Social control concept types of functions. Causes of deviant behavior. B.45 Social control: forms and types

Now more and more often from TV screens, as well as on the Internet, you can stumble upon the phrase "social control". And many people ask themselves the question: “What is it and why is it needed at all”?

IN modern world social control is understood as the supervision of human behavior in society in order to prevent conflicts, restore order and maintain the existing social order. The presence of social control is one of the most important conditions for the normal functioning of the state, as well as compliance with its laws. An ideal society is a society in which each of its members does what he wants, but at the same time this is what is expected of him and what is required by the state at the moment. Of course, it is not always easy to force a person to do what society wants him to do.

The mechanisms of social control have long passed the test of time, and the most common among them, of course, are group pressure and human socialization. For example, in order for a country to experience population growth, it is necessary to convince families that having children is good and good for their health. More primitive societies seek to control human behavior through coercion, but this method does not always work. In addition, with a large population in the state, it is practically impossible to use this measure of social control.

The study of forms and types of social control is fundamentally important for today's society. Now the population is given more and more freedoms, but at the same time responsibility is increasing. Ways to control deviant behavior are changing, becoming more sophisticated and imperceptible, and sometimes not every person realizes that everything he does is programmed by the state and placed in his head from birth. This paper reveals the most popular and effective forms and types of social control, most often used in society. Knowing them is useful for every educated person, since for a normal existence it is fundamentally important to know all the mechanisms that affect the human mind.

What is social control and deviant behavior

Now in the world there is no such ideal society in which each of its members behaves in accordance with accepted requirements. Very often, so-called social deviations may arise, which are not always well reflected in the structure of society. Forms of social deviations are very different: from harmless to very, very dangerous. Someone has deviations in personal organization, someone in social behavior, someone both there and there. These are all kinds of criminals, hermits, geniuses, ascetics, representatives of sexual minorities, otherwise called deviants.

“Deviant may be the most innocent at first glance, an act associated with a violation of the traditional distribution of roles. For example, a wife's higher salary may seem abnormal, since the husband has been the main producer of material values ​​from time immemorial. In a traditional society, such a distribution of roles, in principle, could not arise.

So, any behavior that causes disapproval of public opinion is called deviant. Usually sociologists distinguish 2 main types of deviation: primary and secondary. Moreover, if the primary deviation is not particularly dangerous for society, since it is regarded as a kind of prank, then secondary deviations stick the label of a deviant to the individual. Secondary deviations include criminal offenses, drug use, homosexuality, and more. Criminal behavior, sexual deviations, alcoholism or drug addiction cannot lead to the emergence of new cultural patterns useful for society. It should be recognized that the vast majority of social deviations play a destructive role in the development of society. Therefore, society simply needs a mechanism that will control unwanted deviant behavior.

Such a mechanism is social control. Thus, social control is a set of means by which a society or a social group guarantees the conformal behavior of its members in relation to role requirements and expectations. In this regard, with the help of social control, all the necessary conditions for the sustainability of each social system, it contributes to the preservation of social stability, and, at the same time, does not prevent positive changes in the social system. Therefore, social control requires greater flexibility and the ability to correctly assess various deviations from social norms activities that take place in society in order to encourage beneficial deviations and punish destructive ones.

A person begins to feel the influence of social control already in childhood, in the process of socialization, when a person is explained who he is and why he lives in the world. From infancy, a person develops a sense of self-control, he takes on various social roles that impose the need to meet expectations. At the same time, most children grow up and become respectable citizens of their country, who respect the law and do not seek to violate the norms accepted in society. Social control is diverse and ubiquitous: it occurs whenever at least two people interact.

Forms of social control

Over the long years of its existence, humanity has developed a number of different forms of social control. They are both tangible and completely invisible. The most effective and traditional form can be called self-control. It arises immediately after the birth of a person and accompanies him throughout his conscious life. At the same time, each individual himself, without coercion, controls his behavior in accordance with the norms of the society to which he belongs. The norms in the process of socialization are very firmly established in the mind of a person, so firmly that having violated them, a person begins to experience the so-called pangs of conscience.

Approximately 70% of social control is carried out through self-control. The more self-control developed among members of a society, the less that society has to resort to external control. And vice versa. The less self-control developed in people, the more often the institutions of social control, in particular, the army, courts, and the state, have to come into action. However, strict external control, petty guardianship of citizens hinder the development of self-consciousness and expression of will, muffle internal volitional efforts. Thus, a vicious circle arises, in which more than one society has fallen into throughout world history. The name of this circle is dictatorship.

