Sanctions are not only punishments, but also incentives that contribute to the observance of social norms.
Sanctions - norm guards. Along with values, they are responsible for why people strive to comply with norms. Norms are protected from two sides - from the side of values and from the side of sanctions.
Social sanctions - an extensive system of rewards for the fulfillment of norms, i.e. for conformity, for agreeing with them, and punishments for deviating from them, i.e. for deviance.
conformism represents external agreement with generally accepted norms, when an individual can internally maintain disagreement with them, but not tell anyone about it.
Conformism - goal social control. However, conformism cannot be the goal of socialization, because it must end with internal agreement with the generally accepted.
There are four types of sanctions: positive and negative, formal and informal. They give four types of combinations that can be represented as a logical square:
positive negative
FORMAL
INFORMAL
Formal positive sanctions(F+)- public approval official organizations(governments, institutions, creative union): government awards, state awards and scholarships, titles granted, academic degrees and titles, construction of a monument, presentation of honorary diplomas, admission to high positions and honorary functions (for example, election as chairman of the board).
Informal positive sanctions(H+) - public approval that does not come from official organizations: friendly praise, compliments, tacit recognition, benevolent disposition, applause, fame, honor, flattering reviews, recognition of leadership or expert qualities, smile.
Formal negative sanctions(F-)- punishments provided for by legal laws, government decrees, administrative instructions, prescriptions, orders: deprivation civil rights, imprisonment, arrest, dismissal, fine, deprivation of bonuses, confiscation of property, demotion, demolition, dethronement, the death penalty excommunication from the church.
Informal negative sanctions (H-) - punishments not provided for by official authorities: censure, remark, ridicule, mockery, bad joke, an unflattering nickname, neglect, refusal to lend a hand or maintain a relationship, spreading a rumor, slander, an unfriendly review, a complaint, writing a pamphlet or feuilleton, an exposing article.
So, social sanctions perform key role in the system of social control. Sanctions, together with values and norms, constitute the mechanism of social control. Social sanctions are a system of rewards and punishments. They are divided into four types: positive and negative, formal and informal. Depending on the method of imposing sanctions - collective or individual - social control can be external and internal (self-control). According to the degree of intensity, sanctions are strict, or hard, and non-strict, or soft.
Regulations by themselves do not control anything. People's behavior is controlled by other people based on norms that are expected to be followed by everyone. Compliance with norms, like the implementation of sanctions, makes our behavior predictable. Each of us knows what an outstanding scientific discovery awaits official award and for a serious crime - imprisonment. When we expect a certain act from another person, we hope that he knows not only the norm, but also the sanction following it.
Thus, norms and sanctions are combined into a single whole. If a norm lacks a sanction that accompanies it, then it ceases to regulate real behavior. It becomes a slogan, an appeal, an appeal, but it ceases to be an element of social control.
The application of social sanctions in some cases requires the presence of outsiders, while in others it does not. The dismissal is formalized by the personnel department of the institution and involves the preliminary issuance of an order or order. Imprisonment requires a complex procedure of judicial proceedings, on the basis of which a judgment is issued. Bringing to administrative responsibility, say, a fine for traveling without a ticket, requires the presence of an official transport controller, sometimes a policeman. Assignment degree involves an equally complex procedure for defending a scientific dissertation and the decision of the Academic Council.
Sanctions for violators of group habits require the presence of a smaller number of persons. Sanctions are never applied to oneself. If the application of sanctions is committed by the person himself, directed at himself and occurs inside, then this form of control should be considered self-control.
Formal negative sanctions are one of the tools for maintaining social norms in society.
What is the norm
This term comes from Latin. Literally means "rule of conduct", "sample". We all live in a society, in a community. Everyone has their own values, preferences, interests. All this gives the individual certain rights and freedoms. But we must not forget that people live next to each other. This united collective is called society or society. And it is important to know what laws govern the rules of conduct in it. They are called social norms. Formal negative sanctions make it possible to enforce them.
