Examples of universal racial class norms. Social norms and deviant behavior – Knowledge Hypermarket

Knowledge of legal and moral norms, traditions and other rules is necessary not so much for passing exams, but for everyday life a person seeking to integrate into modern society.
Since people around you expect you to behave in accordance with generally accepted social norms, try to behave in accordance with them. This will be one of the prerequisites for feeling comfortable in society.
Once in another country, get acquainted with the laws, customs, etiquette, and other norms existing there and take them into account if you want to avoid negative attitude from the people you are among.

Since the norms that arise in small informal groups sometimes contradict those existing in society, everyone who is part of such groups should make an independent choice and subsequently take responsibility for it.
Deals with conscience, i.e. self-justification for actions that go against one’s own beliefs, weaken self-control and, when repeated, can open the way to deviant behavior that is harmful to the individual and society.

Document

From the work of Russian sociologist O. S. Osipova “Deviant Behavior: Good or Evil?”

The form of society's response to one or another type of deviation should depend on what (in terms of generality) social norms are violated: universal, racial, class, group, etc. The following dependencies can be distinguished:

The higher the level (in terms of generality) of social norms and values is violated, the more decisive the state’s actions should be. The highest value is natural human rights.
The lower the level of social norms that are violated, the more emphasis should be placed on informal measures of social control (social reward or blame, persuasion, etc.).
The more complex the social structure of a society, the more diverse the forms of social control should be.
The lower the level of social norms a person violates, the more tolerant the reaction to his actions should be.
The more democratic the society, the more emphasis should be placed not on external social, but on internal personal self-control.

Questions and tasks for the document

Give your own examples of universal, racial, class, group norms.
To what level of community can the norms be attributed: “don’t steal”, “before the New Year we go to the bathhouse together”, “separate education for blacks and whites”, “solidarity of workers of all countries”?
What does a higher or lower level of norm mean? Why do the authors place natural human rights at the highest level?
Why, in case of violation of norms, more high level Are the most decisive government actions necessary?
How does social control manifest itself when lower levels of social norms are violated? Why?
How can we explain that a more democratic society involves a shift in emphasis from external social control to internal self-control?

Self-test questions

Give examples of each type of social norm.
What is social control?
What is the meaning of self-control?
What are the causes of deviant behavior?
In what social danger crime?
What are the consequences of drug addiction for the individual, family, and society?

Quests

How do you feel about the statement of the English historian G. T. Buckle (1821-1862): “Society prepares a crime, the criminal commits it”? Explain it with some example taken from newspapers.
Do you agree with the statement of the French playwright J. Racine (1639-1699): “Major crimes are always preceded by small ones. Has anyone ever seen timid innocence suddenly turn into rampant debauchery? Give reasons for your answer.
Discussion arose on the issue of fighting crime. One side argued: “Penalties need to be toughened. Look at Singapore. If you were caught with drugs - capital punishment, with an illegal weapon, even if you did not use it - the same. In some Muslim countries, the law requires the hand to be cut off for theft. And no one has been stealing there for a long time.” Another objected: “The cruelty of punishments will make crime more violent. The main thing is the inevitability of punishment. If everyone knows that any crime will be solved, crime will decrease dramatically.”
What do you think about this issue? Give reasons for your answer.
In 1989, a survey was conducted of 5,861 school and vocational school students about their attitudes toward drugs. 90.7% of them expressed confidence that drugs have a harmful effect on human health, 70.1% - that they lead to personality degeneration. A drug addict was considered normal person 5.9% of respondents, sick - 44%, morally degenerate - 46.5%, criminal - 19.9%.
If the survey were conducted today, in what direction do you think the responses would change?

Thoughts of the wise

“Crime is the most characteristic, indisputable and obligatory symptom of social disorder for everyone.”

N. K. Mikhailovsky (1842-1904), Russian critic, publicist, sociologist

Then moral standards. Unlike law, morality carries mainly an evaluative load (good - bad, fair - unfair). Compliance with moral rules is ensured by the authority of the collective consciousness; violation of them is met with public condemnation.

