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0003. Which of the following is the best explication of the idea of "social control as a dependent variable"?

A.

The amount and kind of social control varies over time and across cultural space.

B.

We can turn the usual equation around and ask "what causes social control?"

C.

Different amounts or kinds of social control can produce different levels of conformity to social norms.

D.

Amount and kind of social control varies with things like social distance between conflicting parties.

E.

The types of social control we deploy should take into account the causes of deviant behavior which vary widely

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+ Solution and explanation

The best answer is D although B, if glib, is also a correct characterization. If you said A you were confusing the concept "deviance is relative" with SC as DV. If you said C, you had it backwards: the IV is the cause variable and the DV is the effect variable. If we vary SC and look for changes in conformity, SC is the IV. If you said E you are slipping into a prescriptive frame of mind AND looking at things backward. When we think about SC as DV we are trying to do a descriptive science of what is, not what ought to be, and we are looking at how to explain the amount and kind of social control that emerges in different situations.

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