Chapter 10: Strain Theory Flashcards
What theoretical perspectives does strain theory fall in line with.
Consensus Theory!
What do consensus theorists assume?
a reasonable degree of agreement on things that matter in society.
What is Strain Theory?
The Proposition that people feel strain when they are exposed to cultural goals they are unable to reach because they do not have access to culturally approved means of achieving those goals.
social solidarity
social groups working together towards agreed-upon goals.
What did Durkheim argue was an essential characteristic of human societies?
Social Solidarity.
When does normlessness or anomie occur?
During periods of rapid change when social solidarity or social cohesion is reduced.
The lack of a sense of community and a collective conscience leads to a breakdown in society and increase in ______ and ______
Suicide and crime.
What approach to sociology did Emile Durkheim use?
Structural functionalism
Anomie
A sense of normlessness or hoplessness.
Social structures
The patterned and relatively stable arrangement of roles and statuses found within societies and social institutions.
Who said it: “Too much emphasis on the pursuit of self-interested goals and not enough on “legitimate means” to achieve those goals leaves society “Normless” or anomic. People then use illegitimate, or criminal, means to achieve their desires
Merton
An anomic society places a higher priority on ___________ values such as the acquisition of wealth, status, and power, and a low priority on _________ values such as fairness, equality, and justice.
Self-interested, collective
What is crime a symptom of according to Merton’s theory?
Culturally prescribed aspirations and the social structured means of realizing them.
what are culturally prescribed aspirations?
Goals held up for all members of society.
The gap between goals and the means of attaining those goals is _____ for certain portions of the society but _____ for others
small, large
The strain resulting from the gap between goals and means to achieve those goals may result in…..
some sort of innovation, usually deviant in nature.
Micro-anomie
where an individual places more value on self-interest than on collective values
Self-enhancing values
Values that emphasize social status, prestige, dominance over others, and personal success.
self-transcending values
Values that emphasize appreciation, tolerance, protection, and the welfare of others.
In societies in which there are many block opportunities, what will happen?
There will be pockets of instrumental crime, regardless of cultural values.
What does Merton’s theory provide us with?
Ideas about how to reduce the harm caused by privileged predators.
Merton’s 5 types of adaptation
- Conformity
- Ritualism
- Innovation
- Retreatism
- Rebellion
What is conformity
pursuing cultural goals through approved means.
What is Ritualism?
Ritualists accept the means but reject goals, so this person may work hard but doesn’t seek the “American dream”.
What is innovation?
using socially unapproved means to obtain culturally approved goals. (STRAIN)
What is Retreatism
To both reject the cultural goals and the means to obtain it.
What is Rebellion?
Reject cultural goals and means then work to replace them.
Opportunity structure
Opportunity is shaped by the society or an institution is organized or structured
Relative deprivation
Deprivation in relation to others around you, rather than judged against an absolute standard.
absolute deprivation
The inability to sustain oneself physically and materially.
People can participate in a given adaptation only if they have _____ to the means to do so.
access
Juveniles responses to social barriers for achieving goals could lead to 3 different types of gangs or subculture.
Criminal, conflict, and retreatist gangs.
subculture
A group of people who share a distinctive set of cultural beliefs and behaviours that differs in some significant way from that of the larger society.
Who asserted that simply being subjected to socially generated strain did not enable a person to deviate in any way he or she chose?
Cloward and Ohlin
What is human capital?
The talents and capabilities that individuals contribute to the process of production.
which two individuals argued that American culture emphasizes monetary success.
Messner and Rosenfeld
What did early strain theorists focus on?
Lower-class crimes.
