Overview

Question 1

Strain theory

Answer 1

Strain theories argue that people engage in deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate (legal) means. E.g. they may become frustrated & resort to criminal means of getting what they want, or lash out at others in anger, or find comfort for their failure in drug use.

The first strain theory was developed by the functionalist Robert K. Merton (1938), who adapted Durkheim’s functionalist concept of anomie to explain deviance. Merton’s explanation was focused on the American Great Depression of the 1930s & is therefore a useful additional theory to Durkheim’s as it illustrates in a particular context how structural change can increase crime & devianc

Question 2

Strain result of

Answer 2

♦ The goals that a culture encourages individuals to achieve. Being brought up with the ‘American Dream’ meant that people expected wealth & status if they worked hard, & were seen as failures if they did not strive for success.

♦ The institutional means which the structure of society allows them to achieve legitimately though being educated & investing in a business, etc.

Question 3

Merton

Answer 3

did not agree with other functionalists that all aspects of society were always beneficial: aspects of society could become dysfunctional & needed to be changed to get society running smoothly again. For Merton, crime & deviance were evidence of a poor fit (or a strain) between the socially accepted goals of society & the socially approved means of obtaining those desired goals. The resulting strain led to deviance & criminal behaviour.