Social control can be considered as an important aspect of an individual’s socialization process. There are some universal norms or rules that members of all societies must follow. Any deviation from these norms can result in a minimal level of punishment for ensuring social order. It refers to the processes of regulating the behavior of an individual or group in a society, which encourages conformity and obedience. It can include social or political mechanisms. Its two forms are formal and informal controls.

Formal social control:

Formal social control is implemented by authorized agents, including police officers, employers, military officials, and others. It is carried out as a last resort in some places when the desired behavior is not possible through informal social control. The situations and severity in which formal control is practiced vary from country to country.

This is practiced through the law as statutes, rules and regulations against deviant social behavior. For example, certain laws such as the prohibition of murder can be addressed to all members of a society. Fishing and hunting regulations are established for certain groups. Corporate laws are established to govern the behavior of social institutions. The government and organizations carry out formal control through law enforcement mechanisms. It can also be carried out through some formal penalties, including fines and imprisonment. Formal control processes in democratic societies are determined and designed through legislation by elected representatives.

Courts or judges, military officials, police officers, school systems or teachers, and government agencies or bureaucrats, enforce formal control.

Informal social control:

It is exercised by a society without establishing rules or laws. It is expressed through rules and customs. Social control is carried out by informal agents on their own in an unofficial capacity. Traditional societies mostly incorporate the culture of informal social control to establish social order.

Shame, sarcasm, criticism, mockery, and disapproval are some of the informal sanctions. Social discrimination and exclusion are included in informal control in extreme cases of deviance. Self-identity, self-esteem, and self-esteem are affected in informal control through loss of approval or group membership. The severity and nature of informal control mechanisms differ for different individuals, groups, and societies.

Informal is effective in small group settings, including friends, family, neighborhood, work group, and others. However, in some large and complex societies, informal social control and disapproval are easily ignored. In such situations, you need to follow the formal one.

Some of the differences between formal and informal social control are:

• Formal social control includes written statements, formalized and codified in laws, rules and regulations. Whereas informal control does not contain written rules.

• Formal control agencies are authorized created by the government and informal control agencies are created by social networks and organizations, but not by the government.

• Formal control is much more effective and stronger than informal social control. Any situation that cannot be handled by an informal control is subject to a formal one.

• Formal control is effective even for large population groups, but informal control is effective only for a small group of people.

Social control, formal or informal, helps regulate society. The study of social control includes disciplines of sociology, anthropology, psychology, law, and political science.