Essay On Robert Merton's Strain Theory
1. INTRODUCTION
Robert Merton (1938) borrowed Durkheim’s concept of anomie) normlessness, to explain crime. Durkheim’s view of crime was that crime is rooted in socio-cultural factors and not in the individual.
Merton’s strain theory is really a theory of social organisation (i.e. inequality), thus, the proper test is to look at social structural correlates of crime rather than at individuals. Merton explained crime in terms of goals and means. He assumed everyone in society shared the same goal values and that those whose opportunities were blocked, meaning that they could not attain their goals legitimately would use illegitimate means to achieve them.
2. DEFINITION
The Social Science Dictionary defines “Robert K Merton’s theory of anomie” as a theory of deviance which holds that many forms of deviance are caused by a disjunction between society’s goals and the approved means to achieve these goals that they set out for themselves.
Anomie causes society to become less of a community of caring people who look after each other’s interests and more individualistic. Anomie causes individuals to look out for themselves rather than the community. Social conditions bring uneven pressure to bear on people of different classes, and people react as individuals to such conditions. The pressure or strain will cause
…show more content…
The anomie theory applies best to lower classes as they struggle most with the lack of resources to reconcile their goals. However, if we examine the wide gamut of deviant and criminal acts, anomie theory account inadequately for crimes beyond the narrow choice of street crimes, crimes considered as white collar crimes i.e. fraud and corporate crime are more widespread among the middle class and the aristocracy who don’t lack materially. The anomie theory also fails to explain murder, rape and other crimes that are not done for economic
MS-13 Gang Behavior Analysis
625 Words | 3 PagesCriminal and conflict gang whose primarily intent of crimes for tangible gains. Social structure theorists consider that the main components to illegal behavior are the ascendancy of social and economic influences that are distinguished in rundown communities where the population is predominantly lower-class citizens (Siegel, 2010). This following theory goes into helping us comprehend ways the human behavior, is the result of physical
Summary Of Poverty And Peacemaking Terminology: Beyond Mainstream Criminology
1501 Words | 7 PagesIn F. T. Cullen, J. P. Wright & K. R. Blevins (Eds.), Taking stock: The status of criminological theory, advances in criminological theory (Vol. 15, pp. 251–273). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction. Kramer, R. C. (1985). Defining the concept of crime: A humanistic perspective. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 12(September), 469–487.
General Strain Theory Literature Review
2124 Words | 9 PagesStrain and Deviance: an empirical test of General Strain Theory of in a Philippine Public University LITERATURE REVIEW Theoretical Background During the past decades, various criminologists developed different theories in an attempt to explain the causes of crime within the society. In return they were successful, as of today it was adopted or accepted, indeed all of theories explain the root causes of crime. One of these theories is anomie or strain theory which originally argues that the lower class frustration to higher class causes crime (Merton, 1938) in attempt to explain why majority of the people who commits crime are lower class.
Example Of General Strain Theory
929 Words | 4 PagesHis areas of study are Juvenile delinquency, Youth violence and Criminological theory. The main argument of the source is that General strain theory provides and explanation of crime and delinquency and that it is the latest and broadest form of strain theory. General Strain Theory represents a revision and extension of prior strain theories. “General strain theory is distinguished from other criminological theories by the central role it assigns to negative emotions in the etiology of offending. It is also distinguished by the emphasis it places on particular strains, especially strains involving negative social relations “ (Brezina, 2018).
Explain How Does Strain Theory Explain Deviance
1048 Words | 5 Pagesa. Use Strain Theory to define and explain the following: i. The theft of a loaf of bread by a hungry person Using strain theory, the theft of a loaf of bread by a hungry person can be explained as a situation where an individual employs different means of success of getting fed, one that is against the agreeable ways in the society of getting money and feeding themselves. ii. Alcoholics Using strain theory, an alcohol has ultimately rejected the society’s goals of conforming to the societal values such as happiness and a stable job, such an individual essentially rejects the goals because they have been ultimately been unable to live up to the society’s standards. iii.
Examples Of Strain Theorists
1696 Words | 7 PagesThis type of influence can lead to crime especially if the majority of the group agrees to the crime against certain races but they are prejudice towards that race. One example of this situation is a group of teenagers threatening and assaulting a Muslim man even though some of the teenagers do not carry a dislike to Muslims but they are engaging in delinquency due to the other members of the group who have a dislike towards the Muslim. This example shows one of the reasons why social learning theorists developed this theory. Another example that shows social learning theory in a positive light is a group of people who come together due to social influence and others in the group and work towards a positive legal goal like Black People Matter, LGBTQ or Beta Club. This example shows how social learning theory decreases
Scarver's Criminal Behavior Theory
1206 Words | 5 PagesWithin the past couple of decades, criminologists have developed different criminological theories that apply to the social behaviors and decisions of criminals. One of the earliest theories developed regarding criminality is the rational choice theory, in which describes the rationalization of determining if the rewards from committing the crime outweigh the consequences. In Scarver’s case, his decision to engage in criminal activities outweighed the potential consequences, or the other alternatives if he did not engage in such criminal activities. In addition to the rational choice theory, Scarver’s criminality can be related to the social disorganization theory, which describes the influence of one’s social and physical environment on one’s decision to commit a crime. Lastly, the strain theory can be related to Scarver’s criminality as well, as it is used to describe an individual who lacks the means to obtain such goals, and aspirations, so therefore, he or she engages in criminal activities to acquire the goals.
