Law and Society

What Law and Society covers

What law does for a society and how the two change one another.

The 2 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• The role of law in society, social control and moral panicRecall questions on the function of law in society and its two-way relationship with society, formal and informal mechanisms of social control, and moral panic, from identification of a threat and media amplification to the authorities' response and resulting changes in the law.Open →
• Consensus, conflict, labelling and realist theories of lawRecall questions on consensus, conflict and labelling theory and how each is reflected in the legal system, secondary deviance and criminal records, and the realist approach to law making, including left realism and right realism with rational choice theory.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Law and Society further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Social control vs Social change

  Social control: the mechanisms by which a society secures conformity to its norms. Social change: the process by which a society's arrangements are altered.

• Consensus theory vs Conflict theory

  Consensus theory: the view that law reflects shared values across society. Conflict theory: the view that law serves the interests of the dominant group.

• Durkheim's view of law vs Marx's view of law

  Durkheim's view of law: law as an expression of the collective conscience of society. Marx's view of law: law as an instrument by which the economically dominant class preserves its position.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is the primary function of law in society?

   Model answer

   Law functions as a mechanism for maintaining order and regulating behaviour by establishing rules that govern conduct and providing sanctions for non-compliance.

2. 2

   How does law regulate behaviour in society?

   Model answer

   By establishing rules that govern conduct and providing sanctions (penalties) for those who fail to comply with these rules.

3. 3

   Explain the two-way relationship between law and society.

   Model answer

   Law shapes society through social control by prohibiting certain behaviours and promoting others, while society shapes law as changing social attitudes lead to legal reform.

4. 4

   What are formal mechanisms of social control?

   Model answer

   Official institutions such as the police, courts, and prisons that enforce legal rules.

5. 5

   What are informal mechanisms of social control?

   Model answer

   Unofficial pressures from family, peers, education, and community that encourage conformity to social norms.

6. 6

   How can the media act as an agent of social change in relation to law?

   Model answer

   By creating moral panic, which involves disproportionate public concern about a perceived threat, often leading to demands for new laws or stricter enforcement.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Law and Society revision questions

What does Law and Society cover in OCR A-Level Law?

2 subtopics: the role of law in society, social control and moral panic and consensus, conflict, labelling and realist theories of law. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Law and Society organised?

By the OCR H418 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.