Social Order & Social Control | Sociology for GCSE/IGCSE - Year 11 PDF Download

Crime & Deviance

Crime

• Crime refers to illegal acts that are punishable by law and can lead to criminal proceedings if detected. Examples include robbery, shoplifting, identity theft, terrorism, and human trafficking. 
• Crime is a widely debated topic, frequently discussed by the media and politicians. Sociologists study both criminal behavior and the role of deviance in society.

Deviance

• Deviance involves behaviors that violate societal norms and rules, often met with disapproval and potential negative sanctions. 
• Examples include parking on double yellow lines, cycling on pavements, sitting next to a stranger on an empty train or bus, drinking or smoking during pregnancy, extreme body modifications (e.g., face tattoos or excessive plastic surgery), talking in cinemas, wearing incorrect school uniforms, or stealing food due to poverty. 
• Deviant acts can be both legal and illegal, with legal deviance being behaviors deemed "abnormal" but not punishable by law.

The Social Construction of Crime and Deviance

Crime is defined by legal standards, while deviance is determined by social norms. Whether an act is considered criminal or deviant depends on who performs it, the context, and the location. The classification of acts as criminal or deviant varies across cultures and changes over time.

Examples of Social Construction:

• Time: Smoking in public was acceptable until it became illegal in 2007. Suicide was a crime until 1961. Extramarital births carried social stigma in the 1950s, and homosexuality was criminalized until 1967.
• Place: Smoking in public is illegal, but smoking at home is acceptable, though it may be deviant in someone else’s home. Wearing swimwear is appropriate on a beach but deviant in workplaces or classrooms.
• Culture: Cannabis is legal in some Arab states, but alcohol is not. Eating guinea pigs is traditional in parts of South America but considered deviant in the UK.
• Age: The legal age of consent is 16, the drinking age and ability to buy scratch cards is 18, and the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10.

Thus, crime and deviance are socially constructed, shaped by societal norms and expectations.

Sociologists' Views on Crime and Deviance

Sociologists offer varied perspectives on how crime and deviance are socially constructed:

• Functionalist: Crime arises from social strain due to societal structures, making it a socially constructed phenomenon.
• Marxist: The criminal justice system favors the wealthy, reinforcing the social construction of crime.
• Feminist: A patriarchal society constructs crime through double standards and biases against women.
• Interactionist: An act becomes criminal or deviant only when labeled as such by others, depending on varying perceptions.

Social Order & Social Control

Social Order

Sociologists explore how social order is established and sustained. Two key approaches are:

• Consensus Approach: Functionalism suggests that social order stems from a shared value consensus formed through socialization, encouraging rule conformity.
• Conflict Approach: Marxism views capitalist society as divided by conflicting interests between the bourgeoisie and proletariat, with the bourgeoisie maintaining order through their influence over laws.

Social Control

Social control refers to how groups like families and peers regulate behavior to ensure conformity to societal rules. It involves methods to encourage rule adherence and address rule-breaking through sanctions, such as imprisonment for deviant acts.

There are two types of social control:
Formal Social Control: Based on explicit laws and enforced by state agencies. Examples include:

• The Houses of Parliament: Create laws to govern behavior.
• The Police: Maintain order, enforce laws, investigate crimes, and apprehend offenders.
• The Judiciary: Convict and sentence offenders through fines or imprisonment.
• Magistrates: Handle minor offenses like assaults and thefts in Magistrates’ Courts.
• Crown Court: Address serious crimes like murder or terrorism, with juries determining guilt and judges issuing sentences.
• Court of Appeal: Reviews cases for potential miscarriages of justice and can overturn convictions.
• Prison Service: Houses and rehabilitates offenders while deterring future crimes.
• Probation Service: Supervises offenders reintegrating into the community.

Informal Social Control: Relies on unwritten rules and social pressures from groups like family, teachers, or peers. Responses include:

• Positive Sanctions: Rewards like praise, gifts, or promotions for conforming to expectations.
• Negative Sanctions: Actions like ridicule, gossip, or persuasion to correct non-conforming behavior.

Effectiveness of Social Control

Formal Social Control:

• Effective: Has coercive power, such as removing criminals from society.
• Ineffective: Prisons often lack rehabilitation, leading to high reoffending rates. Some police forces face accusations of institutional racism, causing community mistrust. Agencies may disproportionately target working-class individuals, ethnic minorities, and youth.

Informal Social Control:

• Ineffective: Fails when families or peers share deviant attitudes, e.g., parents providing alcohol or vapes to minors, undervaluing education, or participating in delinquent subcultures (Cohen, 1955).
• Effective: The hidden curriculum in schools promotes conformity. School reward systems prepare students for societal roles. Peer groups influence behavior based on the group an individual identifies with.

Formal & Informal Rules

• Formal Rules: Formal rules are codified as laws or codes of conduct, guiding behavior in settings like schools, workplaces, or public transport. Examples include workplace health and safety regulations. Breaking these rules results in official sanctions, such as imprisonment, fines, or job loss.

• Informal Rules: Informal rules are unwritten expectations for behavior in social settings, such as holding a door open for someone. While lacking official status, breaking these rules may lead to negative sanctions like disapproval from peers, family, or friends.