Types of social norms
Rules of conduct in society are divided into subspecies. It is important to know this, because social sanctions and their application depend on them. They are divided into:
- Customs and traditions. Pass from one generation to another for many centuries and even millennia. Weddings, holidays, etc.
- Legal. Enshrined in laws and regulations.
- Religious. Rules of conduct based on faith. Baptismal ceremonies, religious festivals, fasting, etc.
- Aesthetic. Based on a sense of beauty and ugliness.
- Political. Regulate political sphere and everything connected with it.
There are also many other rules. For example, the rules of etiquette, medical standards, safety regulations, etc. But we have listed the main ones. Thus, it is erroneous to assume that social sanctions only apply to the legal sphere. Law is only one of the subcategories of social norms. 
Deviant behavior
Naturally, all people in society must live according to generally accepted rules. Otherwise, chaos and anarchy will ensue. But some individuals sometimes cease to obey generally accepted laws. They break them. Such behavior is called deviant or deviant. For this, formal negative sanctions are provided.
Types of sanctions
As it has become clear, they are called upon to restore order in society. But it is a mistake to think that sanctions have a negative connotation. That this is something bad. In politics this term positioned as a restrictive tool. There is a wrong concept, meaning a ban, a taboo. You can remember and give as an example recent events and trade war between Western countries and the Russian Federation.
In fact, there are four types:
- Formal negative sanctions.
- Informal negative.
- Formal positive.
- Informal positive.
But let's take a closer look at one type. 
Formal negative sanctions: examples of application
It was not by chance that they received such a name. They are characterized by the following factors:
- Associated with a formal manifestation, in contrast to the informal, which have only an emotional connotation.
- They are used only for deviant (deviant) behavior, in contrast to positive ones, which, on the contrary, are designed to encourage an individual for exemplary fulfillment of social norms.
Let's bring specific example from labor law. Let's say citizen Ivanov is an entrepreneur. Several people work for him. In the course of labor relations, Ivanov violates the terms of the labor contract concluded with employees and delays their wages, arguing this crisis phenomena in economics.
Indeed, sales volumes have declined sharply. The entrepreneur does not have enough money to cover wage arrears to employees. You might think that he is not guilty and can detain with impunity cash. But actually it is not.
As an entrepreneur, he had to weigh all the risks in carrying out his activities. Otherwise, he is obliged to warn employees about this and start appropriate procedures. This is provided by law. But instead, Ivanov hoped that everything would work out. The workers, of course, did not suspect anything.
When the day of payment arrives, they find out that there is no money in the cash register. Naturally, their rights are violated in this case (each employee has financial plans to rest, social Security possibly certain financial obligations). Workers file a formal complaint with the state labor protection inspectorate. The entrepreneur violated this case labor standards and civil codes. Inspection authorities confirmed this and ordered to pay soon wages. For each day of delay, a certain penalty is now charged in accordance with the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. In addition, the inspection authorities imposed an administrative fine on Ivanov for violations of labor standards. Such actions will be an example of formal negative sanctions. 
findings
But an administrative fine is not the only measure. For example, an employee was severely reprimanded for being late to the office. The formality in this case is specific action- entering into a personal file. If the consequences for his lateness were limited only to the fact that the director emotionally, in words, made a remark to him, then this would be an example of informal negative sanctions.
But not only in labor relations they are applied. Mostly negative formal social sanctions prevail in almost all spheres. The exception, of course, is moral and aesthetic norms, rules of etiquette. Their violations are usually followed by informal sanctions. They are wearing emotional character. For example, no one will fine a person for not stopping on the highway in forty-degree frost and not taking a mother with a baby as a fellow traveler. Although society may react negatively to this. A flurry of criticism will fall on this citizen, if, of course, this is made public. 
