Every day we are among people, performing some actions in accordance with this or that situation. We have to communicate with each other using generally accepted norms. Collectively, all this is our behavior. Let's try to understand deeper,

Behavior as a moral category

Behavior is a set of human actions that an individual performs over a long period of time under given conditions. These are all actions, not individual ones. Regardless of whether actions are performed consciously or unintentionally, they are subject to moral evaluation. It is worth noting that behavior can reflect both the actions of one person and an entire team. In this case, both personal characteristics and the specifics of interpersonal relationships influence. Through his behavior, a person reflects his attitude towards society, towards specific people, and towards the objects around him.

The concept of a line of conduct

Behavior concept includes the determination of a line of behavior, which implies the presence of a certain systematicity and consistency in the repeated actions of an individual or the characteristics of the actions of a group of individuals over a long period of time. Behavior is perhaps the only indicator that objectively characterizes the moral qualities and driving motives of an individual.

The concept of rules of behavior, etiquette

Etiquette is a set of norms and rules that regulate a person’s relationships with others. This is an integral part of public culture (culture of behavior). It is expressed in a complex system of relationships between people. This includes concepts such as:

• polite, courteous and protective treatment of the fair sex;
• a sense of respect and deep respect for the older generation;
• correct forms of everyday communication with others;
• norms and rules of dialogue;
• being at the dinner table;
• dealing with guests;
• fulfillment of the requirements for a person’s clothing (dress code).

All these laws of decency embody general ideas about human dignity, simple requirements of convenience and ease in human relationships. In general, they coincide with the general requirements of politeness. However, there are also strictly established ethical standards that are immutable.

• Respectful treatment of students to teachers.
  • Maintaining subordination in relation of subordinates to their management.
  • Standards of conduct in public places, during seminars and conferences.

Psychology as the science of behavior

Psychology is a science that studies the characteristics of human behavior and motivations. This area of ​​knowledge studies how mental and behavioral processes proceed, specific personality traits, mechanisms that exist in a person’s mind and explain the deep subjective reasons for certain of his actions. She also considers the distinctive character traits of a person, taking into account the essential factors that determine them (stereotypes, habits, inclinations, feelings, needs), which can be partly innate and partly acquired, brought up in appropriate social conditions. Thus, the science of psychology helps us understand, since it reveals its mental nature and the moral conditions of its formation.

Behavior as a reflection of a person’s actions

Depending on the nature of a person’s actions, different ones can be defined.

• A person may try to attract the attention of others through his actions. This behavior is called demonstrative.
• If a person undertakes any obligations and fulfills them in good faith, then his behavior is called responsible.
• Behavior that determines the actions of a person aimed at the benefit of others, and for which he does not require any reward, is called helping.
• There is also internal behavior, which is characterized by the fact that a person decides for himself what to believe in and what to value.

There are others, more complex ones.

• Deviant behavior. It represents a negative deviation from norms and patterns of behavior. As a rule, it entails the application of various types of punishment to the offender.
• If a person demonstrates complete indifference to his surroundings, a reluctance to make decisions on his own, and mindlessly follows those around him in his actions, then his behavior is considered conformist.

Characteristics of behavior

An individual's behavior can be characterized by various categories.

• Innate behavior is usually instincts.
• Acquired behavior is the actions a person performs in accordance with his upbringing.
• Intentional behavior is actions carried out by a person consciously.
• Unintentional behavior is actions performed spontaneously.
• Behavior can also be conscious or unconscious.

Code of Conduct

Close attention is paid to the norms of human behavior in society. A norm is a primitive form of a requirement regarding morality. On the one hand, this is a form of relationship, and on the other, a specific form of consciousness and thinking of the individual. The norm of behavior is constantly reproduced similar actions of many people, obligatory for each person individually. Society needs people to act in given situations according to a certain scenario, which is designed to maintain social balance. The binding force of norms of behavior for each individual person is based on examples from society, mentors and the immediate environment. In addition, habit plays an important role, as does collective or individual coercion. At the same time, norms of behavior must be based on general, abstract ideas about morality (the definition of good, evil, and so on). One of the tasks of properly educating a person in society is to ensure that the simplest norms of behavior become an internal need of a person, take the form of a habit and are carried out without external and internal coercion.

Raising the younger generation

One of the most important moments in raising the younger generation is. The purpose of such conversations should be to expand the knowledge of schoolchildren about the culture of behavior, to explain to them the moral meaning of this concept, as well as to develop in them the skills of correct behavior in society. First of all, the teacher must explain to students that it is inextricably linked with the people around them, that how the teenager behaves depends on how easy and pleasant it will be for these people to live next to him. Teachers should also cultivate positive character traits in children using the examples of books by various writers and poets. The following rules also need to be explained to students:

• how to behave at school;
• how to behave on the street;
• how to behave in a company;
• how to behave in city transport;
• how to behave when visiting.

It is important to pay special attention, especially in high school, to this issue, both in the company of classmates, as well as in the company of boys outside of school.

Public opinion as a reaction to human behavior

Public opinion is a mechanism through which society regulates the behavior of each individual. Any form of social discipline, including traditions and customs, falls under this category, because for society it is something like legal norms of behavior that the vast majority of people follow. Moreover, such traditions form public opinion, which acts as a powerful mechanism for regulating behavior and human relationships in various spheres of life. From an ethical point of view, the determining point in regulating an individual’s behavior is not his personal discretion, but public opinion, which is based on certain generally accepted moral principles and criteria. It must be recognized that an individual has the right to independently decide how to behave in a given situation, despite the fact that the formation of self-awareness is greatly influenced by the norms accepted in society, as well as collective opinion. Under the influence of approval or censure, a person’s character can change dramatically.

Human behavior assessment

When considering the issue, we must not forget about such a concept as assessing the behavior of an individual. This assessment consists of society’s approval or condemnation of a specific act, as well as the behavior of the individual as a whole. People can express their positive or negative attitude towards the subject being evaluated in the form of praise or blame, agreement or criticism, manifestations of sympathy or hostility, that is, through various external actions and emotions. In contrast to requirements expressed in the form of norms, which prescribe in the form of general rules how a person should act in a given situation, assessment compares these requirements with those specific phenomena and events that already take place in reality, establishing their compliance or non-compliance existing norms of behavior.

Golden rule of behavior

Besides the generally accepted ones we all know, there is a golden rule. It originated in ancient times, when the first essential requirements for human morality were formed. Its essence is to treat others in the way you would like to see this attitude towards yourself. Similar ideas were found in such ancient works as the teachings of Confucius, the Bible, Homer's Iliad, and so on. It is worth noting that this is one of the few beliefs that has survived to this day almost unchanged and has not lost its relevance. The positive moral significance of the golden rule is determined by the fact that it practically orients the individual towards the development of an important element in the mechanism of moral behavior - the ability to put oneself in the place of others and emotionally experience their condition. In modern morality, the golden rule of behavior is an elementary universal prerequisite for relationships between people, expressing a continuity with the moral experience of the past.

Behavior- this is a set of movements, acts and actions of a person that can be observed by other people, namely those in whose presence they are performed.

Basic elements of social behavior- needs, motives and expectations. The unit of behavior is an act. Need- This is a conscious and experienced state of a person’s need for something.

Hierarchy of needs: physiological needs, existential; social; esteem needs; needs for self-affirmation. Satisfaction of the first type of needs entails the need to satisfy the next type of needs.

Motives - This is a person’s desire, his motivation for activities aimed at satisfying certain needs, as well as a set of reasons, internal and external conditions that cause certain actions of people.

Social values - it is something that is designed to satisfy individual, group or social needs. Personality- it is a dynamic, relatively stable integral system of intellectual, socio-cultural and material-volitional qualities of a person, expressed in the individual characteristics of his consciousness and activity.

15 Social Control

This is a special social mechanism. Regulation of behavior and maintenance of general order.

2 social elements Control:

1 norms are instructions on how to behave correctly in society.

2 sanctions - incentives and punishments that encourage people to comply with social services. Norms.

2 forms of values: internal (value orientation), external (have common grounds with norms).

Social Prescription- a prohibition or permission to do something, an appeal to an individual or group, expressed in any form.

2 forms of social Conr-la: protective and stabilizing.

Social Norms– prescriptions, requirements, wishes and expectations of appropriate behavior.

