- a mechanism for maintaining social order through normative regulation, implying social actions aimed at preventing deviant behavior, punishing deviants or correcting them.
Concept of social control
The most important condition for the effective functioning of a social system is the predictability of social actions and social behavior of people, in the absence of which the social system will face disorganization and collapse. Society has certain means with the help of 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 sustainability of the social system, maintaining social stability and at the same time for positive social changes. 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 the Latin sanctio - the strictest decree) of a negative nature must be applied, including including legal ones.
- this is, on the one hand, 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.
In general, the social behavior of an individual occurs under the control of society and the people around him. 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 patterns of social behavior 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 is manifested in the subordination of an individual to the social group into which he is integrated, which is expressed in meaningful or spontaneous adherence to social norms prescribed by this group.
Social control consists of two elements— social norms and social sanctions.
Social norms are socially approved or legally enshrined rules, standards, patterns that regulate people’s social behavior.
Social sanctions are means of reward and punishment that encourage people to comply with social norms.
Social norms
Social norms- these are socially approved or legally enshrined rules, standards, patterns that regulate the social behavior of people. Therefore, social norms are divided into legal norms, moral norms and social norms themselves.
Legal norms - These are norms formally enshrined in various types of legislative acts. Violation of legal norms involves legal, administrative and other types of punishment.
Moral standards- informal norms that function in the form of 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 people”);
- social customs (eg hospitality);
- social traditions (for example, the subordination of children to parents),
- social mores (manners, morals, etiquette);
- social taboos (absolute prohibitions on cannibalism, infanticide, etc.). Customs, traditions, mores, taboos are sometimes called general rules of 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 reward (positive sanction) or punishment (negative sanction). Sanctions can be formal, imposed by the state or specially authorized organizations and individuals, and informal, expressed by unofficial persons.
Social sanctions - they are means of reward and punishment that encourage people to comply with social norms. In this regard, social sanctions can be called a guardian of social norms.
Social norms and social sanctions are an inseparable whole, and if a social norm does not have an accompanying social sanction, then it loses its social regulatory function. For example, back in the 19th century. In Western European countries, the social norm was the birth of children only in a legal marriage. Therefore, illegitimate children were excluded from inheriting their parents’ property, they were neglected in everyday communication, and they could not enter into decent marriages. However, as society modernized and softened public opinion regarding illegitimate children, it began to gradually eliminate informal and formal sanctions for violating this norm. As a result, this social norm ceased to exist altogether.
The following are distinguished: mechanisms of social control:
- isolation - isolation of the deviant from society (for example, imprisonment);
- isolation - limiting the deviant’s contacts with others (for example, placement in a psychiatric clinic);
- rehabilitation is a set of measures aimed at returning the deviant to normal life.
Types of social sanctions
Although formal sanctions seem 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.
During the process of socialization, forms of external control are internalized so that they become part of his own beliefs. An internal control system called self-control. A typical example of self-control is the torment of conscience of a person who has committed an unworthy act. In a developed society, self-control mechanisms prevail over external control mechanisms.
Types of Social Control
In sociology, two main processes of social control are distinguished: the application of positive or negative sanctions for an individual’s social behavior; 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, is carried out by government bodies, political and social organizations, the education system, the media and operates throughout the country, based on written norms - laws, decrees, regulations, orders and instructions. Formal social control may also include the dominant ideology in society. When we talk about formal social control, we primarily mean actions aimed at making people respect laws and order with the help of government officials. Such 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. Agents of informal social control are social institutions such as family, school, and 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 very weak punishment, for example, disapproval, an unfriendly look, a grin. Violation of other social norms is followed by severe punishments - death penalty, imprisonment, expulsion from the country. Violation of taboos and legal laws is punished most severely; certain types of group habits, in particular family ones, are punished most leniently.
Internal social control— independent regulation by an 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 manifests itself, on the one hand, in feelings of guilt, emotional experiences, “remorse” for social actions, and 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.
