Difference between Formal and Informal Social Control

 

Difference between Formal and Informal Social Control

Definition

Formal social controls are actions that regulate human behavior that are based on law. Informal social controls are those that serve the same purpose of regulating human behavior but are not based on laws.

Enforcing social units

Formal social controls are enforced by any government body such as the police, judicial courts and regulation agencies. Informal social controls are enforced by family units, schools and workplaces.

Primary examples

Examples of formal social controls are policing, judicial sanctions and regulatory policies. Examples of informal social controls are socialization, praise and compliments, and ridicule and gossip.

Nature or quality

Formal social controls tend to be imposed, punitive and repressive. Informal social controls tend to be persuasive, formative and integrative.

Type of society

Large, urban societies where members do not know each other very well tend to prefer formal social controls. Small, rural communities where members know each other very well tend to favor informal social controls.

 

Formal vs Informal Social Control

 Summary

·         Social control is any of the means that society uses to regulate human behavior. As a social science concept, it is defined differently by different sociologists. Prevalent definitions usually limit the action of social control towards the control of deviant and dangerous behavior, but other definitions include all kinds of social behaviors. 

·         Formal and informal social control are two main types and the most common classification of social control.

·         Formal social controls are those that are based on laws. They are enforced by all sorts of government agencies such as the police, judicial courts and regulation agencies. Examples of this type of social control are policing, judicial sanctions and regulatory policies.

·         Informal social controls are those that are not based on law. These social controls are enforced by societal units such as families, schools and workplaces. Examples are rewards in the form of praise and compliments, and punishments in the form of ridicule or gossip.

Informal Social control in Pakistan

Informal agencies of influence in Pakistan are tied to three broad trends. The first trend unfolds in the domain of society at large and consists of a movement away from large landowners in favor of the rising lower-middle classes. The second trend takes place in the realm of religion and involves the decline of established religious scholars in favor of Pakistan’s freelancing and relatively undisciplined junior ulema. The third trend, unfolding in the sphere of local politics, involves a general shift away from the senior statesmen who sought to mold the formal legal landscape of Pakistan in favor of what I call Pakistan’s “petty parliamentarians.” This group of politicians does not seek to mold the law; rather, it seeks to determine who is held accountable to existing laws and, more importantly, who is not. Patterns of rural-to-urban migration in central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Baluchistan suggest that as the influence of informal politics increases, the legitimacy of the state is diminished. This pattern is unlikely to produce an explosive transformation in Pakistan. Nonetheless, it is likely to weaken the formal apparatus of the state (and those who engage with it) while strengthening the bonds between existing state actors and various urban and sectarian mafias.