But do not forget that many norms in these areas are enshrined in laws and regulations. This means that for their violation it is possible, in addition to informal ones, to receive formal negative sanctions in the form of arrests, fines, reprimands, etc. For example, smoking in public places. This is an aesthetic norm, or rather, a deviation from it. It is ugly to smoke on the street and poison all passers-by with tar. But until recently, only informal sanctions relied on this. For example, a grandmother may be critical of a violator. Today, smoking bans are a legal norm. For its violation, the individual will be punished with a fine. This is a prime example transformation of the aesthetic norm into a legal plane with formal consequences.
Social sanctions and their typology.
Social behavior that corresponds to the norms and values defined in society is designated as conformist (from Latin conformis - similar, similar). The main task of social control is the reproduction conformist type behavior.
Social sanctions are used to control the observance of norms and values. Sanction is the reaction of the group to the behavior social subject. With the help of sanctions regulation social system and its subsystems.
Sanctions are not only punishments, but also incentives that contribute to the observance of social norms. Along with values, they contribute to the observance of social norms and thus social norms are protected from two sides, from the side of values and from the side of sanctions. Social sanctions are an extensive system of rewards for the implementation of social norms, that is, for conformity, agreement with them, and a system of punishments for deviation from them, that is, deviance.
Negative sanctions are linked with socially unapproved violations of norms, Depending on the degree of rigidity of the norms, they can be divided into punishments and censures:
forms of punishment- administrative penalties, restriction of access to social valuable resources, prosecution, etc.
forms of censure- expression of public disapproval, refusal to cooperate, rupture of relations, etc.
The use of positive sanctions is associated not only with the observance of norms, but with the performance of a number of socially significant services aimed at preserving values and norms. The forms of positive sanctions are rewards, monetary rewards, privileges, approval, etc.
Along with negative and positive, formal and informal sanctions are distinguished, which differ depending on the institutions that use them and the nature of their action:
formal sanctions implemented official institutions, sanctioned by society - law enforcement agencies, courts, tax authorities, the penitentiary system.
informal applied by informal institutions (comrades, family, neighbors).
There are four types of sanctions: positive, negative, formal, informal. Οʜᴎ give four types of combinations that can be represented as a logical square.
| f+ | f_ |
| n+ | n_ |
(F+) Formal positive sanctions. This is a public endorsement by official organizations. Such approval may be expressed in government awards, state awards and scholarships, titles awarded, erection of monuments, presentation of certificates of honor or admission to high positions and honorary functions (for example: election as chairman of the board).
(H+) informal positive sanctions - public approval that does not come from official organizations can be expressed in friendly praise, complement, honor, flattering reviews, or recognition of leadership or expert qualities. (just a smile) (F)-) formal negative sanctions - punishments provided for by legal laws, government decrees, administrative instructions, orders and orders can be expressed in arrest, imprisonment, dismissal, deprivation of civil rights, confiscation of property, fine, demotion, excommunication from the church, the death penalty.
(N-) informal negative sanctions - punishment not provided for by official authorities: censure, remarks, ridicule, neglect, unflattering nickname, refusal to maintain relations, disapproving feedback, complaint, exposing article in the press.
Four groups of sanctions help to determine what behavior of an individual can be considered beneficial for the group:
- legal - a system of punishments for actions prescribed by law.
- ethical - a system of censures, remarks arising from moral principles,
- satirical - ridicule, neglect, smirks, etc.,
- religious sanctions .
French sociologist R. Lapierre identifies three types of sanctions:
- physical , with the help of which punishment is carried out for violation of social norms;
- economic blocking satisfaction current needs(fines, penalties, restrictions on the use of resources, dismissals); administrative (decrease social status warnings, penalties, removal from office).
Τᴀᴋᴎᴍ ᴏϬᴩᴀᴈᴏᴍ, sanctions together with values and norms constitute the mechanism of social control. Regulations by themselves do not control anything. People's behavior is controlled by other people on the basis of norms. Compliance with norms, like the implementation of sanctions, makes people's behavior predictable,
Τᴀᴋᴎᴍ ᴏϬᴩᴀᴈᴏᴍ, norms and sanctions are combined into a single whole. If some norm does not have a sanction accompanying it, then it ceases to regulate behavior and becomes just a slogan or appeal, and not an element of social control.
