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History of Social Control
The term Social Control was first coined by Albion Woodbury Small and George Edgar Vincent in 1894; however, at the time sociologists only showed sporadic interest in the subject.

Some social philosophers have played a role in the development of social control such as Thomas Hobbes in his work Leviathan that discusses social order and how the state exerts this using civil and military power; as well as Cesare Beccaria's On crimes and punishments that argues that people will avoid criminal behavior if their acts result in harsher punishment, stating that changes in punishment will act as a form of social control. Sociologist Èmile Durkheim also explored social control in the work The Division of Labor in Society and discusses the paradox of deviance, stating that social control is what makes us abide by laws in the first place. Society uses certain sanctions to enforce a standard of behavior that is deemed socially acceptable. Individuals and institutions utilize social control to establish social norms and rules, which can be exercised by peers or friends, family, state and religious organizations, schools, and the workplace. The goal of social control is to maintain order in society and ensure conformity in those who are deemed as deviant or undesirable in society.

Definition: The term social control as defined by Merriam Webster is known as certain rules and standards in society that keep individuals bound to conventional standards as well as the use of formalized mechanisms

Informal Social Control: Social values are result of an individual internalizing certain norms and values... (add to info already there) The internalization of these values and norms is known as a process called socialization.

Social control by use of reward is known as positive reinforcement. In society and the laws and regulations implemented by the government tend to focus on punishment or the enforcing negative sanctions to act as a deterrent as means of social control.

Sanctions: Formal sanctions are usually imposed by the government and organizations in the form of laws to reward or punish behavior. Some formal sanctions include fines and incarceration in order to deter negative behavior. Other forms of formal social control can include other sanctions that are more severe depending on the behavior seen as negative such as censorship, expulsion, and limits on political freedom.

Examples of this can be seen in law. If a person breaks a law set forth by the government and is caught, they will have to go to court and depending on the severity, will have to pay fines or face harsher consequences.

According to a study done on crime in cities, in cities that have a higher incarceration rate and those that police make more arrests for public offenses, tend to have lower crime rates and incarceration rates.