., 1982. S. 16-31, 99-105.
Table 16.1
Mechanisms social control(according to Black)

Generally social control comes down to the fact that society, through its institutions, sets values ​​and norms; ensures their transmission (transmission) and socialization (assimilation, internalization) by individuals; encourages compliance with norms (conformity) or acceptable from the point of view of society, reform; reproaches (punishes) for violation of norms; takes measures to prevent (prevention, prevention) of undesirable forms of behavior.
In a hypothetically ideal (and therefore unrealistic) case, a society ensures the complete socialization of its members, and then neither punishments nor rewards are required. However, even in an ideal society, fellow citizens will find something to complain about! “Imagine a society of saints, an exemplary monastery of exemplary individuals. Crimes in the proper sense of the word are unknown here; however, offenses that seem insignificant to a layman will cause here exactly the same scandal as ordinary crimes cause under ordinary conditions.
* Durkheim E. Norma and pathology // Sociology of crime. M., 1966. S. 41.
Real implementation social control over deviance significantly depends on the power, form of government, political regime in the country*. It is no coincidence that G. W. F. Hegel believed that the forms control over crime "even more characterize a given society than crime itself"**. Theoretical, based on a huge historical material, the study of the role of power and political structures in social control over deviant behavior was carried out by M. Foucault ***. Contemporary measures social control and above all, the prison is the result of the all-encompassing disciplinary power of capitalist society, striving to create a "disciplinary individual." This power is manifested not only in the prison, but also in the barracks, the psychiatric hospital, outside the factory walls, in the school building. The disciplinary power is characterized by hierarchical supervision (systemic observation, constant control), positive and negative sanctions, tests (exams, reviews, training, inspections, etc.). The purpose of the disciplinary control- the formation of "pliable bodies", and its symbol is a prison. But then the whole society “begins to take on a strong resemblance to a prison, where we are all guards and prisoners at the same time”****.
* For more details, see: Gilinsky Ya. Deviance, social control and the political regime. In: Political Regime and Crime. SPb., 2001. S. 39-65.
** Hegel. Philosophy of law. M., 1986. S. 256.
*** Foucault M. Supervise and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. M., 1999; He is. A History of Madness in the Classical Age. SPb., 1997; He is. Will to Truth: Beyond Knowledge, Power and Sexuality. M., 1996.
**** Monson P. A boat in the alleys of the park: An introduction to sociology. M., 1995. S. 63.
This is echoed by the work of our contemporary and compatriot A. N. Oleinik “Prison subculture in Russia: from everyday life to state power”*, in which the author, as a result of empirical research and painstaking analysis, compares Russia as a “small society” (in in contrast of " big society"- civilized) with a prison. I can’t resist a long quote: “The tendency towards the reproduction of a “small society” and the incomplete nature of modernization are the main factors that determine the post-Soviet institutional context... The state deliberately suppresses any attempts to form a collective subject, thus contributing to the formation of a desert between everyday life groups of "insiders" and the authorities... And here it doesn't matter what specific form the group of "insiders" takes: the nomenklatura, the families of the president or people from the KGB... no, it means death even before the birth of civil society... The group of "insiders" seeks to privatize the material resources to which its members have access... Post-Soviet people hate the state, because it reproduces the logic of the group of "insiders" and therefore treats citizens as "strangers". But at the same time, post-Soviet people are incapable of getting rid of such a state in which their own way of life, their own views and behavior are materialized”**.

The term "social control" was first introduced by a French sociologist. He proposed to consider it one of the most important. Subsequently, R. Park, E. Ross, A. Lapierre developed whole theory, according to which it was a necessary means for ensuring the assimilation of elements of the culture that has developed in society.

Social control is a mechanism that exists to maintain order in society, aimed at preventing the undesirable, deviant and punishing them for it. It is carried out through regulation.

The most important condition for the functioning of a social system is the predictability of people's actions and behavior. If it is not fulfilled, then it will collapse. For the stability of the system, society uses various means, which include social control, which performs a protective and stabilizing function.

