Robert Merton's Structural Strain Theory

We were told that this theory is too broad because it explains everything and yet explains nothing. The question of which came first the chicken, or the egg conception is the same of learning is too simplistic. Do we truly learn from those who are closest to us who else can we learn from? We should ask the all-time question, “Why don’t we commit crime?” not why do we.

Timothy Brezina is from Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University. He gained his Ph.D from Emory university. His 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.

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. Additionally, crimes that are considered as being white collar, in which they are known in our middle and upper-classes.

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.

The act of ownership has the power to completely take over one’s sense of self and identity. More specifically, in today’s society, people have become so consumed with wanting to own certain tangible and intangible aspects in order to portray themselves in their desired persona.

When it comes to success, people have their own definitions. Some people may define success as having a job that suits them and by the joy they feel when they are in and out of work. Others may define success as having a surfeit amount of money without the need to be happy at their work. In the book, outliers, Malcolm Gladwell defines success based on the careers of the well-known and rich people and he mentions that they have achieved success because they are the best at what they do. Gladwell also believes that anyone is capable of achieving success if they work hard enough and that the people who are mega-successful such as Bill Gates or Michael Jackson got where they were because of thing such as their geographic locations, their specific college experiences, the opportunities that they were presented with in high school, or even the month that they were born in. Throughout the book, I found myself

However, in the book, Criminology the authors have stated, “…Strain theory states that social structures within society may pressure citizens to commit crime” (Adler, G.M., & Laufer W, 2010, p.105). With the increasing stress, the child needs diapers and the parent has no money and enters Walmart, decides to steal a box of diapers, and is caught in the parking lot. The conflict theorist

There are many theories that suggest that crime is constructed socially, or is a product of the society in which the crime is committed. One such theory, proposed by Robert Merton, is known as strain theory. While strain theory is a useful model for explaining how societal values can drive people to commit crimes, it has several flaws and does not focus on how laws are made and how this contributes to the formation of crime. While Merton suggests that laws are created from consensus within a society, it will be argued that strain theory can also support the idea that laws are a “product of conflict” (Hagan 5).

What comes to mind when thinking of grandmothers? Cookies, acts of spoiling, and love are just a few, but what does not come to mind may be something like arsenic killings. Yet, in Velma Barfield’s case, one might want to ponder this carefully. Obviously, arsenic poisoning is not something a normal grandmother would be known for, so it is not striking to assume some sort of strain took place in Barfield’s life. Indeed, the Strain Theory could possibly be one way to explain such erroneous behavior. Strain Theory is Robert Merton’s take on Emile Durkheim’s concept of anomie which essentially says deviance is most likely to occur when there is a gap between goals and ways of obtaining them that are legal and safe. Velma Barfield’s heinous crimes can be dissected and examined using Strain Theory and three distinct happenings of her life which led to the murders of seven people.

General strain theory was developed by Robert Agnew. There are three major categories in the types of General strain theory: Failure to achieve positively valued goals, the loss of positively valued stimuli, and the presentation of negative stimuli. A positively valued goal has three sorts and those are money/economic success, status and respect. Lack of money causes strain because it is not obtainable through legitimate means. Strain will result from the lack of autonomy disproportionately affecting adolescents and the poor because of their lower position in society. Those three types of strains will increase the likelihood of experiencing negative emotions in proportion to the duration of stress. The links between strain and crime is that

the theory of structural strains describes that “societies are characterized by both culture and social structure. Culture establishes goals for people in society while social structure provides the way for people to achieve their goals. society that has people uses acknowledged . And they have proper means to achieve the goals that society establishes. In structural strains the goals and means to fulfil them both must be balanced . Deviance occurs when goals and means are not balanced . this

Although some maintain that success comes easier to people who come from a higher class family, giving them a better opportunity, those who come from a lower class family have a more difficult time succeeding, I argue that no matter what class you come from, being able to succeed is the same amount of effort because success is different for everyone.

Strain and Deviance: an empirical test of General Strain Theory of in a Philippine Public University

The people who are responsible for this definition of success are everyone, including out parents. Everyone is so used to correlating success with money and good jobs that we incorporate it in our daily lives without even knowing. Our parents are partly responsible for the way our society thinks of success. They are the ones that nurture us and teach us our morals and values. For example, my parents also brought me up saying that being successful when I grow up means that I have a good job with a good salary. The implications are that

In today’s society, wealth is a large definition to different people. The official meaning of “wealth” in Marriam-Webster’s Dictionary define it as an abundance of valuable possessions or money. In other words, wealth means living in a mansion, owning a Ferrari, or having loads of money in your bank account. If a person has nothing, then he or she is poor. However, what does money have to deal with wealth? There is a difference between being rich and being wealthy, which is the rich have lots of money and the wealth does not worry about the money. There is a saying that “Money can’t buy happiness” which is true. For me, wealth does not mean money, fame, or having everything and anything in the world. There are things money cannot buy that could consider being wealthy as long as I have my family, to be healthy, and to be happy.