Define Social Discipline and its elements

Definition of Social Discipline

1. Edward Ross :
    According to him, "Collective sentiments for the achievement of collective interests." (Edward Ross 1966-81)
2. R.T. Schaefer :
    "Strategies to maintain positive social behaviours in the society is called social control."
3. C.H. Persell :
    "Social control refers to the relatively patterned and systematic ways in which the society guides and restrains individual's behaviours so that people act in predictable and desired ways."
4. Robertson :
    "The term social control refers to the techniques and strategies for regulating human behaviour in any society."
    Functionalists tend to define social control as the means and processes used by a group or society to ensure the members confer to its expectations.
           

Means of Social Control

    Social control is an integral part of the survival of a society. Its enforcement is only possible when its members have a solid belief in its sources, their faith-hyphen fullness be attached to them and they must be accustomed to act upon them. Individuals provide an effective system of socialization to the society to make them faithful to the sources of social control and harmonies with the expectations of the society by making it the part of the personality all the cultural trails like values, social norms and tradition etc. There are two basic
sources of enforcement of social control in the society :
  i.  Internal Forces
  ii. External Forces

1. Social Control through Internal Forces/Factors :

   To set up a social control, internal forces influence the individual of a society in three ways and guide the social behaviour in them in such a way that they become according to the expectations of a society. They do not have a biological capability but are created by social way of activity. It means that the individual learns those and adopts in his social life through observation, experience and knowledge.
   Following are the internally affecting elements:

i. Indoctrination :
   It is necessary for social control that its individuals must have an awareness of important views and beliefs and should believe in their correctness. If an individual does not accept a belief, he cannot control himself For instance, if a Muslim does not believe in the Day of Resurrection and he has to present himself before God one day for accountability, he will have no fear of God and as such he will not hesitate to adopt deviating behaviour. Similarly, if a Muslim does not accept Two-Nation Theory of Hindus and Muslims, he will have no care to save his country from Hindus. If a person refuses to drink, it is a clear show of his belief as a Muslim that drinking is hatred in Islam. When beliefs and values conform to the persons belief he acts according to the expectation of a society automatically. Because of which the society becomes an effective system of social control due to internal forces. Fasting is a beautiful example of control in some of  the religions.

ii. Imitation :
   Imitation is a natural feature -of human beings. All animals except parrot and monkey, act according to their genetic features but there is no ability in those to imitate their co-genetics and to react whereas human beings learn from the other human beings by imitating and tries to do so consciously or unconsciously. This is called imitation. Cultural trails like customs, arts and traditions are all social imitations and a source of collective behaviour. When we observe the behaviour of individuals of a society and seeing their interest and social life, we are impressed and imitate them by creating a uniformity and harmony in social behaviours. In Indian and Pakistani society, when we observe that people do not care for red light of traffic signal and carry on their journey, we also feel pride in passing without caring for red light. Thus, this indiscipline becomes a social deviation tendency. Conversely, if a person gets high marks through labour and hard work and gets a high post because of ability and hard work, other also imitate him and do hard work. In this hard work and labour find a way of promotion in a society and deviating attributes are discouraged. In this way, if individual of a society imitates positive social behaviours, there will be a better social control in the society.

iii. Habituation :
     The habits of the individuals of a society are very important in making the social control strong and the behaviour of social life. Habits are an integral part of culture but it is continuous process which is adopted by long practice.
Imitation of believed values and their continuous action appears in the form of habits and when positive social behaviours become part of our habits which are of second nature degree, the external forces of social control arc not necessary because the individual's behaviours work as automatic system and conform to the expectations of the society demands. For instance, we have from our elders that to Salam others is a good habit and we this operative in the society, then we try to do so and this imitation continuous for a long time, becomes our habit and automatically we pay Salam to others and this habit makes us habitual to act upon other such social norms. Thus, religious norms: Nimaz, fasting, zakat; informal norms: marriage, proposals, funeral; and, formal norms: punctuality, respect for traffic laws, games regulation restriction, become our habits and incidents of deviation become less and it does not remain a social problem.