Theories Of Criminology Theory
1457 Words | 6 PagesIt does not consider other factors such as criminal associations, individual traits, and inner strains, which plays a significant role in determining punishment for the individuals in committing crimes. It is observed that this theory endeavours to know that whether the activities of crime as well as the victim’s choice, criminals commit the activities on start from rational decisions. The theory also determines that criminals consider different elements before committing crime. They engage in the exchange of ideas before reaching on any final decision. These elements consist of consequences of their crimes, which include revealing their families to problems or death, chances of being arrested, and others elements, which comprises of placement of surveillance systems (Walsh & Hemmens, 2010; Lichbach,
Analysis Of Robert Merton's Strain Theory
565 Words | 3 PagesStrain theory is a crime theory that was developed by Robert Merton, an American sociologist. According to Robert, strain can be defined as the discrepancies that result from the goals that are culturally defined in reference to the means that are institutionalized and available to meet the set goals. As proposed by Merton, there exists a typological deviance that is based on two criteria; an individual’s belief in how the goals should be attained and an individual’s adherence or motivation to cultural goals. According to the theory, certain stressors or strains are responsible in increasing the likelihood of crime activities around the world.
Rational Choice Theory: Why Do People Commit Crimes
912 Words | 4 PagesThere are numerous theories that have evolved over time to explain why crimes are committed. These theories include anomie, strained, social control, and rational choice theory. In this research paper I will be focusing on rational choice theory. Majority of these theories focus on a macro-level, which is the largest, meanwhile some focus on a micro-level, the smaller level, depending on the circumstances. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize how rational choice theory is integrate with different crimes.
Criticism Of Merton's Strain Theory
1883 Words | 8 PagesCriticism of Merton’s Strain Theory One critique of the strain theory is how it overemphasis the position of the social class in regards to crime and deviance. As we know, the strain theory applies mainly to the American lower class as they struggle the most. Our lower class are faced with the lack of resources to help them reconcile their goals. However, by looking at the variation of deviant and criminal behavior, the strain theory does not adequately account for any type of crimes besides the normal street or neighborhood crimes.
The Anomie Theory Of Juvenile Delinquency
1045 Words | 5 PagesThe set of the structural-functional theories are among the most widespread perspectives on the juvenile delinquency. The group of the theories regards that the behavior of the underage delinquent is caused by the breakdown of the social process that consequently results in the increase of conformity (Thompson & Bynum, 2016). The group of theories presumably blame institutions that are responsible for the socialization of the young delinquents for the way the socialize the individuals by causing them to conform to the values of the society. One of the central theories of the juvenile delinquency is the anomie theory that is rooted in the early studies by the sociologist Emile Durkheim.
The Opportunity Theory Essay
595 Words | 3 PagesIf an individual can learn how to attain goals with crime due to the illegitimate opportunities then they can just as easily learn legitimate ways just the same. As we know, the opportunity theory can be used to fill in the gaps of Merton’s strain theory, Merton fails to recognize that illegitimate opportunity as well as legitimate opportunities play an important role in crime. Merton believes that the pressures or strains brought on through social interactions. Cloward and Ohlin make a valid point when they suggest that to explain crime you have to take into consideration a person’s access to legitimate opportunity and access to illegitimate opportunity. Moreover, this theory can also be used to inform and extend the social learning theory.
Crime As A Social Problem Essay
1877 Words | 8 PagesAs far as crime is concerned, it is defined by the law. Deviance is unexpected behaviour, but not exactly considered criminal. Many consider crime as a social problem – a problem as defined by society, such as homelessness, drug abuse, etc. Others would say crime is a sociological problem – something defined as a problem by sociologists and should be dealt with accordingly by sociologists. This essay attempts to discover the boundaries between these two and ultimately come to an appropriate conclusion.
Sociological Theories Of Juvenile Delinquency
2153 Words | 9 PagesJuvenile Delinquency is a phenomenon that affects communities worldwide according to media reports, both print and electronic, where worrying images of youths involved in behavior outside societal norm has been highlighted. This issue has been studied by researchers locally, regionally and internationally where results has shown that delinquency has been influenced by a number of factors such as age, gender, race, family circle, environment, socioeconomic status et cetera. This research paper attempts to examine Juvenile delinquency and the effects of social structure on form (III) three students attending secondary schools in Trinidad. A structural functionalist perspective will be used based on factors that influence delinquency such as Poverty, Ideology of hegemony, and discrimination.
More about Essay On Robert Merton's Strain Theory
MS-13 Gang Behavior Analysis
625 Words | 3 PagesSummary Of Poverty And Peacemaking Terminology: Beyond Mainstream Criminology
1501 Words | 7 PagesGeneral Strain Theory Literature Review
2124 Words | 9 PagesExample Of General Strain Theory
929 Words | 4 PagesExplain How Does Strain Theory Explain Deviance
1048 Words | 5 PagesExamples Of Strain Theorists
1696 Words | 7 PagesScarver's Criminal Behavior Theory
1206 Words | 5 PagesTheories Of Criminology Theory
1457 Words | 6 PagesAnalysis Of Robert Merton's Strain Theory
565 Words | 3 PagesRational Choice Theory: Why Do People Commit Crimes
912 Words | 4 PagesCriticism Of Merton's Strain Theory
1883 Words | 8 PagesThe Anomie Theory Of Juvenile Delinquency
1045 Words | 5 PagesThe Opportunity Theory Essay
595 Words | 3 PagesCrime As A Social Problem Essay
1877 Words | 8 PagesSociological Theories Of Juvenile Delinquency
2153 Words | 9 Pages