There are also aesthetic standards. They reinforce ideas about the beautiful and the ugly not only in artistic creativity, but also in people’s behavior, in production and in everyday life. They manifest themselves, for example, in judgments that a person “lived his life beautifully”, that such and such “behaves ugly.” Negative assessments in this case are combined with moral censure.

Political norms govern political activity, relations between individuals and authorities, between social groups, states. They are reflected in laws, international treaties, political principles, and moral standards.

Finally, religious norms. In terms of content, many of them act as moral norms, coincide with legal norms, and reinforce traditions and customs. Compliance with religious norms is supported by the moral consciousness of believers and the religious belief in the inevitability of punishment for sins - deviation from these norms.

There are other types of norms, for example, rules of etiquette, etc. Social norms differ from biological, medical, technical norms, which establish rules for handling natural and artificial (technical) objects. For example, the rule prohibiting standing under the boom of a crane is aimed at the safety of a person in his relationship with a technical device. And the medical rule, which requires compliance with the dose of medication prescribed by the doctor, protects human health from dangerous consequences and establishes the procedure for handling chemicals.

As for social norms, they all regulate relationships in society itself: between people, groups of people, and the organizations they create. The impact of social norms on an individual’s behavior presupposes, firstly, knowledge of the social norm and its awareness, secondly, a motive (the desire to follow this norm) and, thirdly, the action itself (real behavior).

SOCIAL CONTROL

Social norms constitute one of the elements of the mechanism for regulating relations between the individual and society, which is called social control. In the first lessons of the course we talked about what society is complex system, which includes many various elements. The purposeful influence of this system on people's behavior in order to strengthen order and stability is ensured by social control. How does the social control mechanism work?

Any activity includes a variety of actions, and each person performs many of them, entering into active interaction with the social environment (with society, social communities, public institutions and organizations, the state, other individuals). All these actions, individual actions, and human behavior are under the control of the people, groups, and society around him. As long as these actions do not violate public order or existing social norms, this control is invisible, as if it does not exist. However, it is worth breaking established customs, rules, deviating from patterns of behavior that are accepted in society, and social control manifests itself. One person ran across the street in front of moving vehicles, a second lit a cigarette in the cinema, a third committed theft, a fourth was late for work... In all these cases, the reaction of other people may follow: comments and other manifestations of dissatisfaction on the part of others, corresponding actions of the administration, police, court . This reaction of others is due to a violation of relevant social norms, rules, and traditions. The people who reacted to the above situations reflected the attitudes of public consciousness (or public opinion), which maintains the order protected by norms. That is why their reaction was to condemn these actions. Expressing dissatisfaction, reprimanding, imposing a fine, punishment imposed by the court - all these are sanctions; along with social norms they are the most important element mechanism of social control. Sanctions mean either approval and encouragement, or disapproval and punishment, aimed at maintaining social norms. In other words, sanctions can be either positive, which are aimed at encouraging, or negative, aimed at stopping undesirable behavior. In both cases, they are classified as formal if they are applied in accordance with certain rules (for example, awarding an order or punishment by a court verdict), or informal if they manifest themselves in an emotionally charged reaction of the immediate environment (friends, relatives, neighbors , colleagues).

Society (large and small groups, the state) evaluates the individual, but the individual also evaluates society, the state, and himself. Perceiving assessments addressed to him from surrounding people, groups, state institutions, a person accepts them not mechanically, but selectively, rethinks them through his own experience, habits, and previously acquired social norms. And a person’s attitude towards other people’s assessments turns out to be purely individual; it can be positive and sharply negative. Let us remember what was said at the beginning of the course: a person constantly evaluates himself, while self-esteem can change depending on the maturity of the individual and social conditions in which it operates. A person correlates his actions with the social patterns of behavior that he approves when performing those tasks. social roles with whom he identifies himself.

Thus, along with the highest control on the part of society, group, state, and other people, the most important is internal control, or self-control, which is based on norms, customs, and role expectations learned by the individual.