Types of norms:

1 arising and existing only in small groups (group habits - family, work team)

2 norms in large groups or in society as a whole (general rules - customs, traditions, manners of behavior).

Norms are divided into: habits, customs, traditions, mores, laws, murders.

Standard functions:

Regulate the general course of socialization

Control deviations in behavior

Serve as models, standards of behavior

Integrate the individuals of the group.

The norms manifest themselves as:

Standards of Conduct (Responsibilities)

Expectation of behavior (reaction from other people)

Norms are rules of behavior, and values ​​are abstract concepts of what is good, evil, etc.

Social Sanctions- punishment and reward - guardians of norms, an extensive system of rewards for fulfilling norms, i.e. conformism, for agreeing with them and punishments for deviation from them, i.e. deviance.

Conformism- external agreement with the generally accepted.

4 types of sanctions: positive, negative, formal, informal.

Self-control- the problem is purely sociological because the degree of its development is predominant in social society. The type of people and the emerging form of the state.

Agents of for-go and non-for-go control:

External control– a set of institutions and mechanisms that guarantee compliance with generally accepted norms of behavior and laws.

Nefor-ny control(relatives, friends, society), military commander (official authorities, administration).

Con methods: hard, soft, direct, indirect, general, detailed.

Social behavior and social control (SC) are the subjects of study of a relatively young science - social psychology. Their understanding is essential for every person. After all, his success largely depends on his ability to build constructive social connections.

The development of society is directly related to the level of socialization of its individuals. Throughout life, a person encounters four levels of socialization.

About the levels of socialization of a child

Socialization of infancy is called primary. A child comes into the world. like a blank slate (tabula rasa), completely unaware of what society is. He soon discovers that the space around him is inhabited by other people. They are the ones who build patterns (templates, matrices) for the baby to understand the world around him.

The sphere of social control surrounding each individual becomes more complex in proportion to his evolving social behavior.

The child's secondary socialization coincides with his acquisition of formal education. Its main mission is intellectualization, acquiring logical thinking skills. The child loses his unique status, characteristic of his positioning in the family, becoming equal at school with his fellow students. At the same time, it is at the stage of education that he receives primary ideas about the state, social inequality, and the dominant ideology in society. Throughout his socialization, the child remains under the care of his parents.

Socialization in adulthood

At the third stage, characterized by social maturity, an adult (18-60 years old) acquires independence as an economic agent. He (she) personally earns money to support his life and starts his own family.

At the stage of maturity, the social role of a person acquires various legal statuses (husband, wife, father, mother). He also enjoys professional and official statuses. Through the latter, power can be entrusted to him. The social maturity of a person is manifested in his active participation in the social life of various communities around him - industrial, national, tribal.

Socialization of pensioners

Socialization of old age consists of a person’s gradual withdrawal from active work. Its meaning lies in a retreat from the egoistic stagnation characteristic of retirement age, manifested in:

• decreased manifestations of the spirit;
• being stuck in the past;
• in interruption of connection with the present time;
• organizing a new social circle.

Possible areas of such specialization are an active social position in the education of the younger generation, in social groups at the place of residence (yard committee, dacha cooperative, etc.)

Adaptation of a person in society is the result of social behavior

The active prosocial behavior of the majority of members of society allows them to successfully solve the most important adaptive tasks that are initially beyond the capabilities of one person, contributing to scientific and technical progress, growth of well-being and, accordingly, standard of living.

It is obvious that social behavior and social control are closely related. With the help of social control, the individual is socialized. From childhood to the end of his life, a person assimilates universal human experience through upbringing and education. He becomes part of various social groups: class, industrial, informal, family. The purpose of this article is precisely to visualize the entry of an individual into the social environment.

Human behavior is both individual and social. The first is not the subject of this article, since it does not have an impact on society.

About types of social behavior

Social behavior is purposeful, with its help a person achieves a certain level of positioning in society and in a social group.

Types of social behavior differ in functions and interests:

• mass (political, religious and economic movements, rumors, fashion);
• group (work collective, club, yard, fellow students, etc.);
• gender (mother, father, macho, elder, child, etc.).

Also, a person’s social behavior is characterized by the direction of his relationships with other people, it can be:

• prosocial (benevolent, associated with the desire to help, cooperate);
• competitive (the desire to stand out, to be the best);
• type A (irritability, cynicism, impatience, hostility towards people);
• type B (goodwill).

Finally, the classification of social behavior occurs with certain behavior patterns:

• achieving success (active life position);
• avoidance of failures (isolation, presumption of mistrust);
• desire for contacts or avoidance of them;
• desire for power, indifference or submission to it;
• active or helpless behavior pattern.

The above types of social behavior are classified as law-abiding. In addition to them, problematic, deviant and illegal behavior also occurs.

We will mention them in this article, considering sanctions as an element of the “social control” category.

What is social control

This concept was substantiated by the French scientist T. Tarde, and finally formulated by the American sociologists R. Park and E. Ross.

They came to an understanding of its essence by considering the comprehensive social impact on an individual with deviant (asocial) behavior. Through this influence, his behavior was transformed into one that was adequate to existing social norms.

In a broad sense, scientists viewed social control as the continuous interaction and relationship of the individual with society and social groups. Obviously, the essence of such control critically depends on the type of society. Archaic, totalitarian and democratic society has its own characteristics, which is expressed in the characteristics of social norms and sanctions.

Two Forms of Social Control

Depending on the presence of social status, two forms of social control are distinguished: informal (i.e., unofficial) and formal.

If the society is archaic, then SC is based purely on condemnation or approval by the social group (family members, friends, acquaintances and colleagues). In this case, they talk about informal SC.

In a more civilized society, individual behavior is regulated by specialized state institutions: legislative and executive, and the media. The latter operate at the national and municipal levels. Such social control is called formal.

Excessive external control of the social activities of citizens by the army, police, courts, and control bodies is characteristic of a regime of power - a dictatorship. Under such conditions, social processes become deformed. They resemble a controlled one-way street. State social control for countries with a totalitarian system strives to become comprehensive, that is, to control the entire society. It is characteristic that in most cases, apologists for dictatorship justify its creation by the need to restore order, supposedly for the benefit of all citizens. However, with it, they invariably degrade socially, their self-awareness and volitional efforts necessary for full self-control decrease.

In a democratic society, 70% of social regulation comes from self-control. The development of social control is usually associated with a democratic regime of government.

The purpose of both forms of SC (external and internal) is to:

• maintaining stability and order in society;
• maintaining continuity in lifestyle and developmental specifics.

In highly developed societies, both forms of social control coexist simultaneously, organically complementing each other.

Types of social control

In addition to forms, social control is distinguished by types: external and internal. The latter is also called self-control. It is relevant for socialized people who independently observe social norms. The latter are so assimilated with the behavioral characteristics of the individual that their unconditional compliance becomes an organic need. The need for social consciousness is so relevant for the majority (according to statistics, about 70% of the population) that since ancient times it received its name - conscience. Perhaps that is why people who are pure, honest, deeply respected, and distinguished by holiness are called “the people’s conscience.”

It is the collective efforts of people, controlled by their own conscience, that are the main driving force of social progress.

Functions of social control

There are two main functions of social control:

• protective;
• stabilizing.

On the one hand, it is important to promptly and adequately resist attempts to destroy social values. The protective function is conservative in nature. It acts as the basis for stability in society, calling for careful use of various social innovations. First of all, it protects state and religious values, human life, rights and obligations, and the physical integrity of citizens. The protective function directly contributes to the transfer of experience from older generations to younger ones.

With the help of the stabilizing function of social control, predictability and expectedness of social behavior is ensured. Thus, the existing social order is preserved.

Social control is the most important tool of society, helping each person to assimilate and accept the established culture. It's universal. After all, absolutely any social structure, even one that exists for a short time, is impossible without the middle class.

Component systems of social control

The social control system consists of eight elements:

• social actions that cause adequate reactions from the environment;
• a system for assessing social actions derived from existing social values;
• classification of social actions into condemned and encouraged;
• characteristic group assessments of social situations arising within this group (social perception);
• social sanctions as a reaction of society to social actions;
• self-categorization, i.e. self-identification of an individual by belonging to a certain group in a social environment;
• individual self-esteem;
• individual assessment of the environment and circumstances in which a person comes into contact with others.

About the mechanisms of social control

Mechanisms of social control constitute social norms and sanctions.

