what is strain theory of deviance

Strain theory attempts to explain conflict or deviance via the four functions of deviance. Merton’s classic definition: “Strain theory has been defined as an approach to deviance which regards deviance as a product of the insufficient adaptation of the social system to the moral expectations of its members.” The Strain Theory

Overview

Full Answer

How does strain theory define and explain deviance?

• The theft of a loaf of bread by a hungry person
• Alcoholics
• Gang warfare among teenagers and young adults
• Embezzlement of $100,000 by a bank employee
• Manipulation of stock prices

How does "strain theory" explain "deviant" behavior?

Strain theory explains deviant behavior as an inevitable outcome of the distress individuals experience when they're deprived of ways to achieve culturally valued goals. This results in some individuals from the lower classes using unconventional or criminal means to obtain financial resources.

What is classic strain theory?

What is classic strain theory? Abstract. Classical strain theory predicts that deviance is more likely to occur if one’s culturally determined aspirations for monetary success and the opportunity to achieve that success are not congruent. What are the different strain theories? This section considers four theories that are commonly classified as “strain theories.” These theories ]

What is the definition of strain theory?

strain theory, in sociology, proposal that pressure derived from social factors, such as lack of income or lack of quality education, drives individuals to commit crime. The ideas underlying strain theorywere first advanced in the 1930s by American sociologist Robert K. Merton, whose work on the subject became especially influential in the 1950s.

What is strain theory?

What are the responses to strain?

How did Merton develop strain theory?

Why are people marginalized by racism and classism most likely to experience strain?

Is Merton's theory useful?

What is strain theory in simple terms?

Strain theories state that certain strains or stressors increase the likelihood of crime. These strains lead to negative emotions, such as frustration and anger. These emotions create pressure for corrective action, and crime is one possible response.

What is an example of the strain theory?

Examples of General Strain Theory are people who use illegal drugs to make themselves feel better, or a student assaulting his peers to end the harassment they caused.

What is the strain theory based on?

strain theory, in sociology, proposal that pressure derived from social factors, such as lack of income or lack of quality education, drives individuals to commit crime.

What does the strain theory argue?

Strain Theory argues that crime occurs when there aren't enough legitimate opportunities for people to achieve the normal success goals of a society. In such a situation there is a 'strain' between the goals and the means to achieve those goals, and some people turn to crime in order to achieve success.

How does strain theory explain youth crime?

Strain theory is based on the idea that delinquency results when individu- als are unable to achieve their goals through legitimate channels. In such cases, individuals may turn to illegitimate channels of goal achievement or strike out at the source of their frustration in anger.

Why is strain theory a good theory?

General strain theory (GST) provides a unique explanation of crime and delinquency. In contrast to control and learning theories, GST focuses explicitly on negative treatment by others and is the only major theory of crime and delinquency to highlight the role of negative emotions in the etiology of offending.

What are the 3 main sources of strain theory?

According to Robert Agnew' s General Strain Theory, strain is based on three different factors:failure to achieve a goal,the existence of harmful impulses,and the removal of positive impulses.

How does strain theory explain deviance quizlet?

Robert Merton's Strain Theory. : argues that deviance occurs when a society does not give all its members equal ability to achieve socially acceptable goals.

What is General Strain Theory and how useful is it for understanding why crime happens?

General Strain theory, according to Agnew (1992) “is distinguished by its focus on negative relationships with others and its insistence that such relationships lead to the delinquency through the negative affect – especially anger- they sometimes engender” (p. 49).

What is strain theory?

Strain theory explains deviant behavior as an inevitable outcome of the distress individuals experience when they're deprived of ways to achieve culturally valued goals. For example, Western society places value on economic success, even though wealth is accessible to just a small percentage of people. This results in some individuals ...

What are the responses to strain?

He referred to such deviance as "innovation" while identifying the other responses to strain as conformity, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion.

How did Merton develop strain theory?

Using inductive reasoning, Merton developed strain theory by examining crime statistics by class. He found that people from lower socioeconomic classes were more likely to commit crimes that involve acquisition (stealing in one form or another).

Why are people marginalized by racism and classism most likely to experience strain?