In the process of self-control, conscience plays an important role, i.e., the feeling and knowledge of what is good and what is bad, what is fair and what is unfair, subjective awareness of the compliance or non-compliance of one’s own behavior with moral standards. In a person who, in a state of excitement, by mistake or succumbing to temptation, has committed a bad act, conscience causes a feeling of guilt, moral feelings, a desire to correct the mistake or atone for the guilt.

The ability to exercise self-control is the most valuable quality of a person who independently regulates his behavior in accordance with generally accepted norms. Self-control is one of the most important conditions for the self-realization of an individual, his successful interaction with other people.

So, the most important elements of the mechanism of social control are social norms, public opinion, sanctions, individual consciousness, self-control. By interacting, they ensure the maintenance of socially acceptable patterns of behavior and the functioning of the social system as a whole.

DEVIANT BEHAVIOR

People's behavior does not always correspond to social norms. On the contrary, in many cases there is non-compliance and violation. Behavior that is not consistent with the norms, does not correspond to what society expects from a person, is called deviant.

Sociologists also give another definition: deviant behavior is a form of disorganization of an individual’s behavior in a group or category of people in society, revealing a discrepancy with established expectations, moral and legal requirements of society. Negative deviations from social norms at the personal level manifest themselves primarily in crimes and other offenses, in immoral acts. At the level of small social groups, these deviations manifest themselves in deformations and disruptions in normal relationships between people (discord, scandals, etc.). In the activities of state and public organizations, such deviations manifest themselves in bureaucracy, red tape, corruption and other painful phenomena.

Manifestations of deviant behavior are as diverse as social norms. The consequences of these deviations are no less varied. Their common feature- harm, damage caused to society, social group, other people, as well as individuals who allow negative deviations."

Social deviations as a mass phenomenon are especially dangerous.

Crimes and other offenses, alcoholism, drug addiction, religious fanaticism, racial intolerance, terrorism - these and other similar negative processes in the development of society bring incalculable damage to humanity. Their danger can be considered using the example of drug addiction.

What are the causes of deviant behavior? Researchers have different points of view on this issue. Let's look at them.

IN late XIX V. a biological explanation for the deviations was put forward: the presence in some people of an innate predisposition to violations of social norms, which is associated with the physical characteristics of the individual, criminal temperament, etc. These theories were later subjected to convincing criticism.

Other scientists have sought psychological explanations for the abnormalities. They came to the conclusion that an important role is played by the value-normative ideas of the individual: understanding of the world around him, attitude towards social norms, and most importantly - the general orientation of the interests of the individual. The researchers came to the conclusion that behavior that violates established norms is based on a different system of values and rules than the one enshrined in law. For example, a psychological study of such motives for illegal actions as cruelty, greed and deceit has shown that among criminals these qualities are most pronounced and justified: “It is always better to show your strength”, “Be strong so that others will be afraid!”, “Believe in life.” everything you can!

Scientists have come to the conclusion that these personality deformations are a consequence of its improper development. For example, cruelty can be the result of a cold, indifferent attitude towards a child on the part of parents, and often cruelty of adults. Research has shown that low self-esteem in adolescence is further compensated by deviant behavior, with the help of which it is possible to attract attention to oneself and gain approval from those who will evaluate violation of norms as a sign of a strong personality.

The sociological explanation of deviant behavior, the causes of which the famous sociologist E. Durkheim saw as depending on the crisis phenomena occurring in society, has received wide recognition. During crises, radical social changes, in conditions of disorganization social life(unexpected economic downturns and booms, decline in business activity, inflation) life experience a person ceases to correspond to the ideals embodied in social norms. Social norms are destroyed, people become disorientated, and this contributes to the emergence of deviant behavior.

Some scientists have associated deviant behavior with a conflict between the dominant culture and the culture of a group (subculture) that denies generally accepted norms. In this case, criminal behavior, for example, may be the result of an individual’s predominant communication with carriers of criminal norms. The criminal environment creates its own subculture, its own norms, opposing the norms recognized in society. The frequency of contacts with representatives of the criminal community influences the assimilation by a person (especially young people) of the norms of antisocial behavior.

