...Rudee Reyes SOC 408 In order to illustrate how biological theories of criminal behavior came up short in showing social reality, Robert Merton proposed his strain theory. He realized that every society and culture sets forth goals that every member should meet, and dictates the legitimate means of achieving those goals. So Merton argued that structural conditions needed to be considered as influencing deviation from behavior considered as normative. He referred to Durkheim’s concept of anomie, but understood it as the pressure, or strain, that an individual experiences based on two conditions. First, an individual may experience strain when institutional means of achieving culturally defined goals do not necessarily lead to attainment of those goals. Second, an individual may also experience strain when access to the institutional means of achieving culturally defined goals is completely blocked off. In his theory, Merton describes five different ways that individuals adjust to the strains they experience (Merton pg. 233). These categories explain how individuals adapt under the conditions of strain resulting from anomie. The first category is conformist, in which the individuals believe in both the goals set forth by their culture and the institutional means of achieving those goals (Merton pg. 234). These people strive for their culture’s goals of success by following the prescribed means of achieving them. An example of this would be college students because they want...
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...Examine Strain theories as an explanation of crime and deviance. Criminal and deviant behaviour is one of societies biggest, long-standing problems. Many sociological theories attempt to unearth the reasons behind this behaviour, and therefore how to ensure that even if it still exists, it is significantly reduced. Strain theory, originally developed by Merton, is one of many sociological theories offering an explanation for deviant behaviour. All strain theories believe that individual strain, the frictions experienced by an individual to meet their needs, is the motivational mechanism that causes criminal activity. Mertons strain theory initially states that deviant behaviour is the result of strain between the goals that are encouraged in society and what societies structures will allow an individual to achieve. This ‘strain’ is most likely to affect those who make up the working class, as due to their cultural deprivation it is harder for them to succeed in our middle class centred society. As a result of this strain Merton recognises five responses to which he believes all members of a society fit into, these are conformity, where people adhere to both goals and means, innovation, where people reject the means but still pursue the goal, ritualism, where the means are used but the goal is lost, retreatism, where goals and means are rejected, and rebellion, where different goals and means substitute societies unattainable one. Despite creating a starting point for various...
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...Social Problems and Deviance Outline and critically analyse Labelling theory and Merton’ strain theory. Introduction: This paper will cover Strain theory and labelling theory . This will be done by an overview and explanation of the two theories, and by comparing and contrasting the theories based on the explanations of Robert Merton and Becker. The question that inspired Robert Merton, “What was the cause and explanation of why delinquents commit delinquent acts.” Robert Merton created and dedicated his research on this question that later developed into his theory that he named Anomie Strain Theory. The labelling theory links deviance not to action but to the reaction of others. The labelling theory is used as a sociological theory of crime influential in challenging positivity criminology. The key people to this theory were Becker and Lemert. While it was Lemert who introduced the key concepts of labelling theory, it was Howard Becker who become their champion. He first began describing the process of how a person adopts a deviant role in a study of dance musicians, with whom he once worked. He later studied the identity formation of marijunana smokers. This study was the basis of his Outsiders published in 1963. Labelling theory claims that deviance and conformity results not so much from what people do but from how others respond to the actions, it highlights social responses to crime and deviance. The foundations for this view of deviance are said to have to have...
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...General Strain Theory In this article dated Monday, 23 April 2018 01:56 PM, three were charged with larceny at Liverpool PAC. Three people were accused and charged with theft of personal property or larceny in homes within Liverpool. Officers from Liverpool Police conducted investigations pertaining to stolen equipment from hire firms in Granville and Guildford and carried out the investigation on Saturday 21/4/2018 and Sunday 22/4/2018. The three suspects were aged 24, 37 and 41.They were refused bail to appear at Liverpool court on Monday 23 April 2018. As stated in strain theory, low social control is an aspect that relates to individual conditions that an individual has slight or completely no control over like employment prospects...
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...Thursday 11th September 2014 Assess the usefulness of sub cultural theories in explaining sub cultural crime and deviance in society today. There are many different institutions in societies around the world. The main dominate cultures around society will share the same theories of society of what is acceptable when it comes to the norms and values of crime and deviant behaviour. Subcultural groups however differ from the main cultures of society and have a different view of the norms and values of crime and deviance. It could either be a small group in the society who either believe crime either is or isn't acceptable, none the less their view differs from the norms of values of the majority of the society. Subcultural theories can be seen to exist when a dominate cultures has the same theories of crime and the subcultural theories will differ. This may, for instance be that everyone in that society believes that crime is unacceptable and frowned upon. However in lower deprived areas they may believe crime isn't as bad as middle class people deem it to be and that in fact the acts committed which are termed criminal or deviant aren't seen as this. Merton would support the view of subcultural on the same basis that subcultural tend to be differentiated when it’s through a Marxist view point with the differentiation between middle and lower class. Merton saw that individuals in society were socialised by primary socialisation so that in that culture of the society they were...