The application of social sanctions in some cases requires the presence of outsiders, while in others it does not (imprisonment requires a serious trial, on the basis of which a sentence is issued). The award of a degree requires at least difficult process dissertation defense and decisions of the Academic Council. If the application of the sanction is made by the person himself, directed at himself and occurs inside, then this form of control is called self-control. Self-control is internal control.
Individuals independently control their behavior, coordinating it with generally accepted norms. In the process of socialization, norms are assimilated so firmly that people who violate them feel guilty. Approximately 70% of social control is carried out through self-control. The higher self-control is developed among members of a society, the less it is extremely important for this society to resort to external control, and, on the contrary, the weaker self-control, the tougher external control should be. At the same time, strict external control, petty guardianship of citizens, hinder the development of self-consciousness and muffle volitional efforts personality, resulting in a dictatorship.
Often a dictatorship is established temporarily for the benefit of citizens, in order to restore order, but citizens who are accustomed to submit to coercive control do not develop internal control, they gradually degrade as social beings, as individuals who are able to take responsibility and do without external coercion, that is, dictatorships, thus the degree of development of self-control characterizes the type of people prevailing in society and the emerging form of the state. With developed self-control, the likelihood of establishing democracy is high, with undeveloped self-control - dictatorship.
Social sanctions and their typology. - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Social sanctions and their typology." 2014, 2015.
Sociology of personality
Since ancient times, the honor and dignity of the family have been highly valued because the family is the main cell of society and society is obliged to take care of it in the first place. If a man can protect the honor and life of his household, his status rises. If he cannot, he loses his status. In a traditional society, a man who is able to protect the family automatically becomes its head. Wife, children play second, third roles. There are no disputes about who is more important, smarter, more inventive, therefore families are strong, united in socio-psychological terms. In modern society, a man in a family does not have the opportunity to demonstrate his leading functions. That is why families are currently so unstable and conflicted.
Sanctions- security guards. Social sanctions - an extensive system of rewards for the implementation of norms (conformity), and punishments for deviation from them (ie, deviance). It should be noted that conformity is only an external agreement with the generally accepted. Internally, an individual may harbor disagreement with the norms, but not tell anyone about it. Conformity is the purpose of social control.
There are four types of sanctions:
Formal positive sanctions- public approval by official organizations, documented with signatures and seals. These include, for example, awarding orders, titles, prizes, admission to high positions, etc.
Informal positive sanctions- public approval that does not come from official organizations: a compliment, a smile, fame, applause, etc.
Formal negative sanctions: punishments provided for by laws, instructions, decrees, etc. These are arrest, imprisonment, excommunication, a fine, etc.
Informal negative sanctions- punishments not provided for by laws - mockery, censure, notation, neglect, spreading rumors, feuilleton in the newspaper, slander, etc.
Norms and sanctions are combined into one whole. If a norm lacks an accompanying sanction, then it loses its regulatory function. Say, in the 19th century. in Western Europe, the birth of children in a legal marriage was considered the norm. Illegitimate children were excluded from the inheritance of their parents' property, they could not enter into worthy marriages, they were neglected in everyday communication. Gradually, as society modernized, it excluded sanctions for violation of this norm, and public opinion softened. As a result, the norm ceased to exist.
1.3.2. Types and forms of social control
There are two types of social control:
internal control or self-control;
external control - a set of institutions and mechanisms that guarantee compliance with the rules.
