Preview

Robert Merton Strain Theory

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
206 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Robert Merton Strain Theory
Strain Theory was developed in 1938 by Robert Merton to explain how the crimes in the US fluctuated significantly during that time.
Merton believed that society was built on this idea which assured the public that there was equal opportunity that was available to anyone, regardless of class, gender or ethnicity, called the American Dream. The ‘American Dream’ painted this idea in the heads of individuals to seek success through wealth and material possessions. Americans were expected to seek out this perfect life by going to school, and gaining experience. The stigma in America was if you are ambitious and work hard then they should be rewarded with wealth.

Merton stated that when individuals are faced with the idea of not reaching their
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Agnew's Strain Theory
    • 110 Words
    • 1 Page

    Agnew's Strain Theory

    Dr. Robert Agnew studied strain theory and spoke about the criticisms that were discovered in the original theory. The original strain theory found an increase in delinquency would result from an increase in aspirations as well as a decrease in expectations. This was later found to be false. The initial theory was a prediction of a focus of lower class delinquency. Research into this claim was found to be just as likely to happen in both middle and upper classes. The original strain theory ignored different variables, which Agnew addressed. Both the abandonment of crime in late adolescence as well as the quality of family relationships was overlooked (Agnew, 1985).…

    • 110 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Robert Merton's Strain Theory To Explain Hate Crime
    • 201 Words
    • 1 Page

    Robert Merton's Strain Theory To Explain Hate Crime

    Walters (2010) applies the Robert Merton’s strain theory to explain hate crime. Strain theory posits that most members of society have similar goals. However, crime occurs when some individuals do not have legitimate avenues to pursue these goals. Walters (2010) argues that hate crimes against minority groups could be due to socio-economic instability in the offender’s life. This instability is perceived to be caused by the incoming minority groups.…

    • 201 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Strain Theory of Nathan McCall
    • 2253 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Strain Theory of Nathan McCall

    To understand the development of Strain Theory which was developed by Robert King Merton, we first have to examine the history context from Emile Durkheim. The beginning of Anomie Theory evolves from the famous Sociologist name Emile Durkheim. The term anomie is the any social or rapid changes in society that threatens or weakens the collective consciences which disable people the inability to form the shared values, norms, and beliefs. Therefore, individuals are unable to regulate each other behavior which results in crime (Durkheim, 1897; quoted in Lanier & Henry, 2004:238). As a student who studies under Emile Durkheim, Robert Merton borrows the term Anomie and uses it in his own languages. Merton transforms Anomie into his own language by asserting that the social structures within society that is culturally defined goals may pressure individuals to commit crime through illegitimate mean when people is face with block opportunity for them to gain access to the American dreams (Merton, 1995; quoted in Lanier & Henry, 2004:240). Those who are able to achieve the American dreams is subject to owning a house, car, and providing comfort. Other person who is restricted to the opportunity becomes strain. Though, some people who experiences strain does not commit crime, others other who expose to strain adapt to strain by five modes of adaptation. These five modes of adaptation include conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and…

    • 2253 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    assess the role of access to opportunity structures in crime and deviance
    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages

    assess the role of access to opportunity structures in crime and deviance

    However, Merton’s strain theory can be criticised because it focuses on individual responses to limited access to opportunity structures or access to illegitimate opportunity structures and doesn’t recognise that there is a social pattern of crime and deviance affecting whole groups of people, linked to social class, age, gender, ethnicity and locality, and not all of these people are subjected to the same opportunity structures.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Jordan Brown Strain Theory
    • 2114 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Jordan Brown Strain Theory

    Juvenile crimes are the various offenses that children under the age of eight-teen commit. The acts involved in these crimes are called juvenile delinquency. The issue of juvenile delinquency has been a rising issue in the American society for decades. As we take a look into the factors behind this problem we will also look into what changes have been made to the juvenile justice system to combat this. Factors behind juvenile delinquency is said to be mental illness and substance abuse which are the main contributors. It is said to be that roughly thirty to ninety percent of detained and incarcerated juveniles have been found to have some sort of mental illness. In the past, there were times when these…