2. Social Control through External Forces/Factors:

     Social control, produced through internal forces is strong and durable but because of increase in population and social complications, sense of strangeness and the respect change in social values make the social control weak. Social disorder demands the help of external forces in the enforcement of control in a
better manner to keep the society free from disorder and dispersion. These are the external forces:
   i.   Socialization
   ii.  Social Sanctions .
   iii. Organizational Power and Authority

i. Socialization :
     In the measures of social control, socialization, internal and external control is important and effective because all sources of control can only be effective when they conform to the socialization. Socialization system is so vast and effective that it not only continue the whole life but also its effects are very durable. The social interaction with the family and at the age of six years with school-fellows, in the youth with the college students and play mates, with workers in the office and with the members of clubs are all important agents for socialization at every step to prevent an individual from deviating formally or informally. In the family, eating manner, speaking manner and other routine matters like sleeping and getting up create a control and discipline in the primary norms of life. In the school, punctuality, uniform, rules and regulations and respect of teachers are kept in view to avoid the punishment by going against the norms. After family, school Is the effective institution of social control. Control and discipline in games is a secondary source of teaching discipline. The fun of the companions and the punishment because of deviation also direct one towards
discipline and control. The formal environment of office by doing a work of formal, social interaction provides a socialization in doing and acting upon rules and regulation and it is an effective sources of promoting this. All slogans of life are the stages of socialization and act as external forces.

ii. Social Sanctions :
   Social sanctions provide an effective mechanism in creating formally and informally a control. Social traditions values by abiding the norms prove helpful inclining the individual of a society towards promotion of control by praise, prize and encouragement and on the performance of duties in a better way by giving medals, certificate and cash prizes. Similarly, such acts of individual of a society which are injurious to the progress and peace of society, to keep them away from damaging or society criticism, warning, fine, punishment and hanging like negative sanctions, .make strong the control by preventing from incidents of
deviation. The effective system of social sanctions provides a guarantee to the social control.

iii. Organizational Power and Authority :
   In the modern industrial society, especially organizational power or authority is necessary for setting up social control. Authority and power are considered more powerful than an individual because they give as a whole the guarantee of survival and progress of a society. As a result, the faithful individuals give their responsibilities to the power arid authority.
 
According to Morgan's Study of Obedience 1978:
   "The authority is viewed as larger and more important than individual; Consequently, the obedient individual shifts responsibility for his or her behaviour to the authority."
   It means that authority gets so much vastness in the society that an individual thinks all of his responsibilities are shifted to it and he will be safe from thieves and dacoits by the authority and he will get help from police instead of doing any action. To arrest the dacoits is the responsibility of the authority. Such a social situation is very helpful in the promotion of social control. The high-handedness of the law is established. An effective power is available to prevent the deviants and to discourage them. The individuals of the society feel sense of safety. In case of some cruelty, there is a likelihood of any hindrance in carrying on the social and economic activities. Organizational powerful authority may consist of the administration of the whole society, which is responsible for control as an external force in a society.
     It is such an effective force that because of structure and functions make one feel its presence and the more the powerful, versatile and efficient it is, the more the social control will be effective and useful.
     It is such an external force that does not prevent only from dispersion, disorder and derivative elements but also catching the accused, to get them punished from courts and put them behind the bars to provide protection to the society, is its duty. It also finishes such motives and prevents them which become a cause of derivative behaviour and weaken the social control. It has the duty of providing basic facilities to the people, providing justice with certainty and reformation of criminals to make them useful citizens, to take steps to prevent narcotics, to prevent social vices and crimes increase, to provide shelter-less and orphans some security and care to make them useful citizens by finishing their sense of insecurity. To provide recreations and games activities to be helpful in the training of control and discipline.
   
Organizational power and authority set up controls in two ways :
     i.   By diagnostic or creative measures. That is to catch the deviants, to get them punished through trial and to imprison them to rectify them to keep the society from their negative effects.
     ii.  Preventive measures that are to prevent the deviants from motives of narcotics, to look after shelter-less people and orphans and prevention of social vices to avoid deviation and to control social discipline.