During self-control a person independently regulates his behavior, coordinating it with generally accepted norms. This type of control manifests itself in a sense of guilt, conscience. The fact is that generally accepted holes, rational prescriptions remain in the sphere of consciousness (remember, in Z. Freud's "Super-I"), below which is the sphere of the unconscious, consisting of elemental impulses ("It" in Z. Freud). In the process of socialization, a person has to constantly fight with his subconscious, because self-control is the most important condition for the collective behavior of people. The older a person is, the more self-control he should have. However, its formation may be hindered by cruel external control. The tighter the state takes care of its citizens through the police, courts, security agencies, the army, etc., the weaker self-control. But the weaker the self-control, the tighter the external control must be. Thus, a vicious circle arises, leading to the degradation of individuals as social beings. Example: Russia was overwhelmed by a wave of serious crimes against a person, including murders. Up to 90% of the murders committed only in Primorsky Krai are domestic, i.e., they are committed as a result of drunken quarrels at family festivities, friendly meetings, etc. According to practitioners, the underlying cause of tragedies is powerful control by the state, public organizations , parties, the church, the peasant community, who took care of the Russians very tightly for almost the entire time of the existence of Russian society - from the time of the Moscow principality to the end of the USSR. During perestroika, external pressure began to weaken, and the possibilities of internal control were not enough to maintain stable social relations. As a result, we are seeing an increase in corruption in the ruling class, violations of constitutional rights and individual freedoms. And the population responds to the authorities with an increase in crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, and prostitution.
External control exists in informal and formal varieties.
Informal control is based on the approval or condemnation of relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, public opinion, which is expressed through traditions, customs, or the media. Agents of informal control - family, clan, religion - are important social institutions. Informal control is ineffective in a large group.
formal control based on the approval or condemnation of official authorities and administration. It operates throughout the country, based on written norms - laws, decrees, instructions, resolutions. Its education is carried out by the state, parties, mass media.
Methods of external control, depending on the sanctions applied, are divided into hard, soft, direct, indirect. Example:
television refers to the instruments of soft indirect control;
racket - an instrument of direct strict control;
criminal code - direct soft control;
economic sanctions of the international community - an indirect hard method.
1.3.3. Deviant behavior, essence, types
The basis of the socialization of the individual is the assimilation of norms. Compliance with norms determines the cultural level of society. Deviation from them is called in sociology deviation.
Deviant behavior is relative. What is a deviation for one person or group may be a habit for another. Thus, the upper class considers their behavior as the norm, and the behavior of the lower social groups as a deviation. Therefore, deviant behavior is relative because it is only relevant to the cultural norms of a given group. Extortion, robbery from the standpoint of a criminal are considered normal types of earnings. However, most of the population considers such behavior a deviation.
The forms of deviant behavior include criminality, alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, homosexuality, gambling, mental disorder, suicide.
What are the causes of deviation? It is possible to single out reasons of a biopsychic nature: it is believed that a tendency to alcoholism, drug addiction, mental disorders can be transmitted from parents to children. E. Durkheim, R. Merton, neo-Marxists, conflictologists, and culturologists paid great attention to elucidating the factors influencing the appearance and growth of deviation. They were able to identify social causes:
anomie, or disordered society, appears during social crises. Old values disappear, there are no new ones, and people lose their life orientation. The number of suicides, crimes is growing, the family, morality are being destroyed (E. Durkheim - a sociological approach);
anomie, manifested in the gap between the cultural goals of society and socially approved ways to achieve them (R. Merton - a sociological approach);
conflict between cultural norms of social groups (E. Sellin - cultural approach);
identification of an individual with a subculture, the norms of which contradict the norms of the dominant culture (W. Miller - cultural approach);
the desire of influential groups to put the "stigma" of a deviant on members of less influential groups. So, in the 30s in the South of the USA, Negroes were a priori considered rapists only because of their race (G. Becker - the theory of stigmatization);
laws and law enforcement agencies that ruling classes used against those who are deprived of power (R. Quinney - radical criminology), etc.
Types of deviant behavior. There are many classifications of deviation, but, in our opinion, one of the most interesting is the typology of R. Merton. The author uses his own concept - deviation arises as a result of anomie, a gap between cultural goals and socially approved ways to achieve them.