Social norms (formal and informal) dictate how people should behave in society. With their help:

• the socialization process is adjusted;
• individuals are united into social groups, and groups are integrated into society;
• deviant behavior is controlled.

According to the degree of severity, norms can be arranged in the following order: taboos (insulting sacred objects, breaking commandments, incest), laws (regulatory acts of the highest legal force), rights and freedoms, habits of a social group, traditions, etiquette, customs.

They act as a standard, a regulator for actions, feelings, thoughts, and stand guard over social values. The latter are understood as socially accepted human concepts of patriotism, justice, goodness, love, and friendship.

Sanctions consistent with social control standards

Social control in society is carried out by people based on existing norms. Regulation occurs based on the principle of connection between a social norm and sanctions corresponding to it. Deprived of the sanctions that accompany it, a social norm falls out of the system of social control, turning into a call, a slogan, etc.

There are sanctions:

• positive (honor, fame, recognition, encouragement, approval) and negative (imprisonment, confiscation of property, fine, reprimand, reprimand, conviction);
• formal (coming from government institutions), informal (receiving from relatives and colleagues in social groups);
• material (gift, bonus, fine, confiscation) and moral (certificate, reward, reprimand).

Positive sanctions are provided for individuals who are conformist to social norms (in agreement with them). Negative - to deviant behavior:

• deviant (violations are minor and not punishable);
• delinquent (sanctions of the Administrative Code);
• criminal (sanctions of the Criminal Code).

Conclusion

Social control is a powerful tool for managing society. The majority of the population voluntarily and constantly adheres to the norms established by society.

Currently, this contributes to the development of supranational institutions and an increase in the share of corporate relations.

Through the delegation of state powers to supranational bodies, the process of globalization occurs. However, the essence of social control in the information society remains virtually unchanged.

The concept of “behavior” came to sociology from psychology. The meaning of the term “behavior” is different, different from the meaning of such traditional philosophical concepts as action and activity. If action is understood as a rationally justified act that has a clear goal, strategy, and is carried out using specific conscious methods and means, then behavior is just the reaction of a living being to external and internal changes. Such a reaction can be both conscious and unconscious. Thus, purely emotional reactions - laughter, crying - are also behavior.

Social behavior - is a set of human behavioral processes associated with the satisfaction of physical and social needs and arising as a reaction to the surrounding social environment. The subject of social behavior can be an individual or a group.

If we abstract from purely psychological factors and think at the social level, then the behavior of an individual is determined primarily by socialization. The minimum of innate instincts that a person possesses as a biological being is the same for all people. Behavioral differences depend on qualities acquired during the process of socialization and, to some extent, on congenital and acquired psychological individual characteristics.

In addition, the social behavior of individuals is regulated by the social structure, in particular the role structure of society.

Social norm of behavior- this is behavior that fully corresponds to status expectations. Thanks to the existence of status expectations, society can predict the actions of an individual in advance with sufficient probability, and the individual himself can coordinate his behavior with the ideal model or model accepted by society. Social behavior that corresponds to status expectations is defined by the American sociologist R. Linton as social role. This interpretation of social behavior is closest to functionalism, since it explains behavior as a phenomenon determined by social structure. R. Merton introduced the category of “role complex” - a system of role expectations determined by a given status, as well as the concept of role conflict that arises when the role expectations of the statuses occupied by a subject are incompatible and cannot be realized in any single socially acceptable behavior.

The functionalist understanding of social behavior was subjected to fierce criticism from, first of all, representatives of social behaviorism, who believed that it was necessary to build the study of behavioral processes on the basis of the achievements of modern psychology. The extent to which the psychological aspects were really overlooked by the role interpretation of the command follows from the fact that N. Cameron tried to substantiate the idea of ​​the role determination of mental disorders, believing that mental illness is the incorrect execution of one’s social roles and the result of the patient’s inability to perform them in the way society needs. Behaviorists argued that in the time of E. Durkheim, the successes of psychology were insignificant and therefore the functionality of the expiring paradigm met the requirements of the time, but in the 20th century, when psychology reached a high level of development, its data cannot be ignored when considering human behavior.

Forms of human social behavior

People behave differently in one or another social situation, in one or another social environment. For example, some demonstrators peacefully march along the declared route, others seek to organize unrest, and others provoke mass clashes. These various actions of social interaction actors can be defined as social behavior. Hence, social behavior is the form and method of manifestation by social actors of their preferences and attitudes, capabilities and abilities in social action or interaction. Therefore, social behavior can be considered as a qualitative characteristic of social action and interaction.

In sociology, social behavior is interpreted as: o behavior expressed in the totality of actions and actions of an individual or group in society and depending on socio-economic factors and prevailing norms; o external manifestation of activity, a form of transformation of activity into real actions in relation to socially significant objects; o a person’s adaptation to the social conditions of his existence.

To achieve life goals and in the implementation of individual tasks, a person can use two types of social behavior - natural and ritual, the differences between which are fundamental.

"Natural" behavior, individually significant and egocentric, is always aimed at achieving individual goals and is adequate to these goals. Therefore, the individual does not face the question of the correspondence between the goals and means of social behavior: the goal can and should be achieved by any means. The “natural” behavior of an individual is not socially regulated, therefore it is, as a rule, immoral or “unceremonious.” Such social behavior is “natural”, natural in nature, since it is aimed at ensuring organic needs. In society, “natural” egocentric behavior is “forbidden”, therefore it is always based on social conventions and mutual concessions on the part of all individuals.

Ritual behavior(“ceremonious”) - individually unnatural behavior; It is thanks to this behavior that society exists and reproduces. Ritual in all its diversity of forms - from etiquette to ceremony - permeates all social life so deeply that people do not notice that they live in a field of ritual interactions. Ritual social behavior is a means of ensuring the stability of the social system, and an individual who implements various forms of such behavior participates in ensuring the social stability of social structures and interactions. Thanks to ritual behavior, a person achieves social well-being, constantly being convinced of the inviolability of his social status and the preservation of the usual set of social roles.

Society is interested in ensuring that the social behavior of individuals is of a ritual nature, but society cannot abolish “natural” egocentric social behavior, which, being adequate in goals and unscrupulous in means, always turns out to be more beneficial for the individual than “ritual” behavior. Therefore, society strives to transform forms of “natural” social behavior into various forms of ritual social behavior, including through socialization mechanisms using social support, control and punishment.

Such forms of social behavior as:

• cooperative behavior, which includes all forms of altruistic behavior - helping each other during natural disasters and technological disasters, helping young children and the elderly, helping subsequent generations through the transfer of knowledge and experience;
• parental behavior - the behavior of parents towards their offspring.

Aggressive behavior is presented in all its manifestations, both group and individual - ranging from verbal insults of another person to mass extermination during wars.

Human Behavior Concepts

Human behavior is studied in many areas of psychology - in behaviorism, psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, etc. The term “behavior” is one of the key ones in existential philosophy and is used in the study of a person’s relationship to the world. The methodological capabilities of this concept are due to the fact that it allows us to identify unconscious stable structures of personality or human existence in the world. Among the psychological concepts of human behavior that have had a great influence on sociology and social psychology, we should mention, first of all, the psychoanalytic directions developed by Z. Freud, C. G. Jung, A. Adler.

Freud's ideas are based on the fact that an individual’s behavior is formed as a result of a complex interaction between the levels of his personality. Freud identifies three such levels: the lowest level is formed by unconscious impulses and drives determined by innate biological needs and complexes formed under the influence of the individual history of the subject. Freud calls this level the Id (Id) to show its separation from the individual’s conscious self, which forms the second level of his psyche. The conscious self includes rational goal setting and responsibility for one's actions. The highest level is the super-ego - what we would call the result of socialization. This is a set of social norms and values ​​internalized by the individual, exerting internal pressure on him in order to displace from the consciousness unwanted (forbidden) impulses and drives for society and prevent them from being realized. According to Freud, the personality of any person is an ongoing struggle between the id and the super-ego, which undermines the psyche and leads to neuroses. Individual behavior is entirely conditioned by this struggle and is completely explained by it, since it is merely a symbolic reflection of it. Such symbols can be dream images, slips of the tongue, slips of the tongue, obsessive states and fears.

