Page 236 - Sociology and You

206 Unit 2 Culture and Social Structures
Violent Crime
Although experiencing a recent decline, the U.S. has one of the highest violent crime rates of the major industrialized countries. In fact, the U.S. has the high- est murder, rape, and robbery rates, and keeps pace in burglaries and auto thefts. This map indicates the number of violent crimes by state per 100,000 residents.
1,000 or more 800–999 600–799 400–599 200–399
199 or less
District of Columbia
Number of Violent Crimes Reported per 100,000 Population, 1996
Interpreting the Map
1. Create a graph showing how the violent crime rate in your state compares with the rates in other states.
2. Pose a question which relates to the relative ranking of your state with other states.
3. What sociological conclusion can you draw from this map?
Adapted from The World Almanac of the U.S.A., Mahwah, NJ, 1998.
Social Control
Visit soc.glencoe.com and click on Textbook Updates–Chapter 7 for an update of the data.
All societies have ways to promote order, stability, and predictability in social life. We feel confident that drivers will stop for red lights, that waiters will not pour soup in our laps, and that store clerks will give us the correct change. Without social control—ways to promote conformity to norms— social life would be unpredictable, even chaotic. There are two broad types of social control: internal and external.
What is internal social control? Internal social control lies within the individual. It is developed during the socialization process. You are practicing internal social control when you do something because you know it is the right thing to do or when you don’t do something because you know it would be wrong. For example, most people most of the time do not steal. They act this way not just because they fear arrest or lack the opportunity to steal but because they consider theft to be wrong. The norm against stealing has be- come a part of them. This is known as the internalization of social norms.
social control
ways to encourage conformity to society’s norms