There are other explanations for deviant behavior. (Think about the points of view presented and try to explain for yourself the reasons for deviations in behavior from social norms.)

In relation to persons who allow negative deviations from norms, society applies social sanctions, i.e. punishments for disapproved, undesirable actions. Weak forms of deviant behavior (mistake, deception, rudeness, negligence, etc.) are corrected by other people - participants in the interaction (remark, suggestion, humor, censure, etc.). More significant forms of social deviations (offences, etc.), depending on their consequences, entail condemnation and punishment coming not only from the public, but also from government agencies.

CRIME

Crime is the most dangerous manifestation of deviant behavior, causing the greatest damage to society. The word “crime” is a derivative of the word “crime”, which in Russian has always meant “an act contrary to the law, lawlessness, atrocity,). A crime is a socially dangerous act that encroaches on the law and order, as provided for in the Criminal Code.

The totality of crimes committed in a given society and in a given period of time is designated by the concept of “crime”. Crime is not just a sum of crimes, but a mass phenomenon that has patterns of its existence and development, causes, conditions that contribute to it. This is a social phenomenon, since it is rooted in the depths of social relations, reflects the characteristics of social life, and acts as an extreme expression of the contradictions and shortcomings of the development of society. It causes dire consequences for society and its members like no other negative phenomenon of social development.

Criminal Code Russian Federation indicates the following types of crimes: against the individual, in the economic sphere, against public safety and public order, against state power, against military service, against peace and security. Crime is not only a social, but also a legal phenomenon, since only what is enshrined in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is criminal. Crime includes actions that encroach on the person, property, rights and freedoms of citizens, public relations. These actions cause real and very significant harm to the target of the attack.

Feature of crime: the presence of a certain contingent of people - criminals, for some of whom criminal activity has become professional.

The greatest danger is organized crime. In the broadest sense of the word, it refers to any group of persons organized on a permanent basis to obtain funds through illegal means.

Organized crime is characterized by a particular danger to the individual, society, and the state.

The danger to the individual lies in the suppression of his rights and freedoms through acts of violence and other means. This is manifested in the destruction of small entrepreneurs who refuse to pay money to obtain protection from criminals (racketeering); forcing women and teenagers into prostitution; spreading influence and control, for example, over trade unions; rising costs of goods and services; the possibility of complete suppression of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens through physical, moral and material terror.

The danger to society lies in the interception of ownership and disposal rights material assets the entire society by organized criminal communities and corrupt groups of officials (especially in the areas of trade, extraction and distribution of strategic raw materials, precious metals, production and circulation of weapons); the ability to manipulate significant capital, penetrate into areas of legitimate business and ruin their competitors through price controls; propagation of the ideology of the criminal world, its romanticization, cultivation of mafia and corrupt relations, violence, cruelty, aggressiveness, which creates conditions for “social contamination” by criminal customs and traditions.

The danger of organized crime for the state is manifested in the creation of parallel illegal power structures at the regional level. illegal armed groups; preparation, financing and organization of direct anti-constitutional actions in the form of inciting national hatred, organizing mass riots, conspiracies to seize power; promoting state crimes such as banditry and smuggling; penetration into political parties and state apparatus of corruption politicians and government officials;
seeking to weaken federal power. to facilitate organized crime's control over entire regions.

IN modern conditions great value has the fight against crime. This is a social regulatory activity that is carried out to ensure that citizens do not commit acts prohibited by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It includes, firstly, political and economic activities. social, socio-psychological, managerial, cultural nature, allowing to eliminate conditions favorable to crime; secondly, the development of the legal consciousness of citizens; thirdly, special preventive activities aimed at identifying and eliminating the immediate causes of crime; fourthly, the application of criminal legislation in relation to persons who have committed crimes.

The growing crime rate has become real threat national security of Russia. Solving this problem is one of the most important national tasks.

PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS

1 Knowledge of legal and moral norms, traditions and other rules is necessary not so much for passing exams as for the everyday life of a person seeking to integrate into modern society.

2. Since people around you expect you to behave in accordance with generally accepted social norms, try to behave in accordance with them. This will be one of the prerequisites for feeling comfortable in society.

