w5c6 Anomie and Strain

emile durkheim (1858-1916) who was Influential to:

Modern structural perspectives on crime

emile durkheim (1858-1916) work was affected by

American revolution

French revolution

Industrial revolution

who wrote the 1^st doctoral sociological dissertation at the university of paris

emile durkheim

emile durkheim •Dissertation Developed a model of

societal development 

emile durkheim •Dissertation was based on

economic/labour distribution of society

emile durkheim •Dissertation argued that societies evolve from being __ to _

mechanical , organic

emile durkheim society evolving

organic is __ and mechanical is _

multilayered , simplistic

title of emile durkheim dissertation

the division of labour in society

emile durkheim

which society is this

Members had same functions (i.e. hunter and gatherers)

Had Identical daily routines

Meant that Similar work in addition to constant interaction with eachother led to = uniformity in values

mechanical

emile durkheim

in a mechanical society members have __ functions, values, and daily routines

same

emile durkheim

collective conscience

degree to which individuals in a society think alike

Mechanical Solidarity/condition where you have simple layered societal structure where ppl have similar norms/values, are hallmarked by a

strong collective conscience

•Law in mechanical condition is to – enforce

conformity

Emile Durkheim

•as society progressed and ___, society became organic

industrial age came about

Emile Durkheim

•Organic Societies Hallmarked by

Distribution of labour – specified

• Organic solidarity:

as a result of highly specified division of labour, People have

Dependence on others

Someone didn’t make their own shoes, one person made laces, one made soles, etc and one person puts it all together,

this is an example of which society

organic

•Within organic context, Law used to

regulate interactions and to maintain solidarity (among groups) 

emile durkheim

result of society shifting From mechanical to organic:

ppl having different values and attitudes

Organic societies have

Weak collective conscience

•Weak collective conscious leads to

Breakdown of solidarity and weakened social bonds

Weak collective conscious leads to Breakdown of solidarity and weakened social bonds which leads to

climate conducive to antisocial behavior

emile durkheim worked with certain assumptions that crime is

normal and necessary

emile durkheim

idea of structural functionalism

crime is functional (along with all social behaviour)

emilie durkheim

crime defines

the moral boundaries of a society

emilie durkhaim

a function served by crime is for the identification of

rule-breakers, where others bond with other members within the context of this identification

the bond between rule-breakers is why

crime is necessary

durkheim believed that if there are no law violators, then society will

change law to create law violators

emilie durkheim

human beings dont know when their needs/desires are satisfied, they _

have no internal mechanism and their selfish desires are limitless

emilie durkheim

people are greedy, they need

someone to tell them what they need

emilie durkheim

if they dont have someone to tell them what they need, theyll

never be happy/content

emilie durkheim

society has a mechanism for limiting insatiability through

creating laws and setting limits

Emile Durkheim

•During times of Rapid social change – society

fails at regulation of desires/expectations

emilie durkheim

•rapid social Change can result from a number of circumstances like

War

Social movements

emilie durkheim

wrote during

French and American revolution, Industrial revolution

emilie durkheim

society loses regulatory capacity when these greedy tendencies are unrestrained leading to

anomie “normlessness”

emile dukrheim

within anomic societies theres an increase in

social problems, including crime

emilie durkheim

didnt matter if a rapid social change was good or bad, regardless it would

have a negative societal effect

emilie durkheim

suicide is the result of

external social forces

emile durkheim

social fact-

meanings and structural aspects that result from interaction with people

emile durkheim

rate of suicide is lower for

married, younger, interactive, and communal religions

emile durkeim

suicide rates are lower for married younger interactive and communal religions because