- this 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 an individual to rationalize his social behavior.
Conscience- the ability of an individual to independently formulate his own moral duties and demand that he fulfill them, as well as to make a self-assessment of his actions and deeds. Conscience does not allow an individual to violate his established attitudes, principles, beliefs, in accordance with which he builds his social behavior.
Will— a person’s conscious regulation of his behavior and activities, expressed in the ability to overcome external and internal difficulties when performing purposeful actions and deeds. Will helps an individual overcome his internal subconscious desires and needs, act and behave in society in accordance with his beliefs.
In the process of social behavior, an individual has to constantly struggle 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 stricter the external control, the weaker the self-control. Moreover, social experience shows that the weaker an individual’s self-control, the stricter 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 an individual’s social behavior, there are also: 1) indirect social control, based on identification with a law-abiding reference 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 ones.
Social behavior that corresponds to the norms and values defined in society is designated as conformist (from the Latin conformis - similar, similar). The main task of social control is the reproduction of a conformist type of behavior.
Social sanctions are used to monitor compliance with norms and values. Sanction- this is the reaction of a group to the behavior of a social subject. With the help of sanctions, normative regulation of the social system and its subsystems is carried out.
Sanctions are not only punishments, but also incentives that promote compliance with social norms. Along with values, they contribute to the observance of social norms and thus social norms are protected on both sides, from the side of values and from the side of sanctions. Social sanctions are an extensive system of rewards for fulfilling social norms, that is, for conformity, agreement with them, and a system of punishments for deviation from them, that is, deviance.
Negative sanctions are associated with socially disapproved violations of norms, Depending on the degree of rigidity of the norms, they can be divided into punishments and censures:
forms of punishment- administrative penalties, restriction of access to socially valuable resources, prosecution, etc.
forms of censure- expression of public disapproval, refusal to cooperate, breakup of relations, etc.
The use of positive sanctions is associated not simply with compliance with norms, but with the performance of a number of socially significant services aimed at preserving values and norms. Forms of positive sanctions include awards, monetary rewards, privileges, approval, etc.
Along with negative and positive, there are formal and informal sanctions, which differ depending on the institutions that use them and the nature of their action:
formal sanctions implemented by official institutions sanctioned by society - law enforcement agencies, courts, tax services, and the penitentiary system.
informal are used by informal institutions (comrades, family, neighbors).
There are four types of sanctions: positive, negative, formal, informal. Οʜᴎ give four types of combinations that can be depicted as a logical square.
| f+ | f_ |
| n+ | n_ |
(F+) Formal positive sanctions. This is a public endorsement by official organizations. Such approval may be expressed in government awards, state bonuses and scholarships, granted titles, construction of monuments, presentation of certificates of honor, or admission to high positions and honorary functions (for example: election as chairman of the board).
(H+) informal positive sanctions - public approval that does not come from official organizations can be expressed in friendly praise, compliments, honor, flattering reviews or recognition of leadership or expert qualities. (just a smile) (F)-)formal negative sanctions - punishments provided for by legal laws, government decrees, administrative instructions, orders and orders can be expressed in arrest, imprisonment, dismissal, deprivation of civil rights, confiscation of property, fine, demotion, excommunication from the church, the death penalty.
(N-) informal negative sanctions - punishment not provided for by official authorities: censure, remarks, ridicule, neglect, unflattering nickname, refusal to maintain relationships, disapproving review, complaint, revealing article in the press.
Four groups of sanctions help determine what behavior of an individual can be considered useful for the group:
- legal - a system of punishments for actions provided for by law.
- ethical - a system of censures, comments arising from moral principles,
- satirical - ridicule, disdain, smirks, etc.,
- religious sanctions .
French sociologist R. Lapierre identifies three types of sanctions:
- physical , with the help of which punishment for violation of social norms is carried out;
- economic blocking the satisfaction of current needs (fines, penalties, restrictions on the use of resources, dismissals); administrative (lower social status, warnings, penalties, removal from positions).