3 Once you find yourself in another country, get acquainted with the laws, customs, etiquette, and other norms that exist there and take them into account if you want to avoid negative attitudes from the people among whom you are.

4 Since the norms that arise in small informal groups sometimes contradict those existing in society, everyone who is part of such groups should make an independent choice and subsequently bear responsibility for it.

5 Deals with conscience, i.e. self-justification for actions that go against one’s own beliefs, weaken self-control and, when repeated, can open the way to deviant behavior that is harmful to the individual and society.

Document

From the work of Russian sociologist O. S. Osipova “Deviant Behavior: Good or Evil?”

The higher the level (in terms of generality) of social norms and values is violated, the more decisive the state’s actions should be. The highest value is natural human rights.

The lower the level of social norms that are violated, the more emphasis should be placed on informal measures of social control (social reward or blame, persuasion, etc.).

The more complex the social structure of a society, the more diverse the forms of social control should be.

The lower the level of social norms a person violates, the more tolerant the reaction to his actions should be.

The more democratic the society, the more emphasis should be placed not on external social, but on internal personal self-control.

Questions and tasks for the document

1. Give your own examples of universal, racial, class, group norms.
2. To what level of community can the norms be attributed: “don’t steal”, “before the New Year we go to the bathhouse together”, “separate education for blacks and whites”, “solidarity of workers of all countries”?
3. What does a higher or lower level of norm mean? Why do the authors place natural human rights at the highest level?
4. Why is the most decisive government action necessary in case of violation of higher level norms?
5. How is social control manifested in the event of a violation of a lower level of social norms? Why?
6. How can we explain that a more democratic society involves a shift in emphasis from external social control to internal self-control?

SELF-TEST QUESTIONS

1. Give examples of each type of social norm.
2. What is social control?
3. What is the meaning of self-control?
4. What are the causes of deviant behavior?
5. What is the social danger of crime?
6. What are the consequences of drug addiction for the individual, family, and society?

TASKS

1. How do you feel about the statement of the English historian G. T. Buckle (1821-1862): “Society is preparing a crime,
the criminal commits it"? Explain it with some example taken from newspapers.

Document

From the work of Russian sociologist O. S. Osipova “Deviant Behavior: Good or Evil?” .
The form of society's response to one or another type of deviation should depend on what (according to the degree of generality) social norms are violated: universal, racial, class, group, etc. The following dependencies can be distinguished:
- The higher the level (in terms of generality) of social norms and values is violated, the more decisive the state’s actions should be. The highest value is natural human rights.

The lower the level of social norms that are violated, the more emphasis should be placed on informal measures of social control (social reward or blame, persuasion, etc.).

The more complex the social structure of a society, the more diverse the forms of social control should be.

The lower the level of social norms a person violates, the more tolerant the reaction to his actions should be.

The more democratic the society, the more emphasis should be placed not on external social, but on internal personal self-control.

Questions and tasks for the document:

1. Give your own examples of universal, racial, class, group norms.
2. To what level of community can the norms be attributed: “don’t steal”, “before the New Year we go to the bathhouse together”, “separate education for blacks and whites”, “solidarity of workers of all countries”?
3. What does a higher or lower level of norm mean? Why do the authors place natural human rights at the highest level?
4. Why is the most decisive government action necessary in case of violation of higher level norms?
5. How does social control manifest itself when a lower level of social norm is violated? Why?
6. How can we explain that a more democratic society involves a shift in emphasis from external social control to internal self-control?

The universal human norm is the prohibition of murder.
racial norm - do not humiliate people of other nationalities Respect traditions
the class norm is the prohibition of the exploitation of man by man.

Group - I don't know
4. because high-level norms are the skeleton of the foundations of society.
5. expressed in informal pressure from society on the offender. Public censure, ostracism, etc. because the norms lower level, although they are not written down as law, the implementation of these norms is generally socially justified in the environment.
6. The question is incorrect. internal self-control is characteristic of societies with a high moral component. in other words, a democratic society advocates the weakening of external control, which results in an increase in deviance in the social environment.