more interaction and bonding

emile durkheim

four types of suicide

egoistic, altruistic, anomic, fatalistic

emile durkheim

which type of suicide is this

low integration and lack of social ties

egoistic

emile durkheim

which type of suicide is this

high integration and excessively strong social ties

altruistic

emile durkheim

which type of suicide is this

low/insufficient regulation

anomic

emile durkheim

which type of suicide is this

high regulation/number of rules

fatalistic

emile durkheim

suicide rates increased in times of rapid

economic growth and decline

emilie durkheim

researchers found that crime didnt always follow the same pattern of

suicide rates increasing in times of rapid economic growth and decline

emile durkheim

strong theoretical ties to

social disorganization theory and mertons theory of anomie

the first distinct sociological theory of crime

social disorganization theory

strain theories emphasize

frusteration

strain theories believe that frusteration is a

causal factor of crime

there are multiple strain theories, they differ in

cause of strain and way people cope with strain (stress/anger)

the origin of all strain theories is the work of

robert k merton

mertons strain theory of anomie was introduced in the 1930s and heavily influenced by

durkheims concept of anomie

merton altered durkheims

definition of anomie

durkheims theoretical framework is

essential for mertons work

merton took a number of durkheims concepts and emphasized in particular

american culture

one of the most popular theories in the early 1900s and among the most cited theories of crime

mertons strain theory

cultural context of mertons strain theory

published in 1938 - exceptionally influential

because

found its foundation in durkheims work which was familiar

and timing

mertons strain theory was published in 1930s where a significant social issue was

the economy

cultural context of mertons strain theory

great depression-stock market crash of 1929 had an enormous effect on

unemployment, extreme poverty, suicide, crime

mertons strain theory blamed

US economic structure

merton was influenced by the great depression and its impact on society, particuarly

how the economy impacted social factors, especially crime

merton- collapse of the economic structure led to

murder, suicide, property crime

merton- during great depression of the 30s

durkheims suicide/crime hypothesis was

supported

merton took durkheims ideas and

updated them, supplemented the framework

diff btwn durkheim and merton

merton changed the meaning of

anomie

merton changed meaning of anomie to focus on the notion of

the american dream

merton focusing on “american dream” for anomie meant

if you work hard and pay dues, you can achieve goals (material wealth)

merton strain theory

people socialized to believe in american dream regardless of

class

merton strain theory

parents give children hope for future such as celebrity examples but

reality of situation is left out

merton strain theory

american dream reality

amongst the lower classes, only a small percentage achieve

material success

when individuals who were socialized to believe in american dream realizes its not true, it

causes strain and frusteration

mertons strain theory

in an ideal society, there would be equal emphasis on

society goals and the means to achieve this

mertons strain theory

in reality there is emphasis on either

society goals OR the means

merton

in an american society, there is more emphasis on

goals of society

the disequilibrium between the goals and the means is what merton referred to as

anomie

mertons strain theory, similar to durkheim

anomie is a

negative state

the cause of anomie according to _ is rapid social change

durkheim

the cause of anomie according to _ is societies emphasis on goals, conventional means to achieve these goals de-emphasized

merton

merton

the american dream is an

illusion for majority

merton

american dream being an illusion is realized in

late-teens / mid-twenties

merton, strain/frustration is caused by

the realization that american dream is an illusion

merton: how to achieve success without conventional means? one way is

crime

not everyone engages in crime to achieve success without conventional means, different ppl have different ways to

deal with this strain

merton

modes of adaptation

different ppl having different ways to deal with this strain

mertons strain theory

five adaptations to strain

conformity

ritualism

rebellion

retreatism

innovation

merton strain theory

what modes of adaption are at low risk of offending

conformity and ritualism

merton which adaption to strain is this

accept goals accept means

conformity

merton which adaption to strain is this

reject goals accept means

ritualism

which modes of adaptation have higher likelihood of offending

innovation, rebellion, retreatism

merton which adaption to strain is this

accept goals reject means

innovation

merton innovation mode of adaptation examples

drug dealers or car thieves

merton innovation

they dont have to necessarily be criminals example

technology entrepreneurs

accept goals but decide they would make more money making tech software at home

merton which adaption to strain is this

reject goals reject means

retreatism

merton mode of adaptation retreatism is seen as

social disengagement

merton rebellion is the most _ of the five modes of adaptation

complex

merton which adaption to strain is this

accept general idea of society having goals and means but they reject those currently in place, would argue that we need new goals and means

rebellion