Merton considers the only type of non-deviant behavior to be conformity - agreement with goals and means to achieve them. He identifies four possible types of deviation:
innovation- implies agreement with the goals of society and the rejection of generally accepted ways to achieve them. The "innovators" include prostitutes, blackmailers, creators of "financial pyramids". But great scientists can also be attributed to them;
ritualism- associated with the denial of the goals of a given society and an absurd exaggeration of the significance of the means to achieve them. So, the bureaucrat demands that each document be carefully filled out, double checked, filed in four copies. But at the same time, the goal is forgotten - but what is all this for?
retreatism(or flight from reality) is expressed in the rejection of both socially approved goals and ways to achieve them. Repeaters include drunkards, drug addicts, homeless people, etc.
riot - denies both goals and methods, but seeks to replace them with new ones. For example, the Bolsheviks sought to destroy capitalism and private property and replace them with socialism and public ownership of the means of production. Rejecting evolution, they strove for revolution, and so on.
Merton's concept is important primarily because it considers conformity and deviation as two bowls of the same scale, and not as separate categories. It also emphasizes that deviation is not the product of an absolutely negative attitude towards generally accepted standards. The thief does not reject the socially approved goal - material well-being, but can strive for it with the same zeal as a young man who is preoccupied with a career. The bureaucrat does not abandon the generally accepted rules of work, but he executes them too literally, reaching the point of absurdity. However, both the thief and the bureaucrat are deviants.
In the process of endowing an individual with the stigma of a “deviant”, one can distinguish between primary and secondary stages. Primary deviation - the initial action of the offense. It is not even always noticed by society, especially if norms-expectations are violated (say, at dinner, not a spoon is used, but a fork). A person is recognized as a deviant as a result of a kind of processing of information about his behavior, carried out by another person, group or organization. Secondary deviation is a process during which, after an act of primary deviation, a person, under the influence of social reaction, takes on a deviant identity, that is, he is rebuilt as a person from the positions of the group to which he was assigned. Sociologist I.M. Shur called the process of “getting used to” the image of a deviant by role absorption.
The deviation is much more widespread than the official statistics suggest. Society, in fact, is 99% deviant. Most of them are moderate deviants. But, according to sociologists, 30% of society members are pronounced deviants with a negative or positive deviation. Their control is not symmetrical. Deviations of national heroes, outstanding scientists, artists, athletes, artists, writers, political leaders, leading workers, very healthy and beautiful people are approved to the maximum. The behavior of terrorists, traitors, criminals, cynics, vagabonds, drug addicts, political emigrants, etc. is highly disapproved.
In the old days, society considered undesirable all strongly deviant forms of behavior. Geniuses were persecuted as well as villains, they condemned the very lazy and super-hardworking, the poor and the super-rich. Reason: Sharp deviations from the average norm - positive or negative - threatened to disrupt the stability of a society based on traditions, ancient customs and an inefficient economy. In modern society, with the development of industrial and scientific and technological revolutions, democracy, the market, the formation of a new type of modal personality - a human consumer, positive deviations are considered as an important factor in the development of the economy, political and social life.
Main literature
Personality Theories in American and Western European Psychology. - M., 1996.
Smelzer N. Sociology. - M., 1994.
Sociology / Ed. acad. G. V. Osipova. - M., 1995.
Kravchenko A. I. Sociology. - M., 1999.
additional literature
Abercrombie N., Hill S., Turner S. B. Sociological Dictionary. - M., 1999.
Western sociology. Vocabulary. - M., 1989.
Kravchenko A. I. Sociology. Reader. - Yekaterinburg, 1997.
Kon I. Sociology of personality. M., 1967.
Shibutani T. Social psychology. M., 1967.
Jerry D., Jerry J. Big explanatory sociological dictionary. In 2 vols. M., 1999.
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