Often a dictatorship is established for a while, for the benefit of citizens and with the aim of restoring order. But it lingers for a long time, to the detriment of people and leads to even greater arbitrariness. Citizens who are accustomed to submit to coercive control do not develop internal control. Gradually they degrade as social beings capable of taking responsibility and doing without external coercion (i.e. dictatorship). In other words, under a dictatorship, no one teaches them to behave in accordance with rational norms. Thus, self-control is a purely sociological problem, because the degree of its development characterizes the prevailing in society social type people and the emerging form of the state. Group pressure is another common form of social control. Of course, no matter how strong a person's self-control is, belonging to a group or community has a huge impact on a person.

When an individual is included in one of the primary groups, he begins to comply with basic norms, follow a formal and informal code of conduct. The slightest deviation usually causes condemnation by the group members, as well as the risk of exclusion. “The variation in group behavior resulting from group pressure can be seen in the example of the production team. Each member of the team must adhere to certain standards of behavior not only at work, but also after work. And if, say, disobedience to the foreman can lead to harsh remarks from the workers for the violator, then absenteeism and drunkenness often end with his boycott and rejection from the brigade. However, depending on the group, the force of group pressure may be different. If the group is very cohesive, then, accordingly, the force of group pressure increases. For example, in a group where a person spends free time, it is more difficult to exercise social control than in a place where joint activities are regularly carried out, for example, in the family or at work.

Group control can be formal or informal. The official includes all kinds of working meetings, advisory meetings, shareholders' councils, and so on. Under informal control understand the impact on group members by participants in the form of approval, ridicule, condemnation, isolation and refusal to communicate.

Another form of social control is propaganda, which is considered very powerful tool influencing human consciousness. Propaganda is a way of influencing people, in some respects hindering the rational enlightenment of a person, in which the person draws his own conclusions. The main task of propaganda is to influence groups of people in such a way as to shape the behavior of society in the desired direction. Propaganda should influence those forms of social behavior that are closely connected with the system of moral values ​​in society. Everything is subjected to propaganda treatment, from the actions of people to typical situations and ending with beliefs, orientations. Propaganda is used as a kind of technical means suitable for achieving their goals. There are 3 main types of propaganda.

The first type includes the so-called revolutionary propaganda, which is needed in order to force people to accept a value system, as well as a situation that is in conflict with the generally accepted one. An example of such propaganda is the propaganda of communism and socialism in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.

The second type is destructive propaganda. Its main goal is to destroy existing system values. The clearest example of such propaganda was Hitler's, which did not try to force people to accept the ideals of Nazism, but at the same time tried with all its might to undermine trust in traditional values.

And finally, the third type of propaganda is reinforcing. It is designed to consolidate people's attachment to certain values ​​and orientations. This type of propaganda is typical for the United States, where the existing system of values ​​is fixed in this way. According to sociologists, this type of propaganda is the most effective, it serves very well to maintain established value orientations. In addition, it reflects the prevailing, traditional stereotypes. This type of propaganda is mainly aimed at instilling conformism in people, which implies agreement with the dominant ideological and theoretical organizations.

At present, the concept of propaganda in the public mind is associated mainly with the military sphere or politics. Slogans are considered one of the ways to implement propaganda in society. The slogan is short sentence, usually expressing the main task or guiding idea. The correctness of such a statement is usually not in doubt, since it is only of a general nature.

During a period of crisis or conflict in a country, demagogues may throw slogans such as "My country is always right," "Homeland, Faith, Family," or "Freedom or Death," for example. But do most people analyze the true causes of this crisis, conflict? Or do they just go along with what they are told?

In his work on the First World War, Winston Churchill wrote: "Just one call is enough - and the crowds of peaceful peasants and workers turn into mighty armies, ready to tear the enemy apart." He also noted that most people, without hesitation, carry out the order given to them.

At the disposal of the propagandist there are also many symbols and signs that carry the ideological charge he needs. For example, a flag can serve as such a symbol, such ceremonies as a volley of twenty-one guns and a salute also have a symbolic character. Love for parents can also be used as leverage. It is obvious that such concepts - symbols as the fatherland, the motherland - the mother or the faith of the ancestors, can become powerful weapon in the hands of clever manipulators of other people's opinions.