Concept of C. G. Jung expands and modifies Freud's teachings, including in the sphere of the unconscious not only individual complexes and drives, but also the collective unconscious - the level of key images - archetypes - common to all people and nations. Archetypes record archaic fears and value concepts, the interaction of which determines the behavior and attitude of an individual. Archetypal images appear in the basic narratives - folk tales and legends, mythology, epic - of historically specific societies. The social regulatory role of such narratives in traditional societies is very great. They contain ideal models of behavior that form role expectations. For example, a male warrior should behave like Achilles or Hector, a wife like Penelope, etc. Regular recitations (ritual reenactments) of archetytic narratives constantly remind members of society of these ideal models of behavior.

Adler's psychoanalytic concept is based on an unconscious will to power, which, in his opinion, is an innate personality structure and determines behavior. It is especially strong among those who, for one reason or another, suffer from an inferiority complex. In an effort to compensate for their inferiority, they are able to achieve great success.

Further splitting of the psychoanalytic direction led to the emergence of many schools, disciplinary terms occupying a borderline position between psychology, social philosophy, and sociology. Let us dwell in detail on the work of E. Fromm.

Fromm's positions - a representative of neo-Freudianism in and - more precisely, can be defined as Freilo-Marxism, since, along with the influence of Freud, he was no less strongly influenced by the social philosophy of Marx. The uniqueness of neo-Freudianism in comparison with orthodox Freudianism is due to the fact that, strictly speaking, neo-Freudianism is rather sociology, while Freud, of course, is a pure psychologist. If Freud explains the behavior of an individual by complexes and impulses hidden in the individual unconscious, in short, by internal biopsychic factors, then for Fromm and Freilo-Marxism in general, the behavior of an individual is determined by the surrounding social environment. This is his similarity with Marx, who explained the social behavior of individuals ultimately by their class origin. Nevertheless, Fromm strives to find a place for the psychological in social processes. According to the Freudian tradition, turning to the unconscious, he introduces the term “social unconscious,” meaning mental experience that is common to all members of a given society, but for most of them does not reach the level of consciousness, because it is repressed by a special mechanism that is social in nature, belonging not to the individual, but to society. Thanks to this mechanism of repression, society maintains a stable existence. The mechanism of social repression includes language, the logic of everyday thinking, a system of social prohibitions and taboos. The structures of language and thinking are formed under the influence of society and act as a weapon of social pressure on the individual’s psyche. For example, coarse, anti-aesthetic, ridiculous abbreviations and abbreviations of “Newspeak” from Orwell’s dystopia actively distort the consciousness of the people who use them. To one degree or another, the monstrous logic of formulas like: “The dictatorship of the proletariat is the most democratic form of power” became the property of everyone in Soviet society.

The main component of the mechanism of social repression is social taboos, which act like Freudian censorship. That in the social experience of individuals that threatens the preservation of the existing society, if realized, is not allowed into consciousness with the help of a “social filter.” Society manipulates the consciousness of its members by introducing ideological clichés, which, due to frequent use, become inaccessible to critical analysis, withholding certain information, exerting direct pressure and causing fear of social isolation. Therefore, everything that contradicts socially approved ideological clichés is excluded from consciousness.

These kinds of taboos, ideologemes, logical and linguistic experiments form, according to Fromm, the “social character” of a person. People belonging to the same society, against their will, are, as it were, marked with the seal of a “common incubator”. For example, we unmistakably recognize foreigners on the street, even if we do not hear their speech, by their behavior, appearance, attitude towards each other; These are people from another society, and when they find themselves in a mass environment that is alien to them, they stand out sharply from it due to their similarities with each other. Social character - This is a style of behavior brought up by society and unconscious by the individual - from social to everyday. For example, Soviet and former Soviet people are distinguished by collectivism and responsiveness, social passivity and undemandingness, submission to power, personified in the person of the “leader,” a developed fear of being different from everyone else, and gullibility.

Fromm directed his criticism against modern capitalist society, although he also paid a lot of attention to describing the social character generated by totalitarian societies. Like Freud, he developed a program for restoring individuals' undistorted social behavior through awareness of what had been repressed. “By transforming the unconscious into consciousness, we thereby transform the simple concept of the universality of man into the vital reality of such universality. This is nothing more than the practical implementation of humanism.” The process of derepression—the liberation of socially oppressed consciousness—consists of eliminating the fear of awareness of the forbidden, developing the ability for critical thinking, and humanizing social life as a whole.

A different interpretation is offered by behaviorism (B. Skinner, J. Homans), which considers behavior as a system of reactions to various stimuli.

Skinner's concept is essentially biologizing, since it completely eliminates the differences between the behavior of humans and animals. Skinner distinguishes three types of behavior: unconditioned reflex, conditioned reflex and operant. The first two types of reactions are caused by exposure to appropriate stimuli, and operant reactions are a form of adaptation of the organism to the environment. They are active and voluntary. The body, as if by trial and error, finds the most acceptable method of adaptation, and if successful, the find is consolidated in the form of a stable reaction. Thus, the main factor in the formation of behavior is reinforcement, and learning turns into “guidance to the desired reaction.”

In Skinner's concept, a person appears as a creature whose entire inner life comes down to reactions to external circumstances. Changes in reinforcement mechanically cause changes in behavior. Thinking, the highest mental functions of a person, all culture, morality, art turn into a complex system of reinforcements designed to evoke certain behavioral reactions. This leads to the conclusion that it is possible to manipulate people’s behavior through a carefully developed “technology of behavior.” With this term, Skinner refers to the purposeful manipulative control of some groups of people over others, associated with the establishment of an optimal reinforcement regime for certain social goals.

The ideas of behaviorism in sociology were developed by J. and J. Baldwin, J. Homans.

Concept by J. andJ. Baldwin is based on the concept of reinforcement, borrowed from psychological behaviorism. Reinforcement in the social sense is a reward whose value is determined by subjective needs. For example, for a hungry person, food acts as a reinforcer, but if the person is full, it is not a reinforcer.

The effectiveness of reward depends on the degree of deprivation in a given individual. Subdeprivation is understood as the deprivation of something for which an individual feels a constant need. To the extent that a subject is deprived in any respect, his behavior depends on this reinforcement. So-called generalized reinforcers (for example, money), which act on all individuals without exception, do not depend on deprivation due to the fact that they concentrate access to many types of reinforcers at once.

Reinforcers are divided into positive and negative. Positive reinforcers are anything that is perceived by the subject as a reward. For example, if a particular encounter with the environment brings a reward, it is likely that the subject will strive to repeat this experience. Negative reinforcers are factors that determine behavior through the refusal of some experience. For example, if a subject denies himself some pleasure and saves money on it, and subsequently benefits from this saving, then this experience can serve as a negative reinforcer and the subject will always act that way.

The effect of punishment is the opposite of reinforcement. Punishment is an experience that causes a desire not to repeat it again. Punishment can also be positive or negative, but here everything is reversed compared to reinforcement. Positive punishment is punishment using a suppressive stimulus, such as hitting. Negative punishment influences behavior through the deprivation of something valuable. For example, depriving a child of sweets at lunch is a typical negative punishment.

The formation of operant reactions is probabilistic in nature. Unambiguity is characteristic of reactions at the simplest level, for example, a child cries, demanding the attention of his parents, because parents always come to him in such cases. Adult reactions are much more complex. For example, a person selling newspapers in train cars does not find a buyer in every car, but he knows from experience that a buyer will eventually be found, and this makes him persistently walk from car to car. In the last decade, the receipt of wages at some Russian enterprises has assumed the same probabilistic nature, but nevertheless, people continue to go to work, hoping to receive it.

Homans' behaviorist concept of exchange appeared in the middle of the 20th century. Arguing with representatives of many areas of sociology, Homans argued that a sociological explanation of behavior must necessarily be based on a psychological approach. The interpretation of historical facts should also be based on a psychological approach. Homans motivates this by the fact that behavior is always individual, while sociology operates with categories applicable to groups and societies, therefore the study of behavior is the prerogative of psychology, and sociology in this matter should follow it.

According to Homans, when studying behavioral reactions, one should abstract from the nature of the factors that caused these reactions: they are caused by the influence of the surrounding physical environment or other people. Social behavior is simply the exchange of activities of some social value between people. Homans believes that social behavior can be interpreted using Skinner's behavioral paradigm, if supplemented with the idea of ​​​​the mutual nature of stimulation in relationships between people. The relationships between individuals always represent a mutually beneficial exchange of activities, services, in short, this is the mutual use of reinforcements.

