What is social control? Following or breaking norms often leads to reactions called sanctions. Sanctions can be positive or negative and formal or informal. As a mechanism of social control, sanctions...

What is social control? Following or breaking norms often leads to reactions called sanctions. Sanctions can be positive or negative and formal or informal. As a mechanism of social control, sanctions are used to get individuals to follow the rules, and like norms, they exist in degrees. The sanction for breaking a folkway will be informal (such as a smile or a frown) while the sanction for breaking a law will be formal (such as jail or a fine). Because social control contributes to smooth social functioning, all groups and societies have some form of it.