Social Control And Deviance, History Of

Keywords

Anomie; Chicago school; Crime; Deterrence; Deviance; Goals; Morality; Normlessness; Punishment; Social control; Social order; Strain; Values

Abstract

One of the many founding concepts of contemporary social science that arose during the Enlightenment was the idea that society could control the behavior of its citizens by using formal mechanisms of social control. Theoretically, by manipulating the magnitude of punishment or pain guilty persons would experience for their deviant behavior, society could stop offenders before they acted. More specifically, since offenders acted in their own best interests, they would think about the costs and benefits of their behaviors prior to acting. Through punishment, society could make the costs of deviant or criminal behavior outweigh whatever benefits miscreants might otherwise accrue. Moreover, this would translate to more general societal deterrence if the punishments individuals received were certain, swift, and severe. This article reviews the history of these concepts through to the present day.

Publication Date

3-26-2015

Publication Title

International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences: Second Edition

Number of Pages

235-241

Document Type

Article; Book Chapter

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.03151-2

Socpus ID

85043437368 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85043437368

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