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...Psychological theory The issue of human violence is also a major topic within the academic discipline of psychology. As biosocial theorists do, psychologists focus on how individual characteristics may interact with the social environment to produce a violent event. However, rather than focus on the biological basis of crime, psychologists focus on how mental processes impact individual propensities for violence. Psychologists are often interested in the association between learning, intelligence, and personality and aggressive behaviour. In this section of the report, we briefly review some of the major psychological perspectives that have attempted to explain violent behaviour. These perspectives include the psychodynamic perspective, behavioural theory, cognitive theory and personality theory. We will also explore the possible relationship between mental illness and violence. Social learning theory Social learning theory is a theory that attempts to explain socialization and its effect of the development of the self. There are many different theories that explain how people become socialized, including psychoanalytic theory, functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction theory. Social learning theory, like these others, looks at the individual learning process, the formation of self, and the influence of society in socializing individuals. Social control theory gained prominence during the 1960s as sociologists sought differing conceptions of crime. It...
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...The theory I have chosen to discuss is the strain theory. Before Agnew had developed his adaptation of strain theory, Durkheim had introduced the term “anomie” – the break down of social order as a result of the loss of standards and values – before the end of the nineteenth century. After Durkheim, came Merton. He also related his theories to anomie, but his predictions slightly differed from those of Durkheim's. Merton argued that “The real problem is created not by sudden social change but by a social structure that holds out the same goals to all its members without giving them equal means to achieve them. This lack of integration between what the culture calls for and what the structure permits, the former encouraging success and the latter...
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...Assess strain theories as an explanation of crime and deviance in contemporary society The relationship between offending and subculture explains how a situation for example society preventing certain groups particularly working class males from succeeding in terms of material achievement and this creates group response whereby the group rejects the values and of that society and develops alternative values ‘subculture’ and this leads to values generated by the subculture being justified and leading to antisocial behaviour and crime. Strain is a term used to refer to explanations of criminal behaviour that argue that crime is a result of certain groups of people being places in a position where they are unable for whatever reason to conform to the values and beliefs of society. Strain theory was introduced by Merton who tried to locate deviance within a functionalist framework. Merton argued that capitalist societies suffer from anomie a strain/conflict between the goals set by society and the legitimate means of achieving of them. Merton argued that all societies set their members certain goals and at the same time set socially approved ways of achieving them. The system worked well as long as there was a reasonable chance that a majority of people were able to achieve their goals. However, if the majority of the population were unable to achieve the socially set goals, then they became disenchanted with society and found an alternative usually deviant way of behaving. Merton...
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...Using the material from Item A and elsewhere assess the usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime. (21 Marks) Crime is the act which breaks the criminal laws of society. The functionalists approach to crime and deviance gives us some insight into how society copes with deviant behaviour. However it has limitations for example it only looks at the functions of deviance and not the causes. Durkheim says that to allow social solidarity to occur in society there are two key mechanisms which are socialisation and social control. He states that crime and deviance is inevitable and that it is needed in society as it preforms two positive functions; boundary maintenance and adaption. In Durkheim’s view, the purpose of punishment is to reaffirm society’s shared rules. As it states in Item A the publicity given to crime highlights the boundaries of acceptable behaviour and this reinforces social solidarity through for example court rooms which dramatizes the wrong doing and stigmatises the offender and therefore discourages others from breaking society’s rules. For individuals that want adaption, there must be some scope for them to challenge and change the existing norms and values which is deviance. However, in time there values may give way to a new culture and morality. For example gay marriage would be seen as deviant but in current times it has become less deviant in countries such as the United Kingdom because it has become more popular over the last decade. If...
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...According to Durkheim, crime – or at least a certain limited amount of crime – was necessary for any society. Durkheim argued that at the basis of society was a set of shared values which guide our actions, which he called the collective conscience. It provides a framework with boundaries, which distinguishes between actions which are acceptable and those which are not. Durkheim discussed four elements of the positive aspect to crime. He believes crime can be functional by Re-affirming the boundaries every time that a person breaks a law and is taken to court, the resulting court ceremony and the publicity in the newspapers, publicly re-affirms the existing values. By changing values- every so often when a person is taken to court and charged with a crime a degree of sympathy occurs for the person prosecuted. The resulting public outcry signals a change in values and, in time this can lead to a change in law to reflect the changing values. Social cohesion A third function of crime, according to Durkheim, is to strengthen social cohesion. He points out that when particularly horrific crimes have been committed, the entire community draws in together in shared outrage, and the sense of belonging to a community is thereby strengthened. Safety Valve Deviant acts may be functional as a form of pressure release. Durkheim does however see how crime can be destructive and negative. He stressed that it was a certain, limited amount of crime which performed positive functions for society...