Detailed solution Paragraph § 14 in social studies for 11th grade students, authors L.N. Bogolyubov, N.I. Gorodetskaya, L.F. Ivanova 2014

Question 1. Is it true that the activities of each person are controlled by society? Is this good or bad? Are there rules of conduct for everyone? What kind of person can become a criminal? What are the dangers of alcohol and drugs?

Yes, this is good because society helps a person not to stray from the right path, not to make mistakes.

Social norms - general rules and patterns of behavior that have developed in society as a result of long-term practical activities of people, during which optimal standards and models of correct behavior were developed.

Social norms determine what a person should do, how he should do it, and finally, what he should be like.

The personality of a criminal differs from the personality of a law-abiding person in that it is a social danger; it is characterized by criminal needs and motivation, emotional-volitional deformations and negative social interests.

Alcohol does not solve problems, but on the contrary makes them even worse. In a state of intoxication, a person commits inappropriate actions, the normal functioning of many organs (including the brain) is disrupted, which leads to its gradual degradation, and relationships with other people are also destroyed. And if you don't stop in time, it ultimately leads to death.

Questions and tasks for the document

Question 1. Give your own examples of universal, racial, class, group norms.

Universal ones: raising children, helping the sick and the elderly, and biblical ones (thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery).

Racial: let’s say the Caucasian race has general democratic values (equality before the law, elections of the head of state, freedom and value of the individual), while the Mongoloid race usually has a dictatorship of the head of the state or the ruling party, the value is not personal, but collective benefit.

Class: Courchevel for the oligarchs, Türkiye and Egypt for the middle class and a village for the poor.

Group: for students - study and, accordingly, everything connected with it, for athletes - training, for the military - exercises or fighting.

Question 2. To what level of community can the norms be attributed: “don’t steal”, “before the New Year we go to the bathhouse together”, “separate education for blacks and whites”, “solidarity of workers of all countries”?

1. Universal.

2. Intragroup.

3. International

4. Group.

Question 3. What does a higher or lower level of norms mean? Why do the authors place natural human rights at the highest level?

A higher level of social norms are those norms that play the greatest role in society and the violation of which leads to significant negative consequences for the individual and society as a whole.

Lower level of social norms - the violation of which does not cause much harm to society and therefore informal social control is quite sufficient.

Question 4. Why is the most decisive government action necessary in the event of a violation of higher-level norms?

Because if high-level norms are violated, the consequences can be much more serious.

Question 5. How does social control manifest itself in the event of a violation of a lower level of social norms? Why?

It is expressed in informal pressure from society on the offender. Public censure, ostracism, etc. Because the norms of the lower level, although not written down as law, the implementation of these norms as a whole is socially justified in the environment.

Question 6. How can we explain that a more democratic society involves a shift in emphasis from external social control to internal self-control?

Self-control is the subject’s awareness and assessment of his own actions. Self-control is closely intertwined with the concepts of conscience and morality. Internal self-control is characteristic of societies with a high moral component, i.e. with conscience. A democratic society advocates weakening external control, relying on internal self-control, which results in an increase in deviance (deviation from generally accepted norms) of the social environment.

SELF-TEST QUESTIONS

Question 1: Give examples of each type of social norm.

Main types of social norms:

1. Rules of law are generally binding, formally defined rules of behavior that are established or sanctioned, and are also protected by the state. (Laws of the Criminal Code, AK).

2. Norms of morality (morality) - rules of behavior that have developed in society, express people’s ideas about good and evil, justice and injustice, duty, honor, dignity. The effect of these norms is ensured by internal conviction, public opinion, and measures of social influence. (We must respect elders and help the disabled).

3. Norms of customs are rules of behavior that, having developed in society as a result of their repeated repetition, are followed by force of habit.

4. Norms of public organizations (corporate norms) are rules of behavior that are independently established public organizations, enshrined in their charters (regulations, etc.), operate within their limits and are protected from violations by them through certain measures of social influence.

Question 2. What is social control?