People marginalized by racism and classism are most likely to experience strain because they have the same goals as their fellow Americans but find their opportunities limited in a society rife with systemic inequalities.

Is Merton's theory useful?

In this regard, many find Merton's theory valuable and useful . Some sociologists, however, question his concept of "deviance," arguing that deviance is a social construct. Those who engage in illicit behavior to obtain economic success may simply be partaking in normal behaviors for individuals in their circumstances.

What is the strain theory of deviance?

Argues that crime is a result of people being socialised into expecting success but not achieving this success due to limited opportunities. Strain Theory argues that crime occurs when there aren’t enough legitimate opportunities for people to achieve the normal success goals of a society.

Who developed strain theory?

Strain Theory was first developed by Robert Merton in the 1940s to explain the rising crime rates experienced in the USA at that time. Strain theory has become popular with Contemporary sociologists. Merton argued that the cultural system of the USA was built on the ‘American Dream’ – a set of meritocratic principles which assured ...

What is Merton's theory?

Merton developed his theory from a well-established observation from official statistics – that a higher proportion of acquisitive crime is committed by those from unskilled manual backgrounds (or ‘lower social classes’).

Why was Merton's strain theory important?

Merton’s strain theory is an important contribution to the study of crime and deviance – in the 1940s it helped to explain why crime continued to exist in countries , such as America, which were experiencing increasing economic growth and wealth.

Does strain theory explain economic crime?

Thirdly, Strain theory only really explains economic crime, it doesn’t really explain violent crime. Marxists point out that lack of equality of opportunity is at the heart of the Capitalist system. (Elites make the system work for them, which disadvantages the lower classes).

What is Strain Theory?

Strain theory was proposed by Robert Merton, an American sociologist who is also well-known for his works on the functionalist theory. It is an aspect of functionalism, which in itself is a constructivist theory. Strain theory attempts to explain conflict or deviance via the four functions of deviance.

The Strain Theory Overview

Merton offered four definitions in his works on strain theory, which can be summarized as follows:

Why is Strain Theory Important?

It gives an insight into the source of crime. Strain theory suggests that when people cannot achieve their goals, they feel strained—this strain leads them to commit crimes to reduce that strain.

The Weak Strain Theory

The weak form of strain theory suggests that people who are blocked from legitimate means to achieve goals will simply accept their situation and not commit crimes.

Strong Strain Theory

Robert K. Merton (1957) outlined a strong strain theory. The theory proposes that an individual will exhibit criminal behavior if they suffer from blocked opportunities and cannot achieve legitimate goals through legitimate means.

The Strain Theory Expansion

In a 1972 article, Merton expanded on strain theory. He stated that the deviant act is an adaptation to certain kinds of strain. Our society places a great emphasis on success as we are often told that we will be more satisfied if we are rich, successful, and powerful.

Take Away

The strain theory is a framework for understanding how people react to the challenges and pressures of everyday life. With this knowledge, you can better understand why your customers behave in certain ways—responding or not responding as expected.

Who developed strain theory?

The ideas underlying strain theory were first advanced in the 1930s by American sociologist Robert K. Merton, whose work on the subject became especially influential in the 1950s.

What is the focus of strain theory?

Classic strain theories focused primarily on disadvantaged groups, wherein common aspirations (e.g., realizing the “American dream”) and the inability to achieve those goals was considered a driving factor behind crime.

What was the result of Agnew's work?

The result of Agnew’s work was general strain theory, which addressed weaknesses in earlier strain theories, including inadequate explanations for middle-class delinquency and inconsistencies between aspirations and expectations for fulfilling them.

Conformity

Conformist are those individuals, who believe in the norms of society. They obtain their goal by culturally approved means. For example, getting degree from college and getting a job in a reputable firm or organization which pays well.

Innovation

Innovators are those individuals who approve of society goals. However, reject the culturally accepted means to achieve them. Such people use the illegitimate means to achieve society goals. For example, if an individual cheats in exams to get a degree or sell drugs to achieve financial security will be called innovator.

Ritualism

The people who have given up on the society goals. However, using the culturally approved means to earn their livelihood.