    • 2114 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Agnew's General Strain Theory
    • 1162 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Agnew's General Strain Theory

    Robert Agnew published the general strain theory of crime and delinquency in 1992 as an improvement upon previous strain theory arguments proposed by Merton (1938), A. Cohen (1955), and Cloward and Ohlin (1960). The general strain theory explains crime and delinquency at an individual level, with a particular focus in social-psychological factors in the individual’s life. Despite the individualized approach, general strain theory includes some discussions of implications on the macro-, or structural, level as well. The theorist expands on earlier iterations of strain theories by supplementing the possible sources of strain, further specifying the relationship between strain and delinquent actions, contributing to the understanding of adaptations…

    • 1162 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examine the Role of Access to Opportunity Structures in Causing Crime and Deviance
    • 1428 Words
    • 41 Pages

    Examine the Role of Access to Opportunity Structures in Causing Crime and Deviance

    Opportunity structures can be described as a factor, situation or pathway which can lead towards or away from deviant or criminal behaviour, for example if someone does not gain access to the legitimate opportunity structure of education to achieve goals they may look to other, illegitimate opportunities and which can lead to them committing crime or engaging in deviant behaviour. One theory that supports the role of access to opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance is, arguing that unequal access to legitimate opportunity structures is the cause of this behaviour is Merton’s Strain Theory. Merton’s ‘Strain theory and anomie’ argues that deviance arises from the structure of society. He has developed the functionalist theory of deviance to attempt to explain why deviance occurs in the first place. He argues that people engage in deviant behaviour because they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means. Most people share goals – for example, financial success, having their own home and possessing consumer goods – and most conform to the approved means of achieving them, like working in paid employment. However, in an unequal society, Merton argues that not all individuals have the same opportunity of realising these goals by approved means. This means they face a sense of strain and anomie (normlessness), as the dominant rules about how to achieve success don’t meet their needs, and therefore deviance results from unequal access to legitimate opportunities (such as education and careers which can be seen as opportunity structures). Merton argues that there are different ‘modes of adaptation’, or responses to situations, that range from conformity that most people to display, to one of four forms of deviance, which he calls Innovation, Ritualism, Retreatism and Rebellion. A non-deviant, non-criminal conformist citizen would take the conformity…

    • 1428 Words
    • 41 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Robert Agnew's General Strain Theory
    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Robert Agnew's General Strain Theory

    Strain theory is "a micro-level, process explanation of individuals criminal behavior based on notion of goal frustration" (Howell, 2015). The general strain theory of crime and delinquency was developed by Robert Agnew's in 1985 (Akers & Sellers, 2009). The theory has three explanatory factors which is first the strain that lead to negative emotion then to behavior, but what can impact a person response to a strain is the internal and external constraints. An internal constraint is the type of value structure, self control, or even the amount of emotion management (Howell, 2015). Where the external constraint is the amount of social support or bonding and there is the nature of peer association. Strain can come from three situations which are failure to achieve positively valued, removal of positively valued stimuli, and confrontation…

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Examine the role of access to opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance
    • 1579 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Examine the role of access to opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance

    Merton’s (1998) ‘Strain theory and anomie’ argues that deviance arises from the structure of society and that unequal access to legitimate opportunity structures is the cause of deviant behaviour. The main point that Merton’s theory outlines is the fact that people engage in deviant behaviour because they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means, and when most people share similar goals for example financial success in an unequal society not all individuals have the opportunity to achieve those goals through approved means, therefore they feel different, as the dominant rules on how to achieve success don’t meet their needs, and as a result deviance occurs. People may become frustrated and resort to criminal means of getting what they want, or lash out in anger, or find comfort for their failures in drug use. Merton’s explanation of crime and deviance combines two elements: Structural factors – society’s unequal opportunity structure and cultural factors – the strong emphasis on success goals and the weaker emphasis of using legitimate means to get them. For Merton, deviance is the result of a strain between two things: the goals that a culture encourages individuals to achieve and what the institutional structure of society allows them to achieve. Merton argues that there are different ‘modes of adaptation’, or responses to situations and access to opportunities that range from conformity – individuals accept the culturally approved goals and strive to achieve them individually, to one of four forms that could be seen as deviance;…

