Formal social control

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Formal social control of behaviors include things such as laws and codes that a society abides by. It includes efforts by the police, courts, and correctional institutions to produce social conformity of the law. See law enforcement and informal social control. It is said that there are three types of control:

1. Direct: by which punishment is threatened or applied for wrongful behaviour, and compliance is rewarded by parents, family, and authority figures.
2. Indirect: by which a youth refrains from delinquency because his or her delinquent act might cause pain and disappointment to parents and others with whom he or she has close relationships.
3. Internal: by which a person's conscience or sense of guilt prevents him or her from engaging in delinquent acts.