Of course, propaganda and all its derivatives are not necessarily evil. The question is who does it, and for what purpose. And also in who this propaganda is being directed at. And if we talk about propaganda in a negative sense, then you can resist it. And it's not that hard. It is enough for a person to understand what propaganda is and learn to identify it in the general flow of information. And having learned, it is already much easier for a person to decide for himself how compatible the ideas suggested to him are with his own ideas about what is good and what is bad.

Social control through coercion is also another common form. It is usually practiced in the most primitive as well as traditional societies, although it may be present in smaller amounts even in the most developed countries. In the presence of a high population of a complex culture, the so-called secondary group control begins to be applied - laws, various violent regulators, formalized procedures. When an individual is unwilling to follow these regulations, the group or society resorts to coercion to force him to act like everyone else. In modern societies, there are highly developed rules, or a system of control through enforcement, which is a set of effective sanctions applied in accordance with various types of deviations from the norms.

Social control through coercion is characteristic of any government, but its place, role, and character in various systems are not the same. In a developed society, coercion is attracted mainly for crimes committed against society. The decisive role in the fight against offenses belongs to the state. It has special apparatus coercion. Legal norms determine for what state bodies can apply the method of coercion. The means of coercion are physical and mental violence, i.e. a threat. There is also no reason to believe that a threat can only be a means of coercion when it is punishable in itself.

The state must also protect its citizens from coercion by threats, which in themselves are not punishable if the content of the threat is an illegal act, otherwise many cases of serious mental violence would be allowed to go unpunished. The element of coercion, joining the threat, gives it another and greater value. It goes without saying that the threat must contain, in itself, an indication of a significant, in the eyes of the threatened, illegal evil, otherwise it will be unable to influence the will of the threatened.

In addition to the above, there are many other forms of social control, such as rewards, pressure from authority, punishment. A person begins to feel each of them from birth, even if he does not understand that he is being influenced.

All forms of social control are covered by its two main types: formal and informal.

Formal social control

It is carried out by subjects of power or institutions of society specially created for this purpose. With the emergence and development state forms management, special mechanisms of coercion and law, formal control pushed the informal into the background. To exercise formal control, special sets of rules and laws are developed that are in force throughout the country. Social control has gained institutional support. He is global. It is carried out by specially trained people, the so-called agents of formal control. These include judges, psychiatrists, social workers, special church officials, etc.

Formal control is carried out by such institutions of modern society as the courts, the education system, the army, production, means mass media, government. The school controls thanks to examination scores, the government - the system of taxation and social assistance to the population, the state - thanks to the police, the secret service, state radio, television channels and the press. The very functioning of the state is possible only thanks to the presence of formal social control. The presence of formal control ensures the security of the citizens of the state, guarantees the observance of laws, contributes to its development and prosperity.

Historically, formal control arose later than informal - during the period of the emergence of complex societies and states, in particular, ancient Eastern empires. The very need for the application of formal social control arises only when society becomes very large and begins to include various social strata of the population. If in a small community, to control all its members, condemnation can be dispensed with, then in a large and vast state it is almost impossible to keep track of everyone. Therefore, formal social control arises.

Informal social control

Informal control is based on approval or condemnation from a group of relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, as well as from public opinion, which is expressed through traditions and customs or the media. Informal control over a person greatly affects his character, worldview, tastes and habits. Many sociologists also call informal social control local: it cannot immediately spread to a large group of people, but at the same time it has a great effect on each individual throughout life. IN modern society informal control operates mainly at the level of primary groups.

His tools are mainly gossip, ridicule, boycott, advice, compliment and more. At the level large groups the power of public opinion is weakening, and informal control becomes ineffective. The existence of informal social control in traditional societies was only possible due to the fact that social regulation was unwritten and consisted of ideas about what was due, passed from mouth to mouth. A small rural community could control all aspects of the life of its members: the choice of a bride or groom, methods of resolving disputes and conflicts, methods of courtship, choosing a name for a newborn, and much more. There were no written rules. Public opinion, most often expressed by the oldest members of the community, acted as a controller. Religion was organically woven into a single system of social control.