Retreatism

Those people comes under the category of retreatism, who have given up on society goals and the socially accepted means to obtain them. Such people are the dropout of society, people who lives on streets and drifters.

Rebellion

Such people rejects the society goals and the approved way of achieving them. However, they choose the alternative values. They are like revolutionaries who create alternate society for themselves.

Who developed the strain theory?

Differential opportunity theory, developed by Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1960), tried to explain why the poor choose one or the other of Merton’s adaptations.

How is deviance learned?

One popular set of explanations, often called learning theories, emphasizes that deviance is learned from interacting with other people who believe it is OK to commit deviance and who often commit deviance themselves. Deviance, then, arises from normal socialization processes. The most influential such explanation is Edwin H. Sutherland’s (1947) differential association theory, which says that criminal behavior is learned by interacting with close friends and family members. These individuals teach us not only how to commit various crimes but also the values, motives, and rationalizations that we need to adopt in order to justify breaking the law. The earlier in our life that we associate with deviant individuals and the more often we do so, the more likely we become deviant ourselves. In this way, a normal social process, socialization, can lead normal people to commit deviance.

What does Émile Durkheim mean by deviance?

As noted earlier, Émile Durkheim said deviance is normal, but he did not stop there. In a surprising and still controversial twist, he also argued that deviance serves several important functions for society. First, Durkheim said, deviance clarifies social norms and increases conformity.

What is the function of deviance?

Sociologist Herbert Gans (1996) pointed to an additional function of deviance: deviance creates jobs for the segments of society—police, prison guards, criminology professors, and so forth—whose main focus is to deal with deviants in some manner.

How does deviance affect social change?

Deviance has several functions: (a) it clarifies norms and increases conformity, (b) it strengthens social bonds among the people reacting to the deviant, and (c) it can help lead to positive social change. Social ecology. Certain social and physical characteristics of urban neighborhoods contribute to high crime rates.

What is the sociological approach to crime?

An important sociological approach, begun in the late 1800s and early 1900s by sociologists at the University of Chicago, stresses that certain social and physical characteristics of urban neighborhoods raise the odds that people growing up and living in these neighborhoods will commit deviance and crime. This line of thought is now called the social ecology approach (Mears, Wang, Hay, & Bales, 2008). Many criminogenic (crime-causing) neighborhood characteristics have been identified, including high rates of poverty, population density, dilapidated housing, residential mobility, and single-parent households. All of these problems are thought to contribute to social disorganization, or weakened social bonds and social institutions, that make it difficult to socialize children properly and to monitor suspicious behavior (Mears, Wang, Hay, & Bales, 2008; Sampson, 2006).

Who wrote that delinquency stems from focal concerns, a taste for trouble, toughness, clever

Walter Miller wrote that delinquency stems from focal concerns, a taste for trouble, toughness, cleverness, and excitement. Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracuti argued that a subculture of violence in inner-city areas promotes a violent response to insults and other problems. Social control theory.

What is strain theory?

Strain theory explains deviant behavior as an inevitable outcome of the distress individuals experience when they're deprived of ways to achieve culturally valued goals. For example, Western society places value on economic success, even though wealth is accessible to just a small percentage of people. This results in some individuals ...

What are the responses to strain?

He referred to such deviance as "innovation" while identifying the other responses to strain as conformity, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion.

How did Merton develop strain theory?

Using inductive reasoning, Merton developed strain theory by examining crime statistics by class. He found that people from lower socioeconomic classes were more likely to commit crimes that involve acquisition (stealing in one form or another).

Why are people marginalized by racism and classism most likely to experience strain?

People marginalized by racism and classism are most likely to experience strain because they have the same goals as their fellow Americans but find their opportunities limited in a society rife with systemic inequalities.

Is Merton's theory useful?

In this regard, many find Merton's theory valuable and useful . Some sociologists, however, question his concept of "deviance," arguing that deviance is a social construct. Those who engage in illicit behavior to obtain economic success may simply be partaking in normal behaviors for individuals in their circumstances.

Strain Theory: The Basics

Five Adaptations to Strain

Explaining The Higher Rates of Offending Among Lower Social Classes

Criticisms of Strain Theory

The Continuing Relevance of Strain Theory

Sources

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