Social norms constitute one of the elements of the mechanism for regulating relations between the individual and society, which is called social control. The purposeful influence of this system on people's behavior in order to strengthen order and stability is ensured by social control.

Any activity includes a variety of actions, and each person performs them many times, entering into active interaction with the social environment (with society, social communities, public institutions and organizations, the state, other individuals). All these actions, individual actions, and human behavior are under the control of the people, groups, and society around him.

As long as these actions do not violate public order or existing social norms, this control is invisible, as if it does not exist. However, it is worth breaking the rules, deviating from the patterns of behavior accepted in society, and social control manifests itself.

People who reacted to the violation of social norms reflected the attitudes of public consciousness (or public opinion), which supports the order protected by norms. That is why their reaction was to condemn these actions. Expressing dissatisfaction, reprimanding, imposing a fine, punishment imposed by the court - all these are sanctions; Along with social norms, they are the most important element of the mechanism of social control.

Sanctions mean either approval and encouragement or disapproval and punishment aimed at maintaining social norms. In other words, sanctions can be either positive, which are aimed at encouraging, or negative, aimed at stopping undesirable behavior.

Thus, along with control from society, a group, the state, and other people, internal control, or self-control, which is based on norms, customs, and role expectations learned by the individual, is of utmost importance.

Question 3. What is the meaning of self-control?

In the process of self-control, conscience plays an important role, i.e., the feeling and knowledge of what is good and what is bad, what is fair and what is unfair, the subjective consciousness of compliance or non-compliance of one’s own behavior with moral standards. In a person who, in a state of excitement, by mistake or succumbing to temptation, commits a bad act, conscience causes a feeling of guilt, moral worries, a desire to correct the mistake or atone for the guilt.

The ability to exercise self-control is the most valuable quality of a person who independently regulates his behavior in accordance with generally accepted norms. Self-control is one of the most important conditions for a person’s self-realization and his successful interaction with other people.

Question 4. What are the causes of deviant behavior?

Researchers have different points of view on this issue.

At the end of the 19th century. a biological explanation for the deviations was put forward: the presence in some people of an innate predisposition to violations of social norms, which is associated with the physical characteristics of the individual, criminal temperament, etc.

For example, cruelty can be the result of a cold, indifferent attitude towards a child on the part of parents, and often the cruelty of adults. Studies have shown that low self-esteem in adolescence is compensated for in the future by deviant behavior, with the help of which it is possible to attract attention and gain approval from those who will evaluate violation of norms as a sign of a strong personality.

The sociological explanation of deviant behavior, the causes of which the famous sociologist E. Durkheim saw as depending on the crisis phenomena occurring in society, has received wide recognition. During crises, radical social changes, in conditions of disorganization of social life (unexpected economic downturns and upswings, decline in business activity, inflation), a person’s life experience ceases to correspond to the ideals embodied in social norms. Social norms are destroyed, people become disorientated, and this contributes to the emergence of deviant behavior.

Some scientists have associated deviant behavior with a conflict between the dominant culture and the culture of a group (subculture) that denies generally accepted norms. In this case, criminal behavior, for example, may be the result of an individual’s primary communication with carriers of criminal norms. The criminal environment creates its own subculture, its own norms, opposing the norms recognized in society. The frequency of contacts with representatives of the criminal community influences the assimilation by a person (especially young people) of the norms of antisocial behavior.

Question 5. What is the social danger of crime?

Organized crime poses the greatest danger to individuals, society, and the state. In the broadest sense of the word, it refers to any group of persons organized on a permanent basis to obtain funds through illegal means.

The danger to society lies in the interception of the rights to own and dispose of the material assets of the entire society by organized criminal communities and corrupt groups of officials (especially in the areas of trade, production and distribution of strategic raw materials, precious metals, production and circulation of weapons); the ability to manipulate significant capital, penetrate into areas of legitimate business and ruin their competitors through price controls; propagation of the ideology of the criminal world, its romanticization, cultivation of mafia and corrupt relations, violence, cruelty, aggressiveness, which creates conditions for “social contamination” by criminal customs and traditions.