Strict observance of the rituals and ceremonies associated with traditional holidays and rituals (for example, marriage, childbirth, reaching maturity, betrothal, harvest) brought up a sense of respect for social norms, instilled a deep understanding of their necessity.

Now informal control can also be performed by the family, circle of relatives, friends and acquaintances. They are called agents of informal control. If we consider the family as a social institution, then we should talk about the most important institution of social control.

It is difficult to overestimate the impact of informal social control on a single member of society. From childhood, we are influenced by parents and friends, form our ideas about good and evil, about right and wrong. Perhaps, informal social control is still somewhat more important than formal, because no matter how the laws of the state change, what the family has invested in a person will remain in him for the rest of his life. And people tend to listen to the opinions of others more often than to their own.

Conclusion

Having studied the main types and forms of social control, one can come to the conclusion that the character, value system, habits and worldview of a person are completely determined by the society to which he belongs.

The role and importance of social control is difficult to overestimate. He not only supports the existing system of values, but also plays an important role in stabilizing the social system, as well as establishing social order. Its main task is to make a habit the standards of behavior in society that do not cause disapproval and discontent of other members of society. The stabilizing and protective functions of social control make possible the existence of modern multinational, multi-million states with a complex system of relationships.

The problem of social deviations, deviant behavior attracts more and more attention of domestic sociologists. Ways to rationally control and disseminate positive behavior are being more actively developed. An important task for researchers is also the typology of deviant behavior of an individual, the development of the conceptual foundations of the mechanism of social control.

However, it is worth recognizing that, despite all the efforts of sociologists, a huge number of undesirable deviations are still observed in society, which are quite difficult to deal with. The challenge for the future is to find the most optimal forms control of deviant behavior in order to ensure a happy life for every member of society.

Bibliography

1. I. I. Antonovich. "Capitalism and Social Control: (A Critique of the Theory and Practice of Social Control in Bourgeois Sociology)". -M.: Thought, 1978. -184p.
2. A. I. Kravchenko. "Sociology and Political Science". -M.: Mastery, 2002. -312s.
3. K. Gabdullina, E. Raisov. "Sociology". -M.: Nur-Press, 2005. -202p.
4. Kasyanov, Nechipurenko, "Sociology of Law".
5. S.S. Frolov, "Sociology", Section II Culture and Personality, Social Control and Social Deviations.
6. Agents of formal and informal control. (http://sociologists.ru)

Social control is a concept in sociology that means a purposeful activity to check the functioning of an object for compliance with some criteria. As a rule, public order is maintained in this way. Moreover, most often in practice, social control is control over the personality, although nothing prevents in a similar way to monitor different organizations, enterprises, etc. That also often happens.

It should be noted that deviant behavior and social control are inextricably linked. Without one there would be no other and vice versa. It is quite easy to give examples here, for example, alcoholics, drug addicts, representatives of certain subcultures attract the most public attention. Which is quite easy to explain: others involuntarily expect them to violate the order. And this happens quite often.

It should be noted that due to social control, the deviation is either corrected or removed one way or another from society. As a result, stability and security are ensured in this way. And the protective functions of social control are carried out.

But this also has a downside. Controlled behavior often limits individuals in the ability to realize themselves. And in traditional societies quite strongly.

The implicit prohibition of deviant behavior may not be expressed in any written form. Sometimes it exists in the form of morality, traditions, customs. And in this manifestation it is periodically quite rigid, interfering with development.

The development of social control led to the emergence of new varieties. At the same time, the old ones often remain relevant. Thus, their number is increasing. So, social control is presented in the form:

1. moral impact. It is both positive and negative. These are all sorts of ways of moral encouragement, approval of behavior, support, congratulations, expressions of gratitude, gratitude, growing popularity, etc. At the same time, a boycott, a sharply negative reaction, public ridicule, reprimand, censure in other ways act as a negative reaction.
2. State measures. Here the concept of social control is somewhat transformed. Many even put this option in a separate category.
3. legal influence. Law as a means of social influence, obstacles to deviant behavior turned out to be one of the most effective. At the same time, abuse can itself become a violation.
4. Production incentives and punishments. In fact, these are the norms and sanctions that apply to a single enterprise. Often the stimulation of the desired behavior occurs in an economic way.

It is worth noting that social science today distinguishes other varieties. For example, some researchers consider it necessary to point out family control, it is especially strong in relation to adolescents due to the power of parents over children, including legal ones.