However, sanctions, together with values and norms, constitute a mechanism of social control. The rules themselves do not control anything. People's behavior is controlled by other people based on norms. Compliance with norms, like compliance with sanctions, makes people's behavior predictable,
However, norms and sanctions are combined into a single whole. If a norm does not have an accompanying sanction, then it ceases to regulate behavior and becomes simply a slogan or appeal, and not an element of social control.
The application of social sanctions in some cases requires the presence of outsiders, but in others it does not (prison requires a serious trial on the basis of which the sentence is imposed). The awarding of an academic degree involves an equally complex process of defending a dissertation and the decision of the academic council. If the application of a sanction is carried out by the person himself, is directed at himself and occurs internally, then this form of control is called self-control. Self-control - internal control.
Individuals independently control their behavior, coordinating it with generally accepted norms. During the process of socialization, norms are internalized so firmly that people who violate them experience a feeling of guilt. Approximately 70% of social control is achieved through self-control. The more self-control is developed among the members of a society, the less it is extremely important for this society to resort to external control, and, on the contrary, the weaker the self-control, the stricter the external control should be. At the same time, strict external control and petty supervision of citizens inhibit the development of self-awareness and muffle the volitional efforts of the individual, resulting in a dictatorship.
Often, a dictatorship is established for a time for the benefit of citizens, in order to restore order, but citizens who are accustomed to submitting to coercive control do not develop internal control, they gradually degrade as social beings, as individuals capable of taking responsibility and doing without external coercion, that is, dictatorship, Thus, the degree of development of self-control characterizes the type of people prevailing in society and the emerging form of the state. With developed self-control, there is a high probability of establishing democracy; with undeveloped self-control, there is a high probability of establishing dictatorship.
Social sanctions and their typology. - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Social sanctions and their typology." 2017, 2018.
Depending on the nature of the sanctions that are applied to the deviant, styles of formal social control are distinguished.
1. Punishing (moralistic) style of social control .
This style aims to punish deviants who violated the foundations of society. Moreover, the maximum punishment is provided. Applies to a violator who has committed a deliberate act (most often a crime).
The peculiarity of this style is that it does not compensate the victim of deviant behavior. Justice is administered on the basis of moral justice.
Society has main dominant values, the violation of which leads only to punitive action (human life, property, etc.). But, in those societies where there are no clearly fixed core values, deviant actions do not entail punitive sanctions. For example, in archaic societies the central values are religious. Severe punitive sanctions follow for violations of taboos and family traditions. At the same time, there will be no punitive sanctions for murder for an attempt on property.
In highly developed societies there is a very large concentration of values - there are many of them.
A social institution such as the state gravitates toward a punitive style of social control. The most terrible act in the state is considered treason or treason and entails the death penalty or life imprisonment.
The intensity of the punitive style of social control is the opposite of social distance.
Social distance – the degree of closeness between people. The main characteristics of social distance are: frequency of relationships, their type (formal or informal), intensity of relationships (degree of emotional inclusion) and their duration, as well as the nature of the connection between people (relationships prescribed or non-prescribed).
The greater the social distance between the deviant and the agent of social control, the greater the role moral rules play. For example, the relatives of a murderer are inclined to forgive his act, provided that this does not happen again in the future.
The punitive style of social control is inversely proportional to the relationship between the crime victim and the agent of social control. If the victim is close in social distance to the agent of social control, then the response to the crime will be harsh (for example, in the USA, for the murder of a police officer, the criminal will most often be killed by the police during arrest).
Social control is usually of two types - top-down and bottom-up.
Top-down social control – top-down, when a group occupying a higher social position controls a group occupying a lower position.
Bottom-up social control – from bottom to top - inferior control their superiors (system of public opinion in the West de).
The punitive style of social control is always top-down. Offenses against those higher up on the social ladder are punished more harshly.
