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What social controls exist today to shape human behavior?

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What are the social control issues that shape people's behavior today?

There are numerous social controls that shape the behavior of individual's in society today. Religion and membership in a particular church can shape behavior. An individual knows that if they choose to sin they may be excommunicated or kicked out of their church fellowship. If church membership is important to the individual they will adjust their behavior to fit the expectations of the church body. The Boy Scouts is another social group that has the power to transform behavior. Boys are taught from a young age to believe in and conform to a certain standard. Even later in life their behavior will become impacted.

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This discussion focuses on types of social controls existent in our society today. How do the effects of social controls change as we get older? Over 750 words of original text with links to numerous websites for further research.

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What are the social control issues that shape people's behavior today?

There are numerous social controls that shape the behavior of individual's in society today. Religion and membership in a particular church can shape behavior. An individual knows that if they choose to sin they may be excommunicated or kicked out of their church fellowship. If church membership is important to the individual they will adjust their behavior to fit the expectations of the church body. The Boy Scouts is another social group that has the power to transform behavior. Boys are taught from a young age to believe in and conform to a certain standard. Even later in life their behavior will become impacted.

In small communities where everyone knows each other, fear of not being accepted by the group is a strong social control factor. Because anonymity is non-existent the individual knows that their behavior will be discovered by the group and they will suffer a reprimand of some kind. In large cities this social control is much weaker because individuals are less dependent on the group and can function in anonymity within society.

In a general sense people want to be accepted so we behave in ways that makes us accepted by our peer group. One of the strengths of the ...

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