Merton (Sociological/Strain) Flashcards
What does Merton believe the root of crime is?
Crime roots from blocked opportunities to achieve society’s goals, legitimately, which causes individuals to use criminal means.
What does Merton focus on for his theory?
The USA, and how American society values money success (The American Dream).
What class tend to get these blocked opportunities, and why?
Working class, because of their poverty and inadequate schooling. It creates a strain between the goal.
What is crime a product of?
A dysfunctional society. If there is an inability for some to achieve the American Dream, it leads to anomie (loss of shared norms).
The 5 adaptations:
- Conformity
- Innovation
- Ritualism
- Retreatism
- Rebellion
Conformity:
Aka conformists. They accept material success legitimately, and are non criminal because they have the means to be able to achieve the goals legitimately.
Innovation:
They accept material success is the goal, however create unconventional/possibly criminal ways to gain this. Tend to be working class or white collar.
Ritualism:
They give up on achieving the goal. Work in dead end jobs (food service), and are not likely to be criminal.
Retreatism:
They reject the goals of material success and commit moral crimes (drugs). They are the ‘dropouts’ of a conventional society, such as drug addicts.
Rebellion:
They reject the goals and the means to achieve them. Tend to be political radicals, hippes, part of an alternative culture.
Strengths.
- Merton shows how both normal and deviant behaviour arise from the same goal.
- He explains patterns shown in stats (property crime tends to be the highest crime because society values wealth, and the people who commit these crimes tend to be from working class backgrounds as they don’t have the material to gain legitimate opportunities).
Weaknesses.
- He ignores crimes of the wealthy.
- Over-predicts working class crime
- Sees deviance only as an individual response, and ignores group deviance.
