Social Control
Social control is the progressive belief that individuals can be controlled through cues or through regulation, and is a large field of study within the disciplines of Social science.
History
The concept of social control was made popular during the Progressive era by Edward Alsworth Ross, a professor of sociology at Stanford and Harvard.
Controls
Social control can use criticism, sarcasm, ridicule, shame, and other devices in order to make people behave a certain way.
Another form of control are regulations. Regulations can be created in the middle of the night while nobody notices and have a vast influence on the way people conduct their lives. Since regulations are passed by unelected bureaucrats, they do not require the kind of congressional votes that garner attention.
See also
- Saul Alinsky - Rules as a series of social controls
- Panopticon