Any way in which people are persuaded or expected to behave in certain ways.

• A. Social expectations
• B. Rewards
• C. Hidden Curriculum
• D. Social control

Answer: (D)

Social control is the way a society persuades and enforces people to act in line with its norms and laws. It covers both the informal pressures we experience from family, peers, and media, and the formal rules backed by institutions like the police and courts. When we say people are “persuaded or expected to behave in certain ways,” social control includes the subtle socialization that makes us internalize norms, as well as the sanctions or rewards that reinforce or punish behavior. This broad scope—combining everyday social influence with official mechanisms to keep order—is why it best matches the idea of guiding how people behave.

The other ideas don’t quite capture this whole range. Social expectations describe what people should do, but don’t itself enact the pressure or sanctions. Rewards describe a specific incentive, not the whole system of shaping behavior. The hidden curriculum refers to unspoken lessons learned at school, which is a narrower example of social influence.