Which of the following theorists is credited with the idea that strain results from a disjunction between goals and the legitimate means of attaining them? Robert Merton
Who created strain theory?
Emile Durkheim developed the first modern strain theory of crime and deviance, but Merton’s classic strain theory and its offshoots came to dominate criminology during the middle part of the 20th century.
What is strain theory Robert Merton?
Social strain theory was developed by famed American sociologist Robert K. Merton. The theory states that social structures may pressure citizens to commit crimes . Strain may be structural, which refers to the processes at the societal level that filter down and affect how the individual perceives his or her needs.
What term did Émile Durkheim?
Anomie , also spelled anomy, in societies or individuals, a condition of instability resulting from a breakdown of standards and values or from a lack of purpose or ideals. The term was introduced by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim in his study of suicide.
What is anomie strain theory?
Anomie theories (sometimes also called strain theories) deal with the question of why norm breaks occur more clearly in certain societies or historical epochs than in others. The focus is on the link between crime and the social structure of society .
Does general strain theory apply to all people?
Strain theory best applies only to the lower class as they struggle with limited resources to obtain their goals. Strain theory fails to explain white collar crime, the perpetrator of whom have many opportunities to achieve through legal and legitimate means.
What are the 5 reactions to strain?
Merton noted that the deviant response to strain was one of five responses he observed in society. He referred to such deviance as “innovation” while identifying the other responses to strain as conformity, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion .
What is an example of general strain theory?
Examples include parental rejection, criminal victimization, a desperate need for money, and discrimination . These strains increase crime for several reasons; most notably, they lead to a range of negative emotions, which create pressure for corrective action. Crime is one possible response.
What are the 3 theories of deviance?
Since the early days of sociology, scholars have developed theories that attempt to explain what deviance and crime mean to society. These theories can be grouped according to the three major sociological paradigms: functionalism, symbolic interactionism, and conflict theory .
What are the five components of Robert Merton’s strain theory?
Merton developed five modes of adaptation to cultural strain: Conformity, Innovation, Ritualism, Retreatism, and Rebellion .
What is Durkheim functionalist theory?
Functionalism emphasizes a societal equilibrium. If something happens to disrupt the order and the flow of the system, society must adjust to achieve a stable state. According to Durkheim, society should be analyzed and described in terms of functions . ... If one part changes, it has an impact on society as a whole.
What was Durkheim theory?
Durkheim believed that society exerted a powerful force on individuals . People’s norms, beliefs, and values make up a collective consciousness, or a shared way of understanding and behaving in the world. The collective consciousness binds individuals together and creates social integration.
What is Weber’s sociological theory?
Weber believed that modern societies were obsessed with efficiency – modernizing and getting things done, such that questions of ethics, affection and tradition were brushed to one side – this has the consequence of making people miserable and leading to enormous social problems.
What is an example of anomie?
For example, if society does not provide enough jobs that pay a living wage so that people can work to survive, many will turn to criminal methods of earning a living . So for Merton, deviance, and crime are, in large part, a result of anomie, a state of social disorder.
What is the difference between strain and anomie theory?
44) conceives of anomie as a social condition that promotes “the withdrawal of allegiance from social norms and high rates of deviance .” Thus, Messner reformulates anomie theory to argue that the pressure exerted by the condition of anomie explains the distribution of deviance across society, while the strain theory of ...
How does anomie theory explain crime?
In criminology, the idea of anomie is that the person chooses criminal activity because the individual believes that there is no reason not to . In other words, the person is alienated, feels worthless and that their efforts to try and achieve anything else are fruitless.