    • 1579 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    the 1950s can be seen as a period of great prosperity for the people of britain
    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages

    the 1950s can be seen as a period of great prosperity for the people of britain

    However, Merton another functionalist argued that many types of crime exist because society as a whole shares the same ‘American dream’ (i.e. to become rich and successful), but not everyone can achieve these things lawfully, so a strain exists between the goals and ambitions of people and their ability to achieve them. The problem with Merton’s strain theory is that there are many people in society who have not achieved the so called ‘American dream’ but haven’t turned to crime, so it can be argued that crime is committed collectively and maybe because of a lack of socialisation and upbringing.…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    General Strain Theory
    • 2128 Words
    • 9 Pages

    General Strain Theory

    There are many criminological theories to explain why crime and criminals work the way they work. Five theories are fit into a majority of today’s crime cases are Anomie theory by Emile Durkheim, General strain theory by Robert Agnew, Social Disorganization theory by Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay, Social Bonding theory by Travis Hirschi, and the Containment theory by Walter Reckless. Anomie is when there is a clear lack of social norms and values. This is common among teens who grew up in a dysfunctional, abusive family. General strain theory is used an individual is strained and unable to cope with the strain so they commit their time to doing crimes. Social Disorganization theory shows why certain neighborhoods experience more crime rates…

    • 2128 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Sociology Chapter 9
    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Sociology Chapter 9

    Merton’s Strain Theory
o Deviance depends on the extent to which society provides the means to achieve cultural goals…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Incarceration Theory
    • 1187 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Incarceration Theory

    The Social Strain Theory explains the causes of disparity among minorities that leads to higher rates of arrests and incarceration rates. “Robert Merton’s social stain theory holds that each society has a dominant set of values and goals along with acceptable means of achieving them” (Walker et al, pg 92). If success in life is measured by your social status, involving what you own, where you live and who you know then that is your personal goals for success. The ways to achieve this success are seen as hard work, education, self-control and as individual achievements (Walker et al, pg 92). If the American dream is not realized by a group of people because of societies inability to provide equal levels of educational and work opportunities to achieve success it results in what Merton’s calls social strain. Merton’s theory of social strain addresses the gap between what society views as success and a persons circumstances are for trying to achieve that success. (Walker et al, pg 92). Social strain helps to explain high rates of criminal activity among minorities because minorities are more likely to be denied legal opportunities to obtain the American dream by legal means. “The high levels of economic inequality experienced by minorities, together with continuing discrimination based on race and ethnicity, mean that minorities are far less likely to be able to achieve approved social goals through conventional means” (Walker et al, pg…

    • 1187 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Immigration And Crime Essay
    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Immigration And Crime Essay

    To begin with, Social structure theories enlighten on how social economic structures can influence economic opportunities in our society, which then could also lay an impact on criminal tendency to a person. According to (author), strain theory, developed by Merton, states that there are certain things or circumstances that could increase the likelihood of a person to commit a crime, these are known as strains or stressor. These strains or stressors create a negative impact to the person’s emotions such as frustration and anger. These types of emotions influence the corrective actions and behaviors of an individual, thus committing a crime is an unavoidable result. Moreover, material success, such as cars,…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Merton's Strain Theory
    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Merton's Strain Theory

    Merton (1938) believes that there is consensus within the society regarding the goals, and the structure of society has an impact on why people commit crime. As stated in item B, ‘Strain theories focus on the ways in which people may resort to crime or deviance when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means.’ This is proved by Merton as he argues that there are five types of subcultures and they have different tendencies towards strain. These are :- conformist, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. This theory explains why different people commit different types of crimes, for example; innovators have the same goals…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics