Anomie and Social Strain Theory PDF

CRIM 104 Lecture 4 Anomie and Social Strain Theory - Emile Durkheim - Greatest influence on **strain theory**, founder of sociology - Consensus theorist - Believes we have social order because people agree what is right/ wrong and follow those rules - Believes suicide is...

CRIM 104 Lecture 4 Anomie and Social Strain Theory - Emile Durkheim - Greatest influence on **strain theory**, founder of sociology - Consensus theorist - Believes we have social order because people agree what is right/ wrong and follow those rules - Believes suicide is a psychological issue - Argued mental health might play a role, but community, etc. can help - Reason for lower suicide rates in Catholic Church, rather than Protestant - Definition of **"Anomie"** - Lawlessness and normlessness; unregulated choice; collapse of social solidarity - Durkheim writing during period of heavy industrialization and urbanization - The shift to industrialization, etc. makes people become more self-reliant, zero connectivity to neighbours, etc. that lead to greater crime rates - Society was becoming more "complex" - Mechanical Solidarity - Rural, non-modern settings - Agriculture, small town, etc. - Non-specified occupations - People behave/ think similarly - Labour division along gender lines - Relationships held together by kinship + friendship - Organic Solidarity - Urban, modern settings - Factory setting, etc. - Very specific occupations - People have diverse values + beliefs - Gender lines less visible in labour - Relationships held together by contractual obligations - Robert K. Merton (Uncle "Bob") - Agreed with Durkheim - As society changes and modernizes, shift in the way people are, can have a negative effect on society - First person to introduce strain theory - Economic + Financial Strain - Striking a Blow for Sociology - Despite his humble beginnings, Merton went on to study sociology at Temple and Harvard University - Published "Social Structure and Anomie" in the *American Sociology Review* in 1938 - Anomie and Deviant Behaviour - Used term "anomie" quite extensively - Said that anomie takes hold on societies that place strong emphasis on economic success - Claimed that anomie + deviance were mutually reinforcing - Claimed this is problem for capitalist societies - The Roaring Twenties - Prosperous time in society, people started being able to acquire wealth - Economic center of society growing - Stock market started rising, people had enough money to invest - Buy Low, Sell High - Late 20s - Stock market collapsed, collapse of financial centers - Black Tuesday - Started trying to regain any money they lose - "Black Tuesday": day after stock collapse, people taking their lives, etc. - The Dirty Thirties - Security, stability all of a sudden gone - People in lines trying to get jobs - Even once wealthy people trying to do anything to afford basic necessities - The Intellectual Context - Talcott Parsons - Famous structural functionalist in the 1930s - Idea that society is like an organism - Chicago School, although Merton would not be considered a member - Sutherland's theory of differential association - **Merton was trying to provide structural explanation for how deviant values arose** - Claimed it came from environment - Structural- Functionalism - Durkheim, Parsons, Merton = All Functionalists - Applied ideas from biology to society - Compares society to an organism - Each part has a different function - If they fail, will begin to see rise in social disorder - Structural functionalists will also argue that crime plays a role in society along with government, etc. - Crime sets boundaries, tells residents what is good/ bad, and enables society to come together when someone commits crimes - Robert Merton---Strain Theory - Saw American society as "criminogenic" - People who have money are seen as powerful, etc. - People lacking wealth seen as submissive, no power, etc. - Said that America society placed enormous emphasis on attaining the "The American Dream" - Claimed people lack access to certain resources even though they may work harder than wealthy people, so American Dream is all about luck - Pursuing a goal that could not be attained through legitimate means caused "cultural strain" - Modes of Adaptation - **Conformity** - Accepts cultural goals - Accepts institutionalized means - **Innovation** - Accepts cultural goals - Rejects institutionalized means - **Ritualism** - Rejects cultural goals - Accepts institutionalized means - **Retreatism** - Rejects cultural goals - Rejects institutionalized means - **Rebellion** - Rejects cultural goals, substitute their definition in its place - Rejects institutionalized means, substitute their definition in its place - Conformity - Individual accepts cultural goals and institutionalized means for achieving them - Type of individual who is least likely to become a criminal or engage in deviant behaviour - Invested far too much time in education, etc. to risk that - Innovation - Individual accepts cultural goals but rejects institutionalized means - Lower class people may be tempted here, but other classes aren't immune - **Most likely to become criminals** - Want wealth, but are not putting in required hours to obtain from legitimate means - Ritualism - Reject cultural goals, yet accept institutionalized (legitimate) means - They like where they are, and maintain it - Means (or going through the motions) become end unto themselves - Unlikely to become criminals, they're mainly concerned with keeping their position - Like the security/ stability of where they are - Retreatism - Reject cultural goals (or believe they are unattainable), and reject institutionalized means - "Double Failures" - Drop out of society, rejecting its norms and values - Likely to become deviant - E.g., drug addict, or alcoholic, who retreats into world of drugs or alcohol - Rebellion - Reject cultural goals and institutionalized means for achieving them - Pro- Social Rebels: Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King - Anti-Social Rebels: Osama Bin Laden, Hitler - Likely to be regarded as deviant, possibly criminal - Usually viewed differently from other criminals, because they sometimes commit acts for the greater good, rather than personal gain - Classification of Strain Theory - Doesn't predict individual behaviour, focus is on groups of people - Social structural, macro theory - Also consensus and functionalist - Criticisms of Anomie/ Strain Theory - If blocked opportunities are the cause of crime, then why aren't more women criminals? - Too specific to American society and the so-called "American Dream" - Very specific to capitalist societies where finances are the epitome of success - Partially addressed by Robert Agnew's **general strain theory** - Who Merton Influenced - Albert Cohen (1955); *Delinquent Boys* - Cloward and Ohlin (1960); *Delinquency and Opportunity* - There were numerous sociological + criminological theorists who began working with strain theory - Cohen + Cloward & Ohlin were the most important from this era - Later Proponents of Strain Theory - Blau and Blau (1982)- **relative deprivation theory** - Relative Deprivation Theory - Extreme wealth and poverty concentrated in the same area will produce more crime - Increased crime is result of frustration + despair - See what you want but cannot achieve/ have - **Strain Theory in a Nutshell** - **Groups with the greatest access to legitimate means are the most likely to be conforming, whereas the groups with the least access to legitimate means are most likely to be deviant/ non-conforming** - Practical Ramifications - Served as a logical basis for government work programs (starting in the Depression Era to the 1960s) - Focus on increasing educational opportunities for the disadvantaged - E.g. HeadStart - Strain theory also served as a basis for delinquency prevention programs