Also, social control and deviation in close interaction can be observed in different religious groups. Here moral encouragement and punishment can alternate with quite real hardships and punishments.

Forms of social control

If we talk about the forms of social control, they were replaced as society developed. Historically, these were unspoken rules of conduct, customs and instructions. In the present, they have taken on a more formal character: laws, decrees, orders, instructions, regulations, etc.

Elements of social control

The main elements of social control are norms and sanctions. The first refers to the rules, a specific variant of behavior. It can be either quite strictly regulated (only one way and nothing else, for example, a certain procedure for filing a tax return), or it can involve different options.

Sanctions concern the reaction of society to human behavior. They reward or punish, depending on whether the individual has done what is expected of him or not. In addition, the structure of social control also considers informal and formal sanctions. Let's take a closer look at each variety.

So, formal positive sanctions are official rewards from government agencies, legal entities, officials, etc. It can be expressed in the form of medals, orders. There is a ceremony of presenting diplomas, honorary awards, memorable gifts and other things.

Informal positive sanctions - public reaction, compliments, praise, smiles, gifts, applause and so on. Often come from relatives or from strangers.

Formal negative sanctions are punishments that are provided for in the legislation. They mean arrest, fine, dismissal, prison term, restriction of some rights for a certain time, deprivation of privileges, etc.

Informal negative sanctions - refusal to communicate with loved ones, neglect, censure, breaking friendships. The individual is periodically perceived much worse than the official ones.

It should be noted that the structure of social control quite allows the application of different sanctions, including the direction, for the same act. And one more thing: norms are also divided into technical and social. The latter reflects social life, trends and much more. Social norms and social control are very closely related to each other.

A social control mechanism?

How exactly does public control work? There are 3 main areas in total:

1. Socialization. As we grow, communicate, build a certain line of behavior in contacts with others, we learn to understand what is condemned by society, and what is approved, why. Here, the methods of social control act slowly and imperceptibly for many, but at the same time they are the most effective. And it is not easy to overcome them even for an outright rebel. Many criminals, for example, reacted more strongly to the reaction of their inner circle than to the fact of breaking the law.
2. Group influence. Every individual is part of some social group. This is a family, a work team, some kind of community with which he identifies himself. And such a unit can have a rather strong impact on him.
3. Various forms of coercion. If for some reason the first 2 methods did not affect a person, then in this case the state in the person of law enforcement.

Often, all 3 methods mentioned can act simultaneously. Of course, within each group there is a division, since these categories are themselves very general.

Functions of social control

Security has already been mentioned. In addition, social control also stabilizes, so that the foundations do not change with each generation. And the norms themselves are often a kind of yardstick with which the individual compares his actions and evaluates his own behavior. Here it makes sense to talk about inner work with oneself and self-control.

What is combined with external control. It is a combination of different institutions that act on the individual, forcing him one way or another to socially useful behavior and forcing him to abandon what is really dangerous for others.

The Importance of Social Control

The exercise of control by society is a basic condition for the survival of society. Otherwise, individual individuals could simply destroy it. Protection and stabilization have already been mentioned above. It should also be noted that such control acts as a kind of border. It also acts as a deterrent.

That is, any single individual could try to express his dissatisfaction with a neighbor or business partner in a criminal way. Moreover, the effectiveness of the work of law enforcement agencies in certain regions of Russia is so low that not everyone is afraid of the law.

However, the fear of judgment from parents or elders in the settlement is much stronger. He was entrenched in the process of socialization. And therefore, now for individual representatives of society, the word of the head of the family is more important than the law. This can not be called unequivocally positive, but such a deterrent works. Therefore, its importance should not be underestimated.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[edit] Types of social control

There are two types of social control processes:

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

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

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

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

social control- this is a set of means by which a society or a social community (group) ensures the behavior of its members in accordance with accepted norms (moral, legal, aesthetic, etc.), and also prevents deviant acts, punishes deviants or corrects them.

The main means of social control are as follows:

1. Socialization, ensuring the perception, assimilation and implementation by the individual of social norms accepted in society.

2. Upbringing- the process of systematic influence on the social development of the individual in order to form her needs and habits to comply with the norms prevailing in society.

3. group pressure, characteristic of any social group and expressed in the fact that each individual in the group must fulfill a certain set of requirements and instructions emanating from the group that correspond to the norms adopted in it.