The punitive style of social control is directly proportional to social inequality. The poorer the person, the harsher the punishment.
The punitive style of social control is in turn divided into several types:
1) Open punishment– the response of authorized bodies to the act of a deviant in accordance with the rules of law.
2) Hidden punishment(informal control) - the group itself can punish its member for any offense (especially common in criminal cultures).
3) Indirect answer– mental illness can be a response to an insult.
4) Suicide– self-punishment (self-control).
2. Compensatory style of social control.
Compensating style - coercive style of social control : the offender compensates for the damage caused to the victim. Most often this is financial compensation. After compensation for material damage is provided, the situation is considered resolved and the deviant is punished.
In this style, the main attention is paid to the result of the offense, and it does not matter whether there was intent in committing the offense or not. The focus of this style is always the victim and it is she who is given more attention.
In compensating style there is usually a third party, which forces compensation (arbitrator, lawyer, court, etc.).
The compensating style is not used in cases of murder, treason, terrorism - the punitive style is always used here. Sometimes a punitive style can be combined with a compensatory one (for example, a prison sentence for a crime with an additional penalty - confiscation of property).
Compensating style applies to medium to long social distance. Any close relationship interferes with the compensatory style. For example, neighbors rarely pay compensation for damage caused, since close ties that exist between people can be severed, and if close ties are broken, they are never renewed, especially if a third party is involved - the court. Compensation is rarely paid between friends.
With top-down control, the compensatory style is very rare, since often the violator with a lower status does not have enough funds to pay compensation, moreover, compensation seems to equalize the superior with the inferior, so compensation is rare or even impossible (for example, in a feudal society, if a commoner killed a feudal lord, then a punitive style was used, since compensation equated the feudal lord with a commoner). In bottom-up social control, compensation is paid. (A rich and famous person, going to prison, loses his social status, so he pays off).
The modern world is more prone to a compensatory style of social control than to a punitive one (lawyers on both sides of a trial tend to reach an agreement before the trial and the responsible party pays damages to the victim; if there is no serious offense, then it rarely comes to imprisonment, which explains the development of the institution of lawyers in the West ).
In our country, this style has very little effect due to the legal illiteracy of citizens and high fees for legal services.
3. Therapeutic style of social control.
This style is not aimed at punishment, but at changing the personality of the deviant and consists of a psychotherapy procedure - this is, as it were, a symbolic change in the personality of the deviant.
This style only applies if the deviant agrees to therapy.(violent therapy is a punitive style).
Here there is an attempt by a psychotherapist (or analyst) to resolve intrapersonal problems, help the individual improve, reevaluate his behavior, return the person to society and teach him to live in accordance with the norms.
Agents of the therapeutic style are psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, and religious figures. For example, in religion, an individual’s guilt for misdeeds is completely removed and this helps the person adapt to the situation.
Within this style, the behavior of the deviant is of great importance. If a person's behavior cannot be explained, he is considered not entirely normal and a therapeutic style of social control is applied to him. In the Criminal Code there is such a thing as sanity: a person who is mentally insane at the time of the crime does not bear criminal liability.
Therapeutic social control is inversely related to social distance. If a father beats his family, they will think he is sick. If parents beat their children, they are advised to see a psychiatrist, rather than law enforcement agencies being invited. The greater the social distance between the deviant and the victim, the more inclined they are to consider the person a criminal rather than a sick person.
4. Regulatory style of social control.
The goal of the regulatory style is to regulate the relationship between the deviant and the victim of deviant behavior and bring them to harmony. It is used when there is a violation of relations between two parties: between two individuals, between an individual and an organization, between organizations. This style does not provide the injured party with either moral or material compensation.
Nowadays, the regulatory style is quite widespread. It operates in the area of family relations; in cases of conflicts between students and teachers; between schoolchildren and teachers; between employees at the enterprise, etc. Applies when both parties are rooted in a group where there is a long-term and overlapping relationship; when both parties belong to the same kinship group (if there are no selfish interests); when a group lives in one place for a long time (Russian peasant community).
