science

Legal behavior

Legal behavior is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Legal behavior rather than just read about it. In short: In sociology, legal behavior refers to variations in the methods and degree of governmental social control of behavior. Background In 1976, theoretical sociologist Donald Black introduced a general sociological theory of law in his book The Behavior of Law.

Key takeaways

Legal behavior belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Legal behavior to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Legal behavior from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In sociology, legal behavior refers to variations in the methods and degree of governmental social control of behavior.

Background In 1976, theoretical sociologist Donald Black introduced a general sociological theory of law in his book The Behavior of Law. The theory exemplified Black's sociological paradigm known as pure sociology. A central aspect of this paradigm was the reconceptualization of human behavior as the behavior of social life. Thus, the behavior of many individuals may be understood—and more readily explained—as a single phenomenon. One form of social life is law, defined by Black as governmental social control. Social control is any process of defining and responding to deviance. Any increase of governmental social control—be it a call to the police, an arrest, a prosecution, or a conviction—is thus an increase of law. The word "behavior" is used here as it is used in the physical sciences to refer to variation. In this sense, everything behaves, including particles, storm systems, and law. Black's theory predicts and explains variations in legal behavior, such as why one assault results in a call to the police while another does not, or why one homicide conviction results in capital punishment while another does not.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Legal behavior

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Legal behavior claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Legal behavior before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Legal behavior ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Legal behavior

In research: Legal behavior appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Legal behavior in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Legal behavior is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Jurisprudence, Sociological theories, Sociology of law, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Legal behavior outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Legal behavior in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Legal behavior means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Legal behavior out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Legal behavior in simple terms?

In sociology, legal behavior refers to variations in the methods and degree of governmental social control of behavior. Background In 1976, theoretical sociologist Donald Black introduced a general sociological theory of law in his book The Behavior of Law.

Why does Legal behavior matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Legal behavior?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Legal behavior.