Strain Theory

Merton Strain Theory

• based on the American Dream

• believed that there was a strain between the goals and the means to achieve these goals

• people engage in deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by the legitimate means

Merton - adaptions to strain

• conformity

  • individuals accept the culturally approved goals and strive to achieve them legitimately

• innovation

  • individuals accept the goal of money/success but use “new” illegitimate means e.g. theft or fraud to achieve it

• ritualism

  • individuals give up trying to achieve the goals, but have internalised the legitimate means, so they follow the rules for their own sake e.g. a 9-5 worker

• retreatism

  • individuals reject both the goals and the legitimate means - becoming dropouts

  • e.g. outcasts, psychotics, drug addicts

• rebellion

  • individuals reject and replace the existing society’s goals and means in hope to make a revolutionary change and create a new society

  • e.g. suffragettes using violence to make change

Merton - strength

• laid out the groundwork for other strain theories 

Merton - weakness

• ignores white collar crime 

• too deterministic - not all working class people deviate

• Marxists - argue that it ignores the power of the ruling class that makes and enforces the laws

• people have different goals - assumes everyone strives for money and success 

• only accounts for utilitarian crimes for monetary gain - ignores crime like vandalism and violence

Cloward and Ohlin

• illegitimate opportunity structure - available through gangs

• legitimate opportunity structure - socially acceptable means to achieve socially acceptable goals

• there are different deviant subcultures

Cloward and Ohlin - deviant subcultures

• criminal subculture

  • provides youth a career in utilitarian crime (monetary value)

  • arise in neighbourhoods with stable criminal structure

  • allows the young to associate with adult criminals

• conflict subculture

  • found in places where there isn’t organised crime

  • no stable criminal organisation

  • violence provides a release for young men’s frustration at the blocked opportunities

• retreatist subculture

  • for those who fail in both mainstream success and criminal success - “double failure”

  • turn to drugs and alcohol

Cloward and Ohlin - strength

• provides an explanation for different types of working class deviance

Cloward and Ohlin - weakness

• ignores white collar crime

• ignores wider power structure i.e. who makes and enforces the laws

• doesn’t explain why girls who are also denied access, do not react in the same way that boys do

Miller

• there are common values within the working class that can explain crime and deviance

Miller - values

• toughness - getting into fights

• toughness - proving masculinity, physical strength and bravery

• smartness - street smart, wit, ability to con/outsmart others

• excitement - seeking thrills, risky and fun in life

• fate - believe that life is down to luck, no long term planning

• autonomy - dislike of authority and being told what to do

Miller - strengths

• doesn’t see working class as failures, understands that they have their own values

Miller - weakness

• assumes that all working class share the same values

• deterministic - suggest that all working class people are destined to commit crime because of their values

• ignores wider power structure