The effect of the regulatory style is directly proportional to the equality of the parties. The two parties must be equal in social status; Only the positional “husband-wife, children-parents” is allowed. It is almost impossible to regulate relations between representatives of different social groups.
The regulatory style is widespread among organizations. It is very difficult for organizations to punish because... they have multiple intersecting connections. At the beginning of the twentieth century, trade unions emerged in Europe. With their advent, the regulatory style among organizations became dominant. Business owners can communicate with unions without feeling humiliated.
Sociology of personality
Since ancient times, the honor and dignity of the family have been highly valued because the family is the basic unit of society and society is obliged to take care of it first of all. If a man can protect the honor and life of his household, his status increases. If he cannot, he loses his status. In a traditional society, a man who is able to protect the family automatically becomes its head. The wife and children play second and third roles. There are no disputes about who is more important, smarter, more inventive, therefore families are strong, united in socio-psychological terms. In modern society, a man in a family does not have the opportunity to demonstrate his leadership functions. This is why families today are so unstable and conflict-ridden.
Sanctions- the security guards are fine. Social sanctions are an extensive system of rewards for fulfilling norms (conformity), and punishments for deviation from them (i.e., deviance). It should be noted that conformity represents only external agreement with the generally accepted. Internally, an individual may harbor disagreement with the norms, but not tell anyone about it. Conformity there is a goal of social control.
There are four types of sanctions:
Formal positive sanctions- public approval from official organizations, documented in documents with signatures and seals. These include, for example, awarding orders, titles, bonuses, admission to high positions, etc.
Informal positive sanctions- public approval that does not come from official organizations: compliment, smile, fame, applause, etc.
Formal negative sanctions: punishments provided for by laws, instructions, decrees, etc. This means arrest, imprisonment, excommunication, fine, etc.
Informal negative sanctions- punishments not provided for by law - mockery, censure, lecture, neglect, spreading rumors, feuilleton in a newspaper, slander, etc.
Norms and sanctions are combined into one whole. If a norm does not have an accompanying sanction, then it loses its regulatory function. Let's say in the 19th century. In Western European countries, the norm was considered to be the birth of children in a legal marriage. Illegitimate children were excluded from inheriting their parents' property, they could not enter into worthy marriages, and they were neglected in everyday communication. Gradually, as society became more modern, sanctions for violating this norm were excluded, and public opinion softened. As a result, the norm ceased to exist.
1.3.2. Types and forms of social control
There are two types of social control:
internal control or self-control;
external control is a set of institutions and mechanisms that guarantee compliance with norms.
In progress self-control a person independently regulates his behavior, coordinating it with generally accepted norms. This type of control manifests itself in feelings of guilt and conscience. The fact is that generally accepted norms, rational prescriptions remain in the sphere of consciousness (remember, in S. Freud’s “Super-I”), below which is the sphere of the unconscious, consisting of elemental impulses (“It” in S. Freud). In the process of socialization, a person has to constantly struggle with his subconscious, because self-control is the most important condition for the collective behavior of people. The older a person is, the more self-control he should have, in theory. However, its formation can be hindered by cruel external control. The more closely the state takes care of its citizens through the police, courts, security agencies, army, etc., the weaker the self-control. But the weaker the self-control, the stricter the external control should be. Thus, a vicious circle arises leading to the degradation of individuals as social beings. Example: Russia has been overwhelmed by a wave of serious crimes against individuals, including murders. Up to 90% of murders committed only in the Primorsky Territory are domestic, that is, they are committed as a result of drunken quarrels at family celebrations, friendly meetings, etc. According to practitioners, the underlying cause of the tragedies is powerful control by the state and public organizations , parties, churches, peasant communities, who very strictly looked after Russians for almost the entire existence of Russian society - from the time of the Principality of Moscow until the end of the USSR. During perestroika, external pressure began to weaken, and internal control was not enough to maintain stable social relations. As a result, we are seeing an increase in corruption in the ruling class, violations of constitutional rights and individual freedoms. And the population responds to the authorities by increasing crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, and prostitution.
