THE STRUCTURE OF SOCIAL MONITORING IN THE PROCESS OF SOCIAL-CONTROL

This article examines the concept of social monitoring, defined as the process of collecting, storing, and exchanging conflict information. The social control literature recognizes that information provides the basis for responding to grievances, yet few discussions focus on the process by which this information is generated. This article provides conceptual clarification of social monitoring by suggesting a framewor k for quantifying the process and proposing several factors associated with its variation. I discuss five dimensions to capture quantitative and qualitative differences in social monitoring: (a) the standardiza tion of the process, (b) the; partisanship of the monitor, (c) the cen tralization of information, (d) the locus of control over information generated, and (e) the quantity of information produced. I then sugges t several features of social relationships that seem to be associated with variation in monitoring processes. By synthesizing existing liter ature, I propose that the quality and quantity of social monitoring wi thin a group varies in response to the social distance, social status, and interdependence among its members. By producing information that varies in quantity, credibility, and accessibility, social monitoring may significantly affect ensuing processes of social control.