It has a structure and consists of and sanctions. The former contain prescriptions, certain patterns of behavior in society (they indicate what people should do, think, say and feel). They are divided into legal (enshrined in laws, contain sanctions for their violation) and (expressed in the form of public opinion, the main instrument of influence is universal censure or approval).

Norms are classified by scale into those that exist in small, large groups and in society as a whole. The general ones include traditions, customs, etiquette, laws, mores, etc. Norms are the rights and obligations of a person in relation to others, the fulfillment of which is expected of him by those around him. They have strictly defined limits. These usually include social customs and traditions, manners, etiquette, group habits, taboos, social mores, laws.

To regulate human behavior, there are sanctions, with the help of which his “correct actions” are encouraged, and penalties are applied for committed violations. They can be very diverse, ranging from a disapproving look to imprisonment and even the death penalty. Sanctions are divided into 4 types: negative (punishment), positive (encouragement), formal (various awards, prizes, diplomas, scholarships, fines, imprisonment, etc.), informal (approval, praise, compliment, verbal reprimand, insulting tone).

Types of social control

External (formal and informal) and internal.

Formal control is carried out by government agencies, social and political organizations, the media, based on official condemnation or approval and acting on the territory of the entire state. At the same time, the norms governing human activity are contained in laws, regulations, various instructions and orders. Formal social control is aimed at maintaining the existing order and respect for laws with the help of representatives of government agencies. Informal is based on the condemnation or approval of actions by friends, relatives, neighbors, colleagues, and so on. It is expressed in the form of traditions, customs, as well as through the media.

Internal social control involves the regulation by a person of his behavior on his own, based on generally accepted norms. It manifests itself in the form of emotional experiences, feelings of guilt and, in general, attitudes towards perfect deeds. The main elements of self-control are conscience, will and consciousness.

Indirect (based on identification with a law-abiding group) and direct social control, which is based on the availability of various ways to meet needs and achieve goals that are alternative to immoral or illegal.

Definition 1

Social control is a set of various measures for assessing the behavior of an individual and its compliance with generally accepted and recognized norms. These norms are determined by law, ethics, morality, traditions, psychological features. Control can be internal or external.

Internal social control

Internal control, or as it is also called self-control. This is a form of control in which each individual independently controls his own behavior and its compliance with social expectation.

Remark 1

This control It can manifest itself in such personal reactions of an individual as a feeling of guilt for certain actions, emotional manifestations, conscience, and on the other hand, in the form of indifference of a given person in relation to his behavior.

Self-control of one's own behavior is formed in the process of socialization of the individual and the development of the socio-psychological mechanisms of the individual. The main elements of self-control are such concepts as will, consciousness and conscience:

• Human consciousness is a personal form of understanding reality in the form of a subjective model external environment. This understanding consists of various verbal concepts and emotional images. The consciousness of the individual allows her to improve and adapt her social behavior to changing generally accepted standards;
• Conscience is the ability of a person to create his own moral standards and demand from himself their exact fulfillment, as well as constantly evaluate the actions and actions performed. Conscience does not give the individual the opportunity to violate the attitudes and principles given to him;
• Will is the conscious regulation of the individual's own behavior, which consists in the ability to overcome various difficulties. Will gives a person the opportunity to overcome their own negative desires and needs, to act contrary to generally accepted norms.

Types of external social control

External self-control is a set of public institutions and mechanisms that guarantee the implementation of social norms and rules. There are two types of external control - formal and informal.

It is based on clearly defined laws, regulations, decrees and instructions. Formal control also includes the dominant ideology in society. When people talk about formal public control, they mean, first of all, actions aimed at respecting the rule of law and public order by all people without exception. Such control is especially effective and necessary in large social groups, such as the state. Violation of social norms under formal control is followed by a punishment that is significant for the offender. Punishment is established by criminal, administrative and civil legislation.

Informal social control is based on approval or condemnation by relatives and relatives, friends and comrades, colleagues, acquaintances of this or that act of the individual. This control is expressed through the traditions and customs that have developed in society. The agents of this type of control are such public institutions as the family, school, work collective, that is, small public groups. Violation of accepted social norms should be punished lightly. Such punishments may be disapproval, public censure, loss of trust or respect in the relevant social group.