External control exists in informal and formal varieties.
Informal control based on the approval or condemnation of relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, public opinion, which is expressed through traditions, customs, or the media. Agents of informal control - family, clan, religion - are important social institutions. Informal control is ineffective in a large group.
Formal control based on approval or condemnation from official authorities and administration. It operates throughout the country and is based on written norms - laws, decrees, instructions, regulations. It is carried out by education, the state, parties, and the media.
Methods of external control, depending on the sanctions applied, are divided into hard, soft, direct, and indirect. Example:
television is an instrument of soft indirect control;
racket is an instrument of direct strict control;
criminal code - direct soft control;
economic sanctions of the international community are an indirect, harsh method.
1.3.3. Deviant behavior, essence, types
The basis of individual socialization is the assimilation of norms. Compliance with norms determines the cultural level of society. Deviation from them is called in sociology deviation.
Deviant behavior is relative. What is a deviation for one person or group may be a habit for another. Thus, the upper class considers its behavior to be the norm, and the behavior of lower social groups to be a deviation. Therefore, deviant behavior is relative because it relates only to the cultural norms of a given group. From the perspective of a criminal, extortion and robbery are considered normal types of income. However, most of the population considers this behavior to be a deviation.
Forms of deviant behavior include criminality, alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, homosexuality, gambling, mental disorder, and suicide.
What are the causes of deviation? It is possible to identify reasons of a biopsychic nature: it is believed that the tendency to alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental disorders can be transmitted from parents to children. E. Durkheim, R. Merton, neo-Marxists, conflictologists, and cultural experts paid great attention to elucidating the factors influencing the emergence and growth of deviation. They were able to identify social reasons:
anomie, or deregulation of society, appears during social crises. Old values disappear, there are no new ones, and people lose their life guidelines. The number of suicides and crimes is growing, family and morality are being destroyed (E. Durkheim - sociological approach);
anomie, manifested in the gap between the cultural goals of society and socially approved ways of achieving them (R. Merton - sociological approach);
conflict between cultural norms of social groups (E. Sellin - cultural approach);
identification of an individual with a subculture, the norms of which contradict the norms of the dominant culture (V. Miller - cultural approach);
the desire of influential groups to label members of less influential groups as deviants. Thus, in the 30s in the South of the United States, blacks were a priori considered rapists only because of their race (G. Becker - theory of stigmatization);
laws and law enforcement agencies that the ruling classes use against those who are deprived of power (R. Quinney - radical criminology), etc.
Types of deviant behavior. There are many classifications of deviation, but, in our opinion, one of the most interesting is the typology of R. Merton. The author uses his own concept - deviation arises as a result of anomie, a gap between cultural goals and socially approved ways of achieving them.
Merton considers the only type of non-deviant behavior to be conformity - agreement with the goals and means of achieving them. He identifies four possible types of deviation:
innovation- implies agreement with the goals of society and rejection of generally accepted ways of achieving them. “Innovators” include prostitutes, blackmailers, and creators of “financial pyramids.” But great scientists can also be included among them;
ritualism- is associated with the denial of the goals of a given society and an absurd exaggeration of the importance of ways to achieve them. Thus, the bureaucrat demands that each document be carefully filled out, checked twice, and filed in four copies. But at the same time the goal is forgotten - what is all this for?
retreatism(or escape from reality) is expressed in the rejection of both socially approved goals and methods of achieving them. Retreatists include drunkards, drug addicts, homeless people, etc.
riot - denies both goals and methods, but strives to replace them with new ones. For example, the Bolsheviks sought to destroy capitalism and private property and replace them with socialism and public ownership of the means of production. Rejecting evolution, they strived for revolution, etc.
