mertons functionalist view

Question 1

merton believed in the

Answer 1

american dream - materialistic or perfect lifestyle that is the goal of the average american

Question 2

anomie

Answer 2

different between expectation and reality
- wanting something that might be unrealistically achievable
- difference can cause friction which then leads to crime and deviation from societal means to achieve desires

Question 3

media influence causes societal pressure

Answer 3

• seeing other people with materialistic things makes you desire the same thing
• societal pressures and expectations can cause stress and may persuade people to take illegal routes to achieve the things they want but can’t achieve normally

Question 4

strain theory

Answer 4

social structure pressure citizens to commit crime to achieve the things they desire
- individual strain - pressure on yourself
- societal strain - societal pressure

Question 5

conformists

Answer 5

accepting the goals and legitimate means on how to reach them
- doctors are an example

Question 6

innovators

Answer 6

accepting the goals but not the legitimate means on how to reach them
- mafia - reaching goals using crime

Question 7

ritualists

Answer 7

rejection of goals but accepting how to get there
- teachers know they won’t get the materialists things but still continue legitimate means to reach them

Question 8

retreatists

Answer 8

reject everything
- social outcasts
- homeless people

Question 9

rebellion

Answer 9

wanting to overthrow the government and introduce new goals and norms

Question 10

why do people turn to deviance

Answer 10

in the pursuit of widely accepted social values and goals

Question 11

criminogenic triangle

Answer 11

relative deprivation
marginalisation
subcultures

Question 12

relative deprivations

Answer 12

when people feel deprived in relation to others
- seeing someone with something you want but don’t have

Question 13

marginalisation

Answer 13

economic, social and political
- people lacking resources to participate in society
- groups separated from normal society and feeling cut off

Question 14

subcultures

Answer 14

deviance is often a collective response to relative deprivation and marginalisation
- group of individuals who create their own norms bc they feel marginalised
- social norms are only accepted into a small group - not the norms of the conscious collective