2. Merton’s Strain Theory

Question 1

1. Structural and Cultural Factors

Answer 1

• Durkheim: adapted Durkheim’s concept of anomie to explain deviance.
• Explanation combines two elements…
• Structural Factors: society’s unequal opportunity
• Cultural Factors: strong emphasis on success goals and the weaker emphasis on using legitimate means to achieve them.

Question 2

2. Strain Between

Answer 2

• Merton: deviance is result of strain between two things…
1. Goals that a culture encourages individuals to achieve
2. What society allows them to achieve legitimately.
• E.g. American culture values ‘money success’ (material wealth + status)

Question 3

3. American Dream

Answer 3

• Americans are expected to pursue this goal by legitimate means: self-discipline, educational qualifications and hard work
- Society is seen to be meritocratic (equal opportunities)

• Reality is different: disadvantaged groups are denied opportunities to achieve legitimately.
- Poverty, inadequate schools and discrimination in the job market blocks opportunities. (ethnic minorities and lower classes are disadvantaged)

• Strain between cultural goal of money success and lack of legitimate opportunities produces pressure to resort to illegitimate means such as crime and deviance (Merton: ‘the strain to anomie’)

• Merton: pressure to deviate is increased by the fact that American culture puts more emphasis on achieving success than upon doing so by legitimate means
- Winning the game becomes more important than playing by the rules

Question 4

4. Deviant Adaptations to Strain

Answer 4

• Merton: individuals social position affects the way they adapt to the strain to anomie.
• There are five different types of adaptation.

1. Conformity: Individuals accept culturally approved goals and strive to achieve them legitimately.
   - Most likely among MC who have opportunities to achieve.
2. Innovation: accept the goal of money success, but use illegitimate means such as theft to achieve it.
   - Lower classes under more pressure to innovate.
3. Ritualism: give up on trying to achieve the goals but have internalised the legitimate means and so they follow the rules for their own sake.
   - Typical of lower MC office workers.
4. Retreatism: reject both the goals and the legitimate means and become dropouts.
   - Merton includes ‘drug addicts’ and ‘tramps’
5. Rebellion: reject the society’s goals and means but replace them with new ones – desire to bring about revolutionary change
   - Rebels include political radicals and counter cultures (e.g. hippies)

Question 5

5. Evaluation

Answer 5

Strengths:

• Most crime is property crime (American society values material wealth)
• Lower-class crime rates are higher (least opportunity)

Weaknesses:

• Takes official stats at face value (stats over-represent WC crime, so Merton sees crime as a mainly WC phenomenon)
• Not all WC deviate
• Some do not share the goal of ‘money success’
• Only accounts for Utilitarian crime

Question 6

Summary

Answer 6

1. Structural and Cultural Factors
2. Strain Between
3. American Dream
4. Deviant Adaptations to Strain
5. Evaluation