4. Compulsion- the application of certain sanctions (threat, punishment, etc.), forcing individuals and their groups to comply with the norms and rules of behavior prescribed by society (community).

Among the methods of social control, the most commonly used, as established by T. Parsons, are:

1. Insulation, those. excommunication of the deviant from other people (for example, imprisonment).

2. Isolation- limiting the deviant's contacts with other people, but not completely isolating him from society (for example, a written undertaking not to leave, house arrest, placement in a psychiatric hospital).

3. Rehabilitation, those. preparation of deviants for a normal life (for example, in groups of anonymous alcoholics).

Social control over deviation is divided into two main types. Informal social control includes social encouragement, punishment, persuasion or reassessment of existing norms, replacing them with new norms that are more in line with changed social institutions. Formal control is carried out by social institutions and organizations specially created by the society. Among them, the main role is played by the police, the prosecutor's office, the court, and the prison.

Social control, with all the variety of means, methods and types, is called upon to be guided in a democratic society by several fundamental principles.

Firstly, the implementation of legal and other norms functioning in society should stimulate socially useful behavior and prevent socially harmful, and even more so socially dangerous actions.

Secondly, sanctions must correspond to the severity and social danger of the deed, without closing in any case the way to social rehabilitation individual.

Thirdly, whatever sanction is applied to the deviant, it should in no case humiliate the dignity of the individual; coercion should be combined with persuasion; moral standards society.

In this way, social control- this is a specific activity aimed at maintaining the behavior of an individual, group or society in accordance with accepted norms through social influence.

Such activity is of a superstructural nature, but is objectively inevitable for organizing the life of society, in particular production (it does not directly create a product, but without it, in the end, this product would not be possible).

The specific functions of social control in the sphere of labor are:

Stabilization and development of production (the behavior of the employee is controlled in terms of the results of labor, interaction with others, productivity, etc.);

Economic rationality and responsibility (control over the use of resources, saving property and optimizing labor costs);

Moral and legal regulation (organizational and labor discipline - observance of morality and law in the relationship of subjects of labor activity);

Physical protection of a person (compliance with safety regulations, working hours, etc.);

Moral and psychological protection of the employee, etc.

Thus, in the sphere of labor, social control pursues both production-economic and social-humanitarian goals.

Social control has complex structure, which consists of three interrelated processes: observation of behavior, assessment of behavior in terms of social norms, reaction to behavior in the form of sanctions.

These processes testify to the presence of social control functions in labor organizations. Depending on the nature of the sanctions or incentives used, social control can be of two types: economic(benefits, incentives, penalties) and moral(demonstration of respect, contempt, sympathy). Depending on the controlled subject, there can be distinguished different kinds social control - external, mutual and self-control.

At external control its subject is outside the controlled system of relations and activities: it is the control exercised by the administration in the labor organization.

Administrative control has a number of advantages. First of all, it is a special and independent activity. This, on the one hand, relieves personnel directly involved in the main production tasks from control functions, on the other hand, it contributes to the implementation of control functions at a professional level.

Administrative control has its own specific motivation, reflecting the peculiarities of the attitude of the administration to the issues of discipline in the sphere of labor. It is based on both material and moral interest inherent in managers.

Firstly, the organizational and labor order is considered as a prerequisite for the socio-economic existence and well-being of the organization. In the event of the collapse or bankruptcy of a labor organization, an ordinary employee loses only a job, while the managerial layer, the owners lose their capital, authority, prestigious occupation and social position.

Secondly, each leader, as a representative of the institution of administration, is morally responsible for the staff, requires subordinates to comply with established norms in their own interests, while showing a kind of paternalistic attitude towards people.

Thirdly, the moral interest on the part of the administration to organizational and labor discipline lies in the fact that the very construction of order is the creative side of managerial work, which enhances its attractiveness.

Fourthly, any control is a way to maintain power, subordination: control is weakened, and influence on people is also weakening.

