Intellectual Heritage

Question 1

Structural Functionalism

Answer 1

A framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to create stability

Question 2

Talcot Parsons

Answer 2

Saw society as the product of an equilibrium that served to produce order. When the pendulum swung too far to either side, society became disorganized

Question 3

Strains of Positivism Influencing Merton

Answer 3

+ Freudian psychology with its emphasis on internal conflicts
- Earnest Hooton’s approach regarding the supposed biological inferiority of criminals

Question 4

Link to Differential Association Theory

Answer 4

The two theories are often seen as complementary. Merton simply wanted to explain what was ‘missing’: how the patterns of criminal preferences and behaviours emerged in the first place