Social Control, Clothes, and Style

Social control is a fairly simple sociological concept. So why not have a go at trying to apply it to the clothes we wear and the styles we adopt? The BBC magazine has an article giving advice on how you should look if you’re going for a job interview - have a look and see what you think. How is it that we all tend to conform to dress codes - or perhaps you think we don’t?

Social control - the process by which individuals are forced to comply with the norms and values of a society or social group.

Sanctions - rewards or punishments for appropriate and inappropriate behaviour. There are formal and informal sanctions and both may be positive (encouraging, rewarding) or negative (punishing).