The danger of organized crime for the state is manifested in the creation at the regional level of parallel illegal power structures and illegal armed groups; preparation, financing and organization of direct anti-constitutional actions in the form of inciting national hatred, organizing mass riots, conspiracies to seize power; promoting crimes such as banditry and smuggling; penetration of political parties and the state apparatus by corruption; a desire to weaken federal power in order to facilitate the control of organized crime over entire regions.

Question 6. What are the consequences of drug addiction for the individual, family, and society?

The consequences of drug addiction for the family are catastrophic, as well as for the individual himself. The personality itself becomes completely asocial over time. Completely erasable social attitudes – social statuses such as, professional, father, son, comrade, etc. The existence of the subject is reduced only to finding doses and to use; as a rule, with longer use in a person’s life, there are no longer any other needs. The family constantly lives in stress, which in itself is called codependency, that is, the whole life of the family over time becomes focused only on the life of the drug addict. As a rule, the family begins to experience serious financial difficulties, and a lot of serious illnesses are recorded among codependent relatives of drug users.

TASKS

Question 1. How do you feel about the statement of the English historian G. T. Buckle (1821-1862): “Society prepares a crime, the criminal commits it”? Explain it with some example taken from newspapers.

I understand that any crime is determined by social factors that shaped the personality of the criminal, or created the situation that led to its commission. And the criminal, as it were, plays the role of a “performer” who resolves this situation in a negative way.

Question 2. Do you agree with the statement of the French playwright J. Racine (1639-1699): “Major crimes are always preceded by small ones. Has anyone ever seen timid innocence suddenly turn into unbridled debauchery? Give reasons for your answer.

I agree, the reason for this is cause and effect. Many famous criminals started with petty thefts and could not stop.

Question 3. A discussion arose on the issue of fighting crime. One side argued: “Penalties need to be toughened. Look at Singapore. If you were caught with drugs - capital punishment, with an illegal weapon, even if you did not use it - the same. In some Muslim countries, the law requires the hand to be cut off for theft. And no one has been stealing there for a long time.” Another objected: “The cruelty of punishments will make crime more violent. The main thing is the inevitability of punishment. If everyone knows that any crime will be solved, crime will decrease dramatically.” What do you think about this issue? Give reasons for your answer.

Any court is not immune from errors, while it must make decisions. With capital punishment, an innocent person may suffer, and this cannot be corrected. The inevitability of punishment makes the chance of committing a crime minimal, because the criminal realizes that he will be found and punished.

MAKE AN ESSAY OUT OF THIS!!!

Question 1. Give your own examples of universal, racial, class, group norms.

Universal ones: raising children, helping the sick and the elderly, and biblical ones (thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery).

Class: Courchevel for the oligarchs, Türkiye and Egypt for the middle class and a village for the poor.

Group: for students - study and, accordingly, everything connected with it, for athletes - training, for the military - exercises or combat operations.

1. Universal.

2. Intragroup.

3. International

4. Group.

Question 3. What does a higher or lower level of norms mean? Why do the authors place natural human rights at the highest level?

A higher level of social norms are those norms that play the greatest role in society and the violation of which leads to significant negative consequences for the individual and society as a whole.

Lower level of social norms - the violation of which does not cause much harm to society and therefore informal social control is quite sufficient.

Question 4. Why is the most decisive government action necessary in the event of a violation of higher-level norms?

Because if high-level norms are violated, the consequences can be much more serious.

Question 5. How does social control manifest itself in the event of a violation of a lower level of social norms? Why?

Question 6. How can we explain that a more democratic society involves a shift in emphasis from external social control to internal self-control?

Self-control is the subject’s awareness and assessment of his own actions. Self-control is closely intertwined with the concepts of conscience and morality. Internal self-control is characteristic of societies with a high moral component, that is, with conscience. A democratic society advocates weakening external control, relying on internal self-control, which results in an increase in deviance (deviation from generally accepted norms) of the social environment.

Social control- maintenance mechanism social order, based on verification of the actual results achieved with the expected ones - normative or planned through the use of government powers and sanctions. (ed.)