Merton's concept is important primarily because it views conformity and deviance as two sides of the same scale, rather than as separate categories. It also emphasizes that deviation is not the product of an absolutely negative attitude towards generally accepted standards. A thief does not reject the socially approved goal of material well-being, but can strive for it with the same zeal as a young man concerned about his career. The bureaucrat does not abandon the generally accepted rules of work, but he follows them too literally, reaching the point of absurdity. However, both the thief and the bureaucrat are deviants.
In the process of assigning the stigma of a “deviant” to an individual, primary and secondary stages can be distinguished. Primary deviation is the initial action of an offense. It is not even always noticed by society, especially if norms and expectations are violated (for example, at dinner they use a fork rather than a spoon). A person is recognized as a deviant as a result of some kind of processing of information about his behavior carried out by another person, group or organization. Secondary deviation is a process during which, after an act of primary deviation, a person, under the influence of public reaction, accepts a deviant identity, that is, he is rebuilt as a person from the position of the group to which he was assigned. Sociologist I.M. Shur called the process of “getting used to” the image of a deviant as role absorption.
Deviation is much more widespread than official statistics indicate. Society, in fact, consists of 99% deviants. Most of them are moderate deviants. But, according to sociologists, 30% of society members are pronounced deviants with negative or positive deviation. Control over them is asymmetrical. The deviations of national heroes, outstanding scientists, artists, athletes, artists, writers, political leaders, labor leaders, very healthy and beautiful people are maximally approved. The behavior of terrorists, traitors, criminals, cynics, vagabonds, drug addicts, political emigrants, etc. is highly disapproved of.
In earlier times, society considered all sharply deviant forms of behavior undesirable. Geniuses were persecuted like villains, the very lazy and the super-hardworking, the poor and the super-rich were condemned. Reason: sharp deviations from the average norm - positive or negative - threatened to disrupt the stability of society based on traditions, ancient customs and an inefficient economy. In modern society, with the development of the industrial and scientific-technical revolutions, democracy, market, and the formation of a new type of modal personality - the human consumer, positive deviations are considered as an important factor in the development of the economy, political and social life.
Main literature
Theories of personality in American and Western European psychology. - M., 1996.
Smelser N. Sociology. - M., 1994.
Sociology / Ed. acad. G. V. Osipova. - M., 1995.
Kravchenko A.I. Sociology. - M., 1999.
additional literature
Abercrombie N., Hill S., Turner S. B. Sociological Dictionary. - M., 1999.
Western sociology. Dictionary. - M., 1989.
Kravchenko A.I. Sociology. Reader. - Ekaterinburg, 1997.
Kon I. Sociology of personality. M., 1967.
Shibutani T. Social psychology. M., 1967.
Jeri D., Jeri J. Large explanatory sociological dictionary. In 2 vols. M., 1999.
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Forms of deviant behavior. Laws of social organization. Biological and psychological interpretations of the causes of deviation. Sociological explanation of deviation. State of disorganization of society. Conflictological approach to deviation.
Determining the causes of deviant behavior in connection with the functioning and development of society. Identifying the causes of such a dangerous social phenomenon as crime and methods of its prevention. Sociology of law and law enforcement agencies.
Concept and structure of social role. The meaning of the term "status". Varieties of social status. Innate and ascribed statuses. Concept and elements, types and forms of social control. Types of social norms. Various classifications of social norms.
Characterization of deviant behavior as disapproving from the point of view of public opinion. Positive and negative role of deviation. Causes and forms of teenage deviance. Sociological theories of deviant behavior by E. Durkheim and G. Becker.
Almost the entire life of any society is characterized by the presence of deviations. Social deviations, that is, deviations, are present in every social system. Determining the causes of deviations, their forms and consequences is an important tool for managing society.
Relations between society and the individual. The concept of social control. Elements of social control. Social norms and sanctions. Mechanism of control action.
