Social control entails rules of behavior that should be followed by the

members of a society. Some of the rules of conduct fall into the realm of good
manners as the culture defines them. As such they describe behavior that is
socially desirable but not necessarily compulsory. Other rules of conduct are
not optional and are enforced by laws. In complex, large-scale societies, laws
are usually written down formally so that they can be known clearly to
everyone. This is not the case with laws in small-scale societies such as
those of foragers, pastoralists, and horticulturalists. Their laws commonly are
much more informal, being rarely written down. Since they are part of the
evolving oral tradition that is familiar to members of these societies, there is
no need to explain them to anyone. However, people visiting from other
societies are not likely to know what the laws are until there is a dispute.

How laws come about varies. In small-scale societies, they usually evolve
over time and are part of the cultural tradition. These are referred to
as common laws. In large-scale societies, many laws derive from old
common laws that are now formalized by being written down in penal codes.
Other laws in these complex societies do not evolve organically but are
created by enactment in legislatures or by rulers. These may or may not be
codifications of existing social norms. Those laws that parallel the existing
norms usually are more likely to be accepted and followed without coercion.

It is not uncommon for some laws to be confusing because they are

inconsistent or open to interpretation in different situations. Murder laws in the
United States provide an example. Killing another individual is considered to
be a serious crime except when it is done in self-defense or in battle during a
war. When it is defined as a crime, there can be mitigating circumstances that
lessen the seriousness of the crime. U.S. state legal codes commonly make a
distinction between murder in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree. In addition there
can be 1st and 2nd degree manslaughter. The age and mental state of the
killer are often also extenuating circumstances. Some states consider
advising or aiding in suicide as being a crime. Killing certain classes of
people, such as law enforcement officers, often calls for a harsher sentence
as does murder with a gun in the act of committing another crime. The killing
of a pregnant woman is considered murder, but the simultaneous killing of her
unborn child is not necessarily murder. This is because American society
today is divided on the understanding of when human life legally begins.

Crimes and disputes are rarely simple matters in any society. Laws may be
open to interpretation, and there often is a difference of opinion about the
evidence. Even when guilt is established, there can be a difference of opinion
about the appropriate punishment or terms of settlement. Because these
issues are open to differing conclusions, most societies settle legal cases by
the agreement of the entire community or a representative sample of it. Jury
systems around the world usually are based on this idea. The assumption is
made that jurors will come to an understanding that would be acceptable to a
"reasonable man." In most societies in the past, the "reasonable man" was
thought to be just that, a man. Women and children were not thought to be
reasonable, nor were uneducated poor men. Subsequently, they were
excluded from being jurors and judges. This is still the situation in some of the
more traditional societies of the Middle East and some other regions.

Law is by no means the only method for controlling the behavior of deviant
individuals. People who violate norms can be subjected to gossip, public
ridicule, social ostracism, insults, and even threats of physical harm by other
members of their community. These kinds of informal negative
sanctions are very effective in small-scale societies. In larger societies, this
method also works effectively in small towns and sub-groups of cities, such as
a family, work group, church, or club.

In some societies, social control involves the threat of supernatural

punishment from the gods or ancestral spirits for deviation from the norm.
Since it is assumed that crimes against other people in these societies are
likely to be punished whether they are publicly known or not, this belief in
divine retribution provides a powerful tool for getting people to behave
properly. The possibility that others could use witchcraft against deviant
individuals also is a common effective coercive mechanism for bringing
people into line, especially in small-scale non-western societies.

Some societies emphasize the use of positive sanctions to reward appropriate

behavior rather than negative ones to punish those who do not conform to the
social norms. Common positive sanctions include praise and granting
honors or awards. Simply receiving the esteem of one's peers is often
sufficient motivation for people to be model citizens. Examples of effective
positive sanctions in the United States include such things as military
promotions, ticker-tape parades, and receiving good grades in school. In
order to be effective, a positive sanction does not need to offer an immediate
reward. It can be a supernatural reward following death. The Judeo-Christian
and Moslem belief that entry into heaven must be earned by a life of good
behavior is an example. Similarly, the Hindu and Buddhist belief that a good
life results in being reborn at a higher level of existence is a promise of a
future supernatural reward.
Some norms in every society usually can be ignored without fear of
punishment. Being a loner or dressing oddly are examples of such minor
deviations from the norms in North America today. Individuals who do these
things may be labeled strange, eccentric, or independent but rarely criminal.
Which of these alternative labels is applied may depend on who the deviant
individual happens to be. One's gender, ethnicity, age, wealth, and social
class are likely to be important factors. Strange behavior by rich, well dressed
people is likely to be considered eccentric, while the same behavior by poor
people living on the street is more likely to be defined as criminal. This is
especially true if the deviant individuals are strangers and members of a
subculture that is stereotyped as being "trouble makers." Consistently odd
behavior by a homeless woman on the street is likely to cause others to
question her mental health and seek assistance for her, while the same
behavior by a homeless man may be seen as a potential danger to society
and get him arrested for creating a public disturbance.