Mutual control arises in a situation in which the bearers of social control functions are the subjects of organizational and labor relations themselves, who have the same status. This either supplements or replaces administrative control. From the point of view of discipline in the sphere of labor, not only individuals are capable of controlling each other (this experience is quite widespread in the West), but also entire groups, if they are sufficiently united on the basis of material and moral interest. Exist various forms mutual control - collegial, group, public.

self control- this is a specific way of behavior of the subject, in which he independently (without external coercion) supervises own actions behaves according to socially accepted norms. The main advantage of self-control is the reduction of control activities on the part of the administration. In addition, it gives the employee a sense of freedom, independence, personal significance. In some cases, self-control is more competent.

The disadvantages of self-control are mainly two circumstances: each employee, in assessing his own behavior, tends to underestimate social and regulatory requirements, to be liberal in relation to himself; in addition, self-control is poorly predictable and manageable, dependent on the subject, manifests itself only under such conditions. personal qualities like consciousness, morality, decency, etc.

Within the framework of the classification of social control, it is possible to distinguish not only its types, but also types. The latter distinguish social control from the point of view not of subjects, but of the nature of its implementation.

1. Solid and selective. Social control may not be the same in such important characteristics like intensity, object, content behavior. With complete social control, the entire process of organizational and labor relations and activities is subjected to constant monitoring and evaluation; all individuals and microgroups that make up the labor organization are equally the object of attention.

With selective control, its functions are relatively limited, extending only to the most important. For example, only final results, the most important tasks and functions or periods of their implementation, the most “sore points” in the discipline according to enterprise statistics, only a certain (doubtful) part of the personnel, etc. are observed and evaluated. The choice of the type of social control is determined by many factors: the individual characteristics of the subject of control, fashion, traditions in the style of management, the quality and condition of the staff, the objective specifics of controlled behavior (for example, the specifics of labor and its organization).

The degree and scale of social control is influenced by the actual statistics of organizational and labor violations, as well as an assessment of their likelihood. If serious violations are not noted for a sufficiently long time, this contributes to the liberalization of control, its selectivity; if, on a relatively normal background, violations suddenly occur, then the control functions awaken again, taking on a “just in case” continuous character.

The concept of "meaningful" reflects the depth, seriousness, effectiveness of control, and the concept of "formal" - its superficiality, visibility, unprincipledness. In the case of formal control, it is not the quality of organizational and labor relations and activities (their meaning) that is subjected to observation and evaluation, but external signs capable of creating the effect of plausibility, normality. The most obvious signs of formal control in a labor organization are: stay at the workplace, and not actual participation in the work process; external activity, not actual results; performance, not performance.

Formal control stimulates the so-called imitative (quite common in life) behavior, when a person, as an employee and economic figure, does not comply with the requirements of discipline, but imitates such compliance; by certain actions, he only reproduces the external signs of relations and activities to the extent that this satisfies those around him and himself. With a sufficient analysis of the problem, it turns out that in the organizational and labor sphere there are potentially great opportunities for imitation of activity, conscientiousness, adherence to principles, diligence, deliberation and other components of discipline.

3. Open and hidden. Despite the seeming simplicity and specificity, these types reflect rather complex phenomena in the organizational and labor sphere. The choice of an open or hidden form of social control is determined by the degree of awareness, awareness of the social control functions of those who are the object of these functions. Hidden control in labor organizations is ensured by observation using technical means, the unexpected appearance of formal or informal controllers, and the collection of information through intermediaries.

An important aspect of social control is the certainty of requirements and sanctions. The presence of such certainty prevents the unexpectedness of social control, which contributes to its open character.

Summing up what has been said, it should be noted that the rules of conduct governing the interaction of employees are social norms- a set of expectations and requirements of the labor organization to its members regarding labor behavior, - regulating their interaction in the process of labor activity. The norms, as a rule, fix typical, mandatory and permissible options for labor behavior. Social norms perform two functions: prescriptive when they set proper behavior, they act as a measure of its acceptable options, and appraisal, when they are the benchmark against which actual behavior is compared.

The action of social control is reduced mainly to the application of sanctions. Sanction- a preventive measure applied to the violator of social restrictions and having certain adverse consequences for him. There are sanctions formal— applied by the administration in accordance with established criteria and legislation, and informal-spontaneous reaction of members of the labor organization (collective condemnation, refusal to contact, etc.). Sanctions and incentives, counteracting undesirable behavioral acts and encouraging employees to appropriate labor behavior, contribute to the formation of their consciousness of the need to comply with certain norms and regulations.

Definition 1

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

Internal social control

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

Remark 1

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

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

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

Types of external social control

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

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

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