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...Examine the role of access to opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance (21 marks) Deviance is an act that goes against the norms and values of social construction. There are many different factors to be considered when examining opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance. Functionalists, especially Durkheim sees society as a stable system based on value consensus-shared norms, values, beliefs and goals. This produces social solidarity, binding individuals together into one harmonious unit. To achieve this, society must participate in socialisation and social control. These functionalist concepts easily link to the functionalist explanation of crime where crime is portrayed as inevitable and functional for society. Whilst crime disrupts social stability, functionalists see it as inevitable and universal. Durkheim sees crime as healthy for social as society needs some individuals who are inadequately socialised and prone to deviate. Also in highly modern societies, there is a specialized division of labour and a diversity of subcultures. Individuals and groups become increasingly different from one another, and the shared rules of behaviour become less clear. This is what is known as anomie. An example of where anomie occurs is in suicide, where rapid social change in modern society, leaves individuals unsure as to where they fit in. For Durkheim, crime fulfils two important positive functions, the first of which is boundary maintenance. Crime produces...
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...------------------------------------------------- Theories of Crime Causation Unit 3 Ind. Project The Sociological Theories Abstract The author of this paper focuses on the mainstream of criminology and the sociological theories of crime that have dominated the landscape for decades. The author focuses specifically on the social control theory, strain theory, differential association theory and the neutralization theory. These theories are often spoken due to their historical significance which was discovered during research in an attempt to examine delinquency and deviant behavior. Included in this paper the author shares with you her opinion as to the strengths and weaknesses of each theory. Further, she provides you with an example of a recent criminal arrest as it pertains to one of the aforementioned theories and the relevance that it has in explaining the offenders criminal actions. The first and most influential strain theorist is Robert K. Merton (1938). His original statement of anomie/strain theory is the basis for all of the theoretical developments. The strain has two associate components the first component is strictly focused on the concept of anomie (abnormalities), while the second is centered on the social structures, and the influences that society contributes to the strain theory. If you were to separate or combined these two components either way can lead an individual to a higher level of deviance and/or criminal behavior. According to Merton (1938) He suggests...
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...Sharna Luscombe Outline and asses the functionalist explanations of crime and deviance. Functionalist ignore deviance; they look at society as a whole and ignore individualism. Functionalism is a structuralist approach (also known as a consensus theory) they believe that individuals are shaped by society and social facts. A limitation of functionalist is that they ignore certain groups within society, such as women and people with disabilities. They also ignore factors such as ‘race’ and social class. They believe that society will maintain stability if the institutions still exists and the factors that may cause conflict – are ignored. I will assessing the functionalist contribution to explanations of crime, to how useful it is and if those explanations have been applied within modern day society. Also how useful the explanations are at reducing crime. Deviance is a normative approach, it is associated with behaviour that differs from the set norms and values set out by society. Deviance is linked to informal social control through sanctions (not by laws or government policy). In a Post Modern society – this definition of deviance would be problematic because it refers to societal norms (which would have disappeared; due to individualism making it hard to follow set norms and values). Deviance could collapse in a post-modern society. Durkheim (1895) is a positivist who proposed the concept of anomie; as an explanation as to why certain people commit crime. He believes that...
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...Functionalist Theory Of Crime Functionalism (The Consensus structuralism theory) Functionalism is a consensus structuralism theory. Functionalists argue that there is nothing abnormal about deviance, and that it is necessary and normal in all parts of societies performing a positive function. The functions of crime and deviance (DURKEIM)Durkheim has identified a positive and a negative side to crime and deviance, it is positive in which it helps society to change and remain dynamic, whilst the negative side sees too much crime leading to social disruption. Durkheim believes that crime and deviance are inevitable and normal aspect of social life. They are inevitable because everyone cannot be equally committed to the shared values that guide ones actions, referred to as the collective consensus. He also believes that crime and deviance perform four essential functions for society: • Crime and deviance being essential for generating and sustaining morality. • Crime and deviance clarify and reaffirm the boundaries. For example by receiving retribution for a crime, such as a prison sentence, the state is making it clear that as criminal/deviant act has taken place. • Crime and deviance can promote social unity. When a crime has been committed, the entire community draws together in shared outrage, and the sense of belonging in a community is strengthened. • Crime and deviance can encourage social change by resulting in a change of shared values. This change in values...
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...A subcultural theory is a deterministic theory that sees individuals as entirely shaped by the way society is structured or organised, this means that the subcultures share norms and values that are different to those that are shared by mainstream society as those within the subculture have rejected mainstream norms and have become inverted because the mainstream values have failed them as is illustrated by item A. These subcultural theories are used and developed by different sociologists in order to explain why crime and deviance happens, functionalists see society as socialising individuals into shared norms and values that dictate how they will behave showing why those who are part of a subculture reject society and participate in crime and deviance because they enable a person to have a sense of identification. However theses subcultural theories cannot always explain the trend in crime and deviance as there are many contributing factors as to why crime and deviance happens. Merton is a functionalist who has developed a theory in order to explain why crime and deviance happens which has then been developed further by other sociologists in to the form of subcultural theories. Merton’s strain theory is the basis of subcultural theories and he explains that the reason for deviance is the result of strain between the goals that society encourages individuals to achieve and what society actually allows them to achieve through legitimate means which leads them to commit deviance...
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