Homans briefly formulated the exchange theory in several postulates:

• postulate of success - those actions that most often meet social approval are most likely to be reproduced;
• incentive postulate - similar incentives associated with reward are likely to cause similar behavior;
• postulate of value - the probability of reproducing an action depends on how valuable the result of this action seems to a person;
• postulate of deprivation - the more regularly a person’s action is rewarded, the less he values ​​subsequent rewards;
• the double postulate of aggression-approval - the absence of an expected reward or unexpected punishment makes aggressive behavior probable, and an unexpected reward or the absence of an expected punishment leads to an increase in the value of the rewarded act and makes it more likely to be reproduced.

The most important concepts of exchange theory are:

• the cost of behavior is what this or that action costs an individual - the negative consequences caused by past actions. In everyday terms, this is retribution for the past;
• benefit - occurs when the quality and size of the reward exceed the price that the action costs.

Thus, exchange theory portrays human social behavior as a rational search for gain. This concept seems simplistic, and it is not surprising that it has attracted criticism from a variety of sociological directions. For example, Parsons, who defended the fundamental difference between the mechanisms of behavior of humans and animals, criticized Homans for the inability of his theory to provide an explanation of social facts on the basis of psychological mechanisms.

In his exchange theory I. Blau attempted a unique synthesis of social behaviorism and sociologism. Realizing the limitations of a purely behaviorist interpretation of social behavior, he set the goal of moving from the level of psychology to explaining on this basis the existence of social structures as a special reality that is not reducible to psychology. Blau's concept is an enriched theory of exchange, which identifies four successive stages of transition from individual exchange to social structures: 1) the stage of interpersonal exchange; 2) level of power-status differentiation; 3) stage of legitimation and organization; 4) stage of opposition and change.

Blau shows that starting from the level of interpersonal exchange, exchange may not always be equal. In cases where individuals cannot offer each other sufficient rewards, the social ties formed between them tend to disintegrate. In such situations, attempts arise to strengthen disintegrating ties in other ways - through coercion, through the search for another source of reward, through subordinating oneself to the exchange partner in the order of generalized credit. The last path means a transition to the stage of status differentiation, when a group of people capable of providing the required reward becomes more privileged in terms of status than other groups. Subsequently, the situation is legitimized and consolidated and opposition groups are identified. By analyzing complex social structures, Blau goes far beyond the behavioral paradigm. He argues that the complex structures of society are organized around social values ​​and norms, which serve as a kind of mediating link between individuals in the process of social exchange. Thanks to this link, it is possible to exchange rewards not only between individuals, but also between an individual and a group. For example, considering the phenomenon of organized charity, Blau determines what distinguishes charity as a social institution from simple help from a rich individual to a poorer one. The difference is that organized charity is socially oriented behavior, which is based on the desire of a wealthy individual to conform to the norms of the wealthy class and share social values; through norms and values, an exchange relationship is established between the sacrificing individual and the social group to which he belongs.

Blau identifies four categories of social values ​​on the basis of which exchange is possible:

• particularistic values ​​that unite individuals on the basis of interpersonal relationships;
• universalist values, which act as a yardstick for assessing individual merits;
• legitimate authority is a value system that provides power and privileges to a certain category of people compared to all others:
• oppositional values ​​are ideas about the need for social change that allow the opposition to exist at the level of social facts, and not just at the level of interpersonal relations of individual oppositionists.

It can be said that Blau's exchange theory is a compromise option that combines elements of Homans' theory and sociology in the interpretation of reward exchange.

J. Mead's role concept is a symbolic interactionist approach to the study of social behavior. Its name is reminiscent of the functionalist approach: it is also called role-playing. Mead views role behavior as the activity of individuals interacting with each other in freely accepted and played roles. According to Mead, the role interaction of individuals requires them to be able to put themselves in the place of another, to evaluate themselves from the position of another.

Synthesis of exchange theory with symbolic interactionism P. Zingelman also tried to implement it. Symbolic interactionism has a number of intersections with social behaviorism and exchange theories. Both of these concepts emphasize the active interaction of individuals and view their subject matter from a microsociological perspective. According to Singelman, interpersonal exchange relationships require the ability to put oneself in the position of another in order to better understand his needs and desires. Therefore, he believes that there are grounds for merging both directions into one. However, social behaviorists were critical of the emergence of the new theory.

Chapter 1. The concept of social control: its essence and elements

1.1 The concept of social control, its functions

The concept of social control was introduced by T. Tarde, the founder of social psychology, who understood it as a set of ways in which a criminal is led to normal behavior. Subsequently, the meaning of this term expanded significantly. This happened largely thanks to the research of American sociologists E. Ross and R. Park, who understood social control as a purposeful influence on an individual in order to bring about
compliance of human behavior with social norms.

According to T. Parsons, social control is a process by which, through the imposition of sanctions, deviant behavior is counteracted, i.e. deviant behavior and maintain social stability.

So, social control – this is a method of self-regulation of a social system (society as a whole, a social group, etc.), ensuring, through normative regulation, the targeted influence of people and other structural elements of this system, their orderly interaction in the interests of strengthening order and stability.

When analyzing the content of this general definition, it is important to keep in mind a number of fundamental points:

Social control is an integral part of a more general and diverse system of social regulation of people’s behavior and social life. Its specificity lies in the fact that such regulation here is orderly, normative and quite categorical in nature and is ensured by social sanctions or the threat of their application;


The problem of social control is a certain cross-section of the main sociological question about the relationship and interaction of the individual, social group and society as a whole. Social control is also exercised through the socialization of the individual, i.e. internal control, and through the interaction of the individual with the primary social group, its culture, i.e. group control and through the interaction of the individual, social group with society as a whole, i.e. social control through coercion;


Social control cannot be imagined one-sidedly - as a blind and automatic subordination of the individual to the requirements of social norms, when the individual acts only as an object, and society as a subject. It must be seen that in this case it is precisely social interaction that takes place, moreover, constant and active, in which not only the individual experiences the influence of social control, but also social control undergoes a reverse influence on the part of the individual, which can even lead to a change in his character;


The nature, content and direction of social control are determined by the character, nature, and type of a given social system. It is quite obvious that social control in a totalitarian society and in a democratic society will be fundamentally different. In the same way, social control in simple, primitive, archaic societies is of a completely different (for example, informal) nature in comparison with social control in complex modern industrial societies (complex and developed system of formalized control).

The main purpose of social control is to maintain order and stability in society, as well as to ensure social reproduction (continuity) in the direction corresponding to the development strategy chosen by a particular society. Thanks to the mechanisms of socialization, prescription, reward, selection and control, the social system maintains equilibrium.

The following distinctive features of social control can be pointed out:


1)
orderliness, categoricalness and formality: social norms are often applied to an individual without taking into account his personal characteristics; in other words, a person must accept a norm only because he is a member of a given society;


2) connection with sanctions - punishments for violating norms and rewards for their compliance;


3) collective exercise of social control: social action is often a reaction to a particular human behavior, and therefore can be both a negative and a positive stimulus when choosing goals and means of achieving them.

Characterizing the anatomy and mechanism of the social control system, the famous Russian sociologist and lawyer A.M. Yakovlev identifies the following components and the relationship between them:


individual actions that manifest themselves during the individual’s active interaction with the social environment;


a social rating scale, derived from a system of values, ideals, vital interests and aspirations of a social group or the whole society, on which the reaction of the social environment to an individual action depends;


categorization of individual action, i.e. assigning it to a certain category of socially approved or condemned actions, which is the result of the functioning of the social rating scale;


the nature of public self-awareness, including the nature of public self-esteem and the social group’s assessment of the situation within which it operates, on which the categorization of individual action depends;


the nature and content of social actions that perform the function of positive or negative sanctions and directly depend on the state of public self-awareness;


an individual rating scale, derived from the system of values, ideals, life interests and aspirations of the individual and determining the individual’s reaction to social action.


The mechanism of social control plays a vital role in strengthening the institutions of society. Figuratively speaking, this mechanism is the “central nervous system” of a social institution. A social institution and social control consist of the same elements, i.e., identical rules and norms of behavior that reinforce and standardize people’s behavior, making it predictable. P. Berger believes that “social control is one of the most generally accepted concepts in sociology. It refers to the various means that any society uses to curb its unruly members. No society can
do without social control. Even a small group of people who come together by chance will have to develop their own control mechanisms so as not to fall apart in the shortest possible time.”