Social sanctions are a means of reward and punishment that encourage people to comply with social norms. Social sanctions are guardians of norms.
Types of sanctions:
1) Formal positive sanctions are approval from official bodies:
Reward;
Scholarship;
Monument.
2) Informal positive sanctions are approval from society:
Praise;
Applause;
Compliment;
3) Formal negative is punishment from official bodies:
Dismissal;
Rebuke;
The death penalty.
4) Informal negative sanctions - punishments from society:
Comment;
Mockery;
There are two types of social control:
1. external social control - it is carried out by authorities, society, and close people.
2. internal social control - it is exercised by the person himself. 70% of human behavior depends on self-control.
Compliance with social norms is called conformity - this is the goal of social control
3. Social deviations: deviant and delinquent behavior.
The behavior of people who do not comply with social norms is called deviant. These actions do not correspond to the norms and social stereotypes established in a given society.
Positive deviance is deviant behavior that does not cause disapproval from society. These can be heroic deeds, self-sacrifice, super-dedication, excessive zeal, a heightened sense of pity and sympathy, super-hard work, etc. Negative deviation is deviations that cause reactions of disapproval and condemnation in most people. This may include terrorism, vandalism, theft, betrayal, cruelty to animals, etc.
Delinquent behavior is a serious violation of the law that may result in criminal liability.
There are several main forms of deviation.
1. Drunkenness – excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. Alcoholism is a painful attraction to alcohol. This type of deviation brings great harm to all people. Both the economy and the well-being of society suffer from this. For example, in the United States, about 14 million people suffer from alcoholism, and annual losses from it reach up to 100 billion dollars. Our country is also a world leader in alcohol consumption. Russia produces 25 liters of alcohol per capita per year. Moreover, most of the alcohol is strong alcoholic drinks. Recently, the problem of “beer” alcoholism has emerged, which mainly affects young people. About 500 thousand Russians die annually for various reasons related to alcohol.
2. Drug addiction is a painful attraction to drugs. Associated consequences of drug addiction are crimes, physical and mental exhaustion, and personality degradation. According to the UN, every 25th inhabitant of the Earth is a drug addict, i.e. There are more than 200 million drug addicts in the world. According to official estimates, there are 3 million drug addicts in Russia, and 5 million according to unofficial estimates. There are supporters of the legalization of “soft” drugs (such as marijuana). They give the example of the Netherlands, where the use of these drugs is legal. But the experience of these countries has shown that the number of drug addicts is not decreasing, but only increasing.
3. Prostitution – extramarital sexual relations for payment. There are countries where prostitution is legalized. Supporters of legalization believe that the transfer to a legal position will allow better control of the “process”, improve the situation, reduce the number of diseases, rid this area of pimps and bandits, in addition, the state budget will receive additional taxes from this type of activity. Opponents of legalization point out the humiliation, inhumanity and immorality of body trade. Immorality cannot be legalized. Society cannot live according to the principle of “everything is permitted”, without certain moral brakes. In addition, underground prostitution with all its criminal, moral and medical problems will continue.
4. Homosexuality is sexual attraction to people of the same sex. Homosexuality occurs in the form of: a) sodomy - sexual relations between a man and a man, b) lesbianism - sexual attraction of a woman to a woman, c) bisexuality - sexual attraction to individuals of the same and opposite sex. The normal sexual attraction of a woman to a man and vice versa is called heterosexuality. Some countries already allow marriages between gays and lesbians. Such families are allowed to adopt children. In our country, the population generally has ambivalent attitudes towards such relationships.
5. Anomie is a state of society in which a significant part of people disregard social norms. This happens in troubled, transitional, crisis times of civil wars, revolutionary upheavals, deep reforms, when previous goals and values collapse, and faith in the usual moral and legal norms falls. Examples include France during the Great Revolution of 1789, Russia in 1917 and the early 90s of the 20th century.