Strain theory

Robert K Merton

which sociologist came up with Strain theory?

1. Strain is produced which leads to deviant or criminal behaviour. A nice house, a new car, holidays, and a good lifestyle.

2. Carry on. Stealing things, taking drugs or losing motivation in life, rioting and extremism.

3. structural and cultural

4. The goals that culture encourages individuals to achieve, and what the institutional structure of society allows people to achieve legitimately.

5. ‘Money success’ - individual material wealth and the high status that goes with it.

Merton’s strain theory

1. What happens when people can’t achieve the socially approved shared goals of society? Give 4 examples of what the socially approved shared goals are.

2. What may some people do, however, what are examples of deviant behaviour? (5 examples).

3. What 2 factors does Merton believe are why people commit crime?

4. What 2 things are deviance a result of strain because?

5. For example, what does American culture value?

structural and cultural

What 2 factors does Merton believe is why people commit crime?

structural factors

society’s unequal opportunity structure

society’s unequal opportunity structure

what are structural factors?

cultural factors

the strong emphasis on success goals and the weaker emphasis on using legitimate means to achieve them

the strong emphasis on success goals and the weaker emphasis on using legitimate means to achieve them

what are cultural factors?

socially approved shared goals of society

what are these examples of?

A nice house, a new car, holidays, and a good lifestyle.

conformists

when people just carry on even though they experience strain

innovators

people experience strain, and consequently steal things

reatreatants

people experience strain, and consequently take drugs or lose faith in life

rebels

people experience strain, and consequently riot or get involved in extremism

utilitarian crime

crime that has a purpose

non-utilitarian crime

crime that has no purpose

1. By legitimate means: self-discipline, study, educational qualifications and hard work.

2. That society is meritocratic, where anyone who puts in effort can get ahead - there are opportunities for all.

3. Achieve legitimately. For example, people living in poverty, attend an inadequate schools, and discrimination in the job market may block opportunities for many ethnic minority groups and lower social classes.

4. Cultural goal of money and success, and the lack of legitimate opportunities to achieve it produces frustration. This creates a pressure to resort to illegitimate means.

The American Dream

1. How are Americans expected to pursue this goal? (4 examples)

2. What does the ideology of the American dream tell Americans?

3. The reality is different, as many disadvantaged groups are denied opportunities to what? Give examples.

4. What does the strain between the goal of 2 things and the lack of what produce?

meritocracy

a social system that gives the greatest power and highest social positions to people with the most ability and hard work

1. Explain some of the patterns of deviance found in society.

2. Individual’s position in the social structure affects the way they adapt or respond to the strain to anomie.

3. Whether an individual accepts, rejects or replaces approved cultural goals and the legitimate means of achieving them.

Deviant applications to Strain

1. What does Merton use Strain theory to explain?

2. What does he argue about an individual’s position?

3. What do the 5 types of adaptation depend on?

conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion

what are the 5 types of adaptation according to Merton?

1. The culturally approved goals and strive to achieve them legitimately.

2. Middle-class individuals who have good opportunities to achieve.

Merton’s types of adaptation - conformity

1. What do individuals accept?

2. Who is this likely to occur to?

1. The goal of money success but use ‘new’ illegitimate means such as theft or fraud to achieve it.

2. Low social classes

Merton’s types of adaptation - innovation

1. What do people accept?

2. Who is most likely to be a part of this adaptation?

1. Trying to achieve goals, but internalise legitimate means so they follow the rules for their own sake.

2. Lower-middle class office workers in dead-end, routine jobs.

Merton’s types of adaptation - ritualism

1. What do individuals give up on?

2. Who is this typical of?

1. Both the goals and legitimate means and become dropouts.

2. Psychotics, outcasts, and drug addicts.

Merton’s types of adaptation - retreatism

1. What do individuals reject?

2. What are 3 examples?

1. Reject the existing society’s goals and means, and replace them with new ones to bring revolutionary change

2. Political radicals and counter-cultures such as hippies.

Merton’s types of adaptation - rebellion

1. What do individuals reject?

2. What are 2 examples?

1. The same mainstream goals.

2. Both conformists and innovators pursue money success - one legitimately, the other illegitimately.

3. Poverty crime, because American society values material wealthy so highly. Lower-class crime, because they have the least opportunity to obtain wealthy legitimately.

Evaluation of Merton - shows how both normal and deviant behaviour can arise

1. What can it arise from?

2. Which 2 types of adaptation pursue this? How?

3. He explains the patterns of official crime statistics: what is most crime? What social class crime is higher?

1. Working-class crime. Merton sees crime as a mainly working-class phenomenon.

2. Too deterministic - the working class experience the most strain, yet the don’t always deviate.

3. It ignores the power of the ruling class to make and enforce the laws in ways that criminalise the poor but not the rich.

4. There is a value consensus – that everyone strives for ‘money success’. Ignores the possibility that some people may not share this goal.

Evaluation of Merton - takes crime rates at face value

1. What crime is over-represented? What does Merton see this as?

2. What other AO3 point can be used for Merton?

3. What do Marxists argue?

4. What does the theory assume? What does it ignore?

1. Utilitarian crime for money gain, and not crimes of violence, vandalism and terrorism.

2. State crimes such as genocide and torture.

3. It explains how deviance results from individuals adapting to the strain to anomie but ignores the role of group deviance, such as delinquent subcultures.

Evaluation of Merton - only accounts for a certain type of crime

1. What type of crime is only accounted for, and what is not (3 examples)?

2. What is also hard to see because of the theory?

3. What does it explain, and ignore?