Social control in relation to society performs two
main functions:


Protective function. This function sometimes prevents social control from acting as a supporter of progress, but the list of its functions does not precisely include the renewal of society - this is the task of other public institutions. Thus, social control protects morality, law, values, requires respect for traditions, and opposes what is new, which has not been properly tested.


Stabilizing function. Social control acts as the foundation of stability in society. Its absence or weakening leads to anomie, disorder, confusion and social discord.


1.2 Elements of social control


1.2.1 Social norms as a regulator of behavior


Every person understands that no one could successfully build their relationships with other people and social organizations without the mutual correlation of actions with the rules approved by society. These rules, which act as a standard for our actions, are called social norms.


Social norms- these are instructions, instructions and wishes of varying degrees of severity, forcing individuals to act as is customary to do in a given society, in a specific situation. Social norms act as regulators of people's behavior. They establish boundaries, conditions, forms of action, determine the nature of relationships, stipulate acceptable goals and ways to achieve them. The assimilation of social norms of society and the development of an individual attitude towards them occur in the process of socialization.


Norms impose obligations and mutual responsibility on participants in social interaction. They concern both individuals and society. On their basis, the entire system of social relations is formed. At the same time, norms are also expectations: society expects predictable behavior from an individual performing a certain role. The individual also assumes that society will justify his trust and fulfill its obligations.


Social norms are a product of the spiritual activity of society. They are in constant development. Thus, many modern rules of behavior are radically different from those that were widespread a hundred years ago. Social norms perform an important function - they support and preserve social values, what is recognized in society as the most important, significant, indisputable, worthy of attention: human life and personal dignity, attitude towards the elderly and children, collective symbols (coat of arms, anthem, flag) and state laws, human qualities (loyalty, honesty, discipline, hard work), religion. Values ​​are the basis of norms.


Social norms in a generalized form reflect the will of society. In contrast to the values ​​that are recommended for choice (which predetermines differences in the value orientations of many individuals), norms are more rigid and binding.

There are several types of social norms:


1)
customs and traditions, which are habitual patterns of behavior;


2) moral norms based on collective authority and usually having a rational basis;


3) legal norms enshrined in laws and regulations issued by the state. They more clearly than all other types of social norms regulate the rights and obligations of members of society and prescribe punishments for violations. Compliance with legal norms is ensured by the power of the state;


4) political norms that relate to the relationship between the individual and the government. Between social groups and between states are reflected in international legal acts, conventions, etc.;


5) religious norms, which are supported primarily by the belief of religious supporters in punishment for sins. Religious norms are distinguished based on the scope of their functioning; in reality, these norms combine elements characteristic of legal and moral norms, as well as traditions and customs;


6)
aesthetic norms that reinforce ideas about beauty and ugliness.

Social norms are determined by the diversity of social life; any direction of human activity is regulated by them. Different types of social norms can be classified according to the following criteria:


by scale of distribution - universal, national, social group, organizational;


by function - guiding, regulating, controlling, encouraging, prohibiting and punishing;


according to the degree of increasing severity - habits, customs, manners, traditions, laws, taboos. Violating customs or traditions in modern society is not considered a crime and is not strictly condemned. A person bears strict liability for breaking laws. Thus, social norms fulfill very important Features:


regulate the general course of socialization;


integrate individuals into groups, and groups into society;


control deviant behavior;


serve as models and standards of behavior.

Deviation from the norms is punished with sanctions.


1.2.2 Sanctions as an element of social control


In order to quickly respond to people's actions, expressing its attitude towards them, society has created a system of social sanctions.


Sanctions are society's reactions to an individual's actions. The emergence of a system of social sanctions, like norms, was not accidental. If norms are created to protect the values ​​of society, then sanctions are designed to protect and strengthen the system of social norms. If a norm is not supported by a sanction, it ceases to apply. Thus, three elements - values, norms and sanctions - form a single chain of social control. In this chain, sanctions play the role of a tool with the help of which an individual first gets acquainted with the norm and then realizes values. For example, a teacher praises a student for a well-learned lesson, encouraging him for his conscientious attitude to learning. Praise acts as a stimulus to reinforce such behavior in the child’s mind as normal. Over time, he realizes the value of knowledge and, acquiring it, will no longer need external control. This example shows how the consistent implementation of the entire chain of social control transforms external control into self-control. There are different types of sanctions. Among them we can distinguish positive and negative, formal and informal.


Positive sanctions are approval, praise, recognition, encouragement, fame, honor that others reward those who act within the framework of accepted norms in society. Not only outstanding actions of people are encouraged, but also a conscientious attitude towards professional duties, many years of impeccable work and initiative, as a result of which the organization made a profit, and providing assistance to those who need it. Each type of activity has its own incentives.


Negative sanctions are condemning or punishing actions of society towards those individuals who violate socially accepted norms. Negative sanctions include censure, dissatisfaction of others, condemnation, reprimand, criticism, fine, as well as more stringent actions - imprisonment, imprisonment or confiscation of property. The threat of negative sanctions is more effective than the expectation of reward. At the same time, society strives to ensure that negative sanctions do not punish so much as prevent violations of norms, and are proactive rather than late.


Formal sanctions come from official organizations - the government or the administration of institutions, which in their actions are guided by officially adopted documents, instructions, laws and decrees.


Material – a gift or fine, bonus or confiscation of property;


Moral - awarding a diploma or honorary title, an unkind review or a cruel joke, a reprimand.


In order for sanctions to be effective and reinforce social norms, they must meet a number of requirements:


there should be sanctions timely. Their effectiveness is significantly reduced if a person is rewarded, much less punished, after a significant period of time. In this case, the action and the sanction for it are separated from each other;


there should be sanctions proportionate to the action justified. Undeserved encouragement gives rise to dependent attitudes, and punishment destroys faith in justice and causes discontent in society;


sanctions, like norms, should be mandatory for everyone. Exceptions to the rules give rise to a “double standard” morality, which negatively affects the entire regulatory system.


Thus, norms and sanctions are combined into a single whole. If a norm does not have an accompanying sanction, then it ceases to operate and regulate real behavior. It can become a slogan, a call, an appeal, but it ceases to be an element of social control.


1.3 Self-monitoring


Depending on the method of imposing sanctions - collective or individual - social control can be external and internal. Internal control is also called self-control: the individual independently regulates his behavior, coordinating it with generally accepted norms. During the process of socialization, norms are internalized so firmly that people who violate them feel awkward or guilty. Contrary to the norms of appropriate behavior, a person, for example, envies a more successful opponent. In such cases they talk about pangs of conscience. Conscience is a manifestation of internal control.


Generally accepted norms, being rational prescriptions, remain in the sphere, below which lies the sphere of the subconscious, consisting of spontaneous impulses. Self-control means restraining the natural elements; it is based on volitional effort.


Self-awareness is an extremely important socio-psychological characteristic of a person. The source from which a person’s self-image is drawn are the people around him and those who are significant to him. By the reaction to his actions, according to their assessments, the individual judges what he himself is like. The content of self-awareness is influenced by a person’s idea of ​​how others consider him. A person’s social behavior is largely determined by his reaction to the opinions of people around him, and this opinion seriously influences the formation of individual self-awareness.


About 70% of social control comes from self-control. The more self-control the members of a society develop, the less that society has to resort to external control. And vice versa, the less self-control is developed in people, the more often institutions of social control, in particular the army, courts, and the state, have to come into action. The weaker the self-control, the stricter the external control should be.

Self-control is one of the most important conditions for the self-realization of an individual and his successful interaction with other people. Society evaluates a person, but the individual also evaluates society, the state and himself. Perceiving assessments addressed to him by surrounding people, groups and society, a person accepts them not mechanically, but selectively, rethinks them through certain personal experiences, habits, and previously acquired social norms. Accordingly, a person’s attitude towards other people’s assessments turns out to be purely individual, either positive, negative, or neutral.


1.4 The concept of social control by P. Berger


According to Peter Berger's concept, each person is at the center of diverging concentric circles representing different types, types and forms of social control. Each subsequent lap is a new control system. [Annex 1]

The outer, largest circle is political-legal system represented by a powerful state apparatus. Everyone is powerless before him. Against our will, the state levies taxes, calls for military service, forces us to obey its endless laws and regulations, rules and regulations, and if necessary, puts us in prison and can take our lives. The individual is in the center of the circle as at the point of maximum pressure.


Next circle of social control includes morality,
customs and morals. Everyone monitors a person’s morality - from the entire society to parents, relatives, and friends. Authorities can deprive us of freedom for violating the law, parents and relatives use informal sanctions: condemnation, censure, and friends, not forgiving betrayal or meanness, can part with us. Everyone, within their competence, uses tools of social control. Immorality is punished by dismissal from work, eccentricity by loss of chances to find a new job, bad manners by the fact that the person will not be invited to visit. Lack of work and loneliness are perhaps no less a punishment than being in prison, says P. Berger.


In addition to large circles of coercion, in which the individual is located along with other members of society, there are small circles of control, the most significant of which is circle of control from the professional system. At work
a person is constrained by a mass of restrictions, instructions, professional responsibilities, business obligations that have a controlling effect, sometimes very harsh. The businessman is controlled by licensing organizations, the worker by professional associations and trade unions, the subordinate by managers, who, in turn, are controlled by higher authorities. Equally important are various methods of informal control on the part of colleagues and employees.


Peter Berger writes about this as follows: “...For clarity, the reader can imagine a doctor who admits a patient who is unprofitable for the clinic for treatment; an entrepreneur who advertises low-cost funerals... a government official who persistently spends less than budgeted; an assembly line worker who, from the point of view of his colleagues, unacceptably exceeds production standards, etc. In these cases, economic sanctions are applied most often and effectively: a doctor is denied practice, an entrepreneur can be expelled from a professional organization... Sanctions can be just as serious public boycott, contempt, ridicule. Every professional role in society, no matter how minor, requires a special code of conduct... Adherence to this code is usually as necessary for a professional career as technical competence and appropriate education».


The next circle of control includes informal requirements to the individual, because every person, in addition to professional ones, is also involved in other social relationships. These relationships have their own control systems, many of which are more formal, others even stricter than professional. For example, the rules for admission and membership in many clubs and fraternities are as strict as the rules by which the management team at IBM is selected. Thus, an independent system of social control is represented by social environment. It includes distant and close, unfamiliar and familiar people. The environment makes its own demands on a person, which represent a wide range of phenomena. These may include the way we dress and speak, aesthetic tastes, political and religious beliefs, and even table manners. Thus, the range of informal requirements describes the range of possible actions of an individual in certain situations.


The last and closest circle to the individual, which also forms a control system, is the group of people in which private life takes place
individual, i.e. this circle of his family and personal friends. Social or, more precisely, normative pressure on the individual does not weaken here - on the contrary, there is every reason to believe that in a certain sense it even increases. It is not surprising, because it is in this circle that the individual establishes the most important social connections for himself. Disapproval, loss of prestige, ridicule or contempt among family and friends have much greater psychological weight for a person than similar sanctions coming from strangers or strangers. At work, a boss can fire a subordinate, depriving him of his means of subsistence. But the psychological consequences of this formal economic action will be truly disastrous, says P. Berger, if his wife and children survive this dismissal. Unlike other control systems, pressure from loved ones can occur precisely when the individual is completely unprepared for it. At work, in transport, in public places, a person is usually alert and potentially ready to confront any threat.


The inner part of the last circle, it core, make up intimate relationship between husband and wife. It is in the most intimate relationships that a person seeks support for himself. To put these connections on the line is to risk losing yourself. “It is not surprising that often people who are powerful at work instantly give up their homes to their wives and cringe when their friends’ eyebrows rise in displeasure.”

A person, having looked around himself and consistently listed everyone to whom he must yield, obey or please due to his location in the center of concentric circles of social control - from the federal tax service to his own wife - eventually comes to the idea that society in its entirety suppresses it.


Chapter 2. Forms and implementation of social control


2.1 Forms of social control


In sociological science, there are 4 fundamental forms of social control:


external control;


internal control;


control through identification with a reference group;


control through the creation of opportunities to achieve socially significant goals by means that are most suitable for a given person and approved by society (the so-called “multiple opportunities”).

The first form of control is external social control is a set of social mechanisms that regulate the activities of an individual. External control can be formal or informal. Formal control is based on instructions, regulations, norms and regulations, while informal control is based on the reactions of the environment.


This form is the most well-known and understandable, but in modern conditions it seems ineffective, since it involves constant monitoring of the actions of an individual person or a social community, therefore, a whole army of controllers is required, and someone must also monitor them. Thus, on a societal scale, a classic “pyramid of controllers” is built, characteristic of a totalitarian state.

The second form of control is internal social control- This is self-control exercised by a person, aimed at coordinating his own behavior with the norms. Regulation in this case is carried out not within the framework of interaction, but as a result of feelings of guilt or shame that arise when learned norms are violated. This form involves the internalization of norms and values. That is, the controller is no longer something external to the individual. Such control is more effective in modern conditions; it shifts responsibility from the external controller to the actor himself. For this form of control to function successfully, society must have an established system of norms and values.


The third and fourth forms of control are less known and require the use of more subtle socio-psychological mechanisms.


Third form - control through identification with a reference group– allows you to show the actor possible and desirable models of behavior for society, seemingly without limiting the freedom of choice of the actor;


The fourth form - the so-called “multiple possibilities” - assumes that by showing the actor various possible options for achieving the goal, society will thereby protect itself from the actor choosing those forms that are undesirable for society.

Kasyanov V.V. considers a slightly different classification. His social control is carried out in the following forms:

Compulsion, the so-called elementary form. Many primitive or traditional societies successfully control the behavior of individuals through moral norms and, therefore, through informal group control of the primary group; formal laws or punishments are not necessary in such societies. But in large, complex human populations, where many cultural complexes are intertwined, formal controls, laws and systems of punishment constantly evolve and become mandatory. If an individual is likely to get lost in the crowd, informal control becomes ineffective and the need for formal control arises.


Thus, in the presence of a high population, so-called secondary group control begins to be used - laws, various violent regulators, formalized procedures. When an individual does not want to follow these regulations, the group or society resorts to coercion to force him to do the same as everyone else. In modern societies there are strictly developed rules, or a system of control through coercion, which is a set of effective sanctions applied in accordance with various types of deviations from the norms;

Influence of public opinion. People in a society are also controlled by public opinion or by socialization in such a way that they perform their roles unconsciously, naturally, due to the customs, habits and preferences accepted in a given society. Thus, socialization, shaping our habits, desires and customs, is one of the main factors of social control and the establishment of order in society. It eases difficulties when making decisions, telling you how to dress, how to behave, how to act in a given life situation. At the same time, any decision that is made and internalized not in accordance with public opinion seems inappropriate, unfamiliar and dangerous to us. It is in this way that a significant part of the individual’s internal control over his behavior is carried out;

Regulation in social institutions and organizations. Social control is provided by various institutions and organizations. Among them are organizations specifically created to perform a control function, and those for which social control is not the main function (for example, school, family, media, institutional administration).


Group pressure. A person cannot participate in public life based only on internal control. His behavior is also influenced by his involvement in social life, which is expressed in the fact that the individual is a member of many primary groups (family, production team, class, student group, etc.). Each of the primary groups has an established system of customs, mores and institutional norms that are specific both to this group and to society as a whole.


Thus, the possibility of exercising group social control is determined by the inclusion of each individual in the primary social group. A necessary condition for such inclusion is the fact that the individual must share a certain minimum of cultural norms accepted by a given group, constituting a formal or informal code of conduct. Any deviation from this order immediately leads to condemnation of the behavior by the group. Depending on the importance of the norm being violated, a wide range of condemnation and sanctions from the group is possible - from simple remarks to expulsion from a given primary group.


The effectiveness and timeliness of the application of social control is not always the same in all primary groups. Group pressure on an individual who violates norms depends on many factors, and, above all, on the status of the individual. Completely different methods of group pressure are applied to individuals with high and low statuses in the group. A person with a high status in the primary group or a group leader has as one of his main responsibilities the change of old and the creation of new cultural patterns, new ways of interaction. For this, the leader receives credit and can himself, to one degree or another, deviate from group norms. Moreover, in order not to lose his status as a leader, he should not be completely identical to the members of the group. However, when deviating from group norms, each leader has a line over which he cannot cross. Beyond this point, he begins to experience the effects of group social control on the part of other group members and his leadership influence ends.


The degree and type of group pressure also depend on the characteristics of the primary group. If, for example, group cohesion is high, group loyalty to the cultural patterns of a given group also becomes high and, naturally, the degree of social group control increases. The group pressure of loyal group members (i.e., group members committed to group values) is stronger than that of disunited group members. For example, a group that spends only free time together and is therefore disconnected will find it much more difficult to exercise intragroup social control than a group that regularly engages in joint activities, such as in a team or family.

The first three forms were identified by R. Park, the fourth form was described by the American sociologist S. Ask.


This list does not include such an important element as the presence of common values ​​acquired by individuals in the process of socialization. The fact is that social control based on coercion does not always reduce the number of deviations. Naturally, there are many individual reasons why people violate social norms. However, violation of norms may become a practice that is tacitly approved or
simply tolerated by society. This usually happens when the norms are too strict (or people perceive them to be too strict). For this reason, tough police measures directed against a certain type of crime rarely bring positive results, although they are condoned in
deviant behavior is also unacceptable.


Based on this, two conclusions can be drawn:


1) social control can be effective only in
in the case when he adheres to the “golden mean” between freedom of choice and responsibility for this choice;


2) this feature indicates that social control operates mainly not due to coercion, but due to the presence of common values ​​and stability of society and social groups.

In addition to the above forms of social control, there is also general And detailed control.


Sometimes control is equated with management. The content of control and management is largely similar, but they should be distinguished. The mother or father controls how the child does his homework. Parents do not manage, but rather control the process, since the goals and objectives were set not by them, but by the teacher. Parents only monitor the progress of the task.


Thus, control is a narrower concept than management.


The difference between management and control is that the former is expressed through leadership style, and the latter through methods. Control methods can be general And detailed. For example,
the manager gives a subordinate a task and does not control the progress of its implementation - he resorts to general control .
If a manager interferes in every action of his subordinates, corrects, reprimands, etc., he is using detailed control.


Detailed control is also called supervision. Supervision
carried out not only at the micro, but also at the macro level of society. The state becomes its subject, and it turns into a non-main social institution . Surveillance grows to size large-scale social system, covering the entire country. Such a system includes: detective bureaus, detective agencies, police stations, informant service, prison guards, courts, censorship.


Since control is included in management as an integral part, but a very important part, we can conclude that depending on the type of control, management itself will change. A part, if important enough, determines the character of the whole. Thus, control methods affect the management style, which, in turn, has two types - style authoritarian and style democratic.

2.2 Agents and tools of social control


Social control is the most effective way in which powerful institutions of society organize the life of ordinary citizens. The tools, or in this case, methods of social control are extremely diverse; they depend on the situation, goals and nature of the specific group in relation to which they are used. The range of their application is enormous: from clarification of relationships between specific people to psychological pressure, physical violence, and economic coercion of a person by the entire society. It is not necessary that control mechanisms be aimed at condemning an undesirable person or inducing others to be disloyal to him. “Disapproval” is most often expressed not in relation to the individual himself, but in relation to his actions, statements, and interactions with other persons.


External control – it is a set of institutions and mechanisms that guarantee compliance with generally accepted norms of behavior and laws. It is divided into formal, i.e. institutional, and informal, i.e. intragroup.


Formal control based on approval or condemnation from official authorities and administration.


Informal control based on approval or condemnation from public opinion, which is expressed through traditions, customs or the media, as well as from a group of relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances. They are called agents of informal control. If we consider the family as a social institution, then we should talk about it as the most important institution of social control.


In compact primary groups, extremely effective and at the same time very subtle control mechanisms, such as persuasion, ridicule, gossip and contempt, are constantly in operation to curb real and potential deviants. Ridicule and gossip are powerful tools of social control in all types of primary groups. Unlike methods of formal control, such as reprimand or demotion, informal methods are available to almost everyone. Both ridicule and gossip can be manipulated by any intelligent person who has access to their transmission channels.


Formal control historically arose later than informal control - during the emergence of complex societies and states, in particular, ancient Eastern empires. However, in modern society
the importance of formal control has increased significantly. In a complex society , especially in a country with a population of millions, it is much more difficult to maintain order and stability. After all, informal control over an individual on the part of such a society is limited to a small group of people. In a large group it is ineffective. That's why it is sometimes called local. On the contrary, formal control is comprehensive; it operates throughout the country. He global, and it is always carried out by special people - agents of formal control. These are professionals, i.e. persons specially trained and paid for performing control functions. They are bearers of social statuses and roles. These include judges, police officers, psychiatrists, social workers, etc. If in traditional society social control was based on unwritten rules, then in modern societies it is based on written norms; instructions, decrees, regulations, laws. Social control has gained institutional support .


Formal control, as we have already said, is exercised by such institutions of modern society as the courts, education, the army, production, the media, political parties, and the government. The school controls with the help of grades, the government - with the help of the system of taxation and social assistance to the population, the state - with the help of the police, the secret service, state radio and television channels and the press.


Control methods , Depending on the sanctions applied, they are divided into:


hard;


soft;


straight;


indirect. [Appendix 2]

The role and significance of social control lies primarily in the fact that it makes a serious contribution to ensuring the reproduction of social relations and social structure and thereby plays a very important role in the stabilization and integration of the social system and the strengthening of social order. Social control is aimed at making a habit of standards of behavior in certain situations that do not raise objections from a social group or the whole society. Basing its activities on the general recognition of the culture of a given society or group, on instilling its values ​​and norms in its members through education, social control is designed to ensure that human behavior corresponds to these values, norms and roles. But the role of social control in the prevention and suppression of social deviations, primarily the deviant behavior of people and their groups, is especially great, direct and visible.

Having considered social control as a social institution, examining its essence and forms, we can draw the following conclusions:


Mechanisms of social control play a vital role in strengthening all institutions of society;


In relation to society, social control performs two main functions: protective and stabilizing.


The main purpose of social control is to maintain order and stability in society, as well as to ensure social reproduction in a direction corresponding to the development strategy chosen by a particular society;


Thanks to the mechanisms of socialization, prescription, reward, selection and control, the social system maintains equilibrium.


Glossary


Deviation or deviant behavior(from lat. deviatio– evasion) – social actions, actions of people or their groups that deviate from generally accepted norms, leading to a violation of these norms and necessitating an appropriate response from the social group or society as a whole. In a broad sense, deviation includes any deviations in behavior from social norms - both positive (heroism, special hard work) and negative (crimes, violations of public order, moral norms). In a narrower sense (it is this sense that is touched upon in this course work) only a negative deviation from established norms, both legal and moral, is understood.

Interiorization– (from fr. interiorisation- transition from outside to inside, from lat. interior– internal) – the formation of internal structures of the human psyche through the assimilation of external social activities, the appropriation of life experience, the formation of mental functions and development in general. Any complex action, before becoming the property of the mind, must be realized externally. Thanks to interiorization, we can talk to ourselves and actually think without disturbing others.

Self-control – independent regulation by a person of his behavior, his motives and motivations, an integral part of the system of moral relations of society, which includes both various forms of society’s control over the behavior of its individual members, and everyone’s personal control over themselves. The mechanism of self-control covers beliefs, feelings, habits, and a person’s self-esteem of his actions, motives, and moral qualities that gradually develop in the process of social life of an individual (one of the forms of such self-esteem is conscience); self-education.


Self-awareness – a person’s isolation of himself from the objective world, awareness and assessment of his attitude to the world, himself as a person, his actions, thoughts and feelings, desires and interests.


Social control– a mechanism of self-regulation of society and social groups, ensuring their targeted influence on people’s behavior in order to strengthen order and stability. Social control is designed to guarantee given social values, norms and roles the behavior of a person or social group. It bases its activities on the general recognition of the culture of a given society, group and instilling its values ​​and norms in its members through the education of behavior patterns.


Used Books

1. Berger P. L. Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective. – M.:

   Appendix 2
   

   
   

   Combination of formal control methods
   

   Combinations by character Combinations according to form	Hard	Soft
   Direct	Straight hard Eg: political repression, racketeering, organized crime	Straight soft Nr: the effect of the constitution and the criminal code
   Indirect	Methodological aspects of organizing control in organizations of the socio-cultural sphere