criminal Justice

Straintheory.ppt

Merton’s theory – key definitions

Monolithic society - a society where everyone has the same goals
Cultural structure – our GOALS – what are these in the U.S. culture? Does everyone share the same goals?
Social structure – the MEANS available to achieve the goals – access to good education, employment, hard work ethic
Anomie – a societal response when means of achieving goals are not available to everyone in a society – a “sick” society (Durkheim) – crime then is a normal response to abnormal conditions (STRUCTURES ARE NOT INTEGRATED or do not match)
Strain – An individual response to anomie – alienation, deprivation, hopelessness, individual choice is “constrained” by the social structure

Assumptions

We live in a monolithic society
Structure of society provides the means of achieving these goals (ours is a capitalist structure)
All have same goal of material success (agree?)
All subscribe to the cultural norm of achieving goals through hard work at an acceptable occupation (do you agree with this?)
All have access to means of achieving goals in a healthy society
Unhealthy society creates crime and deviance

Merton’s theory of strain

When there is a dysjunction between cultural structure and social structure (goals and means) and certain groups of people are blocked from the means to achieve these goals, a collective response to this condition is anomie; an individual response is strain
Strain results in adapting to an abnormal living environment
There are five different adaptations

Adaptations

Conformity + +
Innovation + - (criminal behavior, shoplifting, underprivileged deviance)
Ritualism - + (Amish)
Retreatism - - (alcoholic – homeless example)
Rebellion +/- +/-* (terrorists, commune-types, Charles Manson family, “street culture”)

Questions:

What policies would this theory advocate to reduce crime?
Could this theory explain white collar/corporate crime?
Does this theory explain why Martha Stewart engaged in criminal behavior?
What about Michael Vick?
Can this theory explain desistance (when a person stops engaging in criminal behavior)?
Can this theory explain crime trends over time?
Can this theory explain crimes of violence?

Policies based on Merton

Increase means of achieving goals
Redistribute the wealth (reduce poverty)
Programs that increase opportunities for legitimate employment, education (Johnson’s war on poverty)
Put constraints on cultural goals – revisit the American dream and pursuit of “things” – what is the role of the media in generating a culture which is unrealistic for many to achieve?
Japan as an example

Flaws of this theory

Doesn’t address why some individuals innovate and others rebel, etc. (Agnew’s theory comes in)
Doesn’t explain WHY means of achieving goals are not available to everyone! What facilitates this? (discrimination, felony disenfranchisement, industrial decline)
Research suggests a limited/inconsistent relationship between SES and self-reported crime and we would expect a strong relationship
Doesn’t explain why people with many “means” commit crime (like Martha Stewart)
Assumptions are not correct – not everyone shares goals, work ethic not shared by all (religion, laziness)

Flaws (continued)

Doesn’t address lack of equal access to illegitimate means of achieving goals (Cloward and Ohlin)
Downplays role of non-sociological factors
Downplays role of free will in choosing to commit crime
What role does opportunity play in crime production?
Deficient policies to reduce crime – don’t work

Agnew’s general strain theory

Assumes we all have some strain
Argues that we must focus on individual differences and quantitative dimensions of strain
Addresses “why do some respond to strain in one way and some in the other way?

Dimensions of strain and individual factors

Individual factors that affect response to strain include – IQ, social skills, social support, association with delinquent peers, personality traits (mental illness, temperament)

Agnew argues that . . .

Conditions are perceived to be unjust
Strain is high in magnitude
Low level of social control (formal or informal?)
Great pressures to cope by breaking the law (role of community, peers, sub-culture’s expectations)

Pulls together individual and social factors
Are there personality types that are more likely to negatively respond to strain? Why would this be important to know?

Cloward and Ohlin

Concept of “differential opportunity”
Argue that if a person can be denied access to legitimate means of achieving goals they can also be denied access to illegitimate means
If individuals want to “innovate” they might lack the skills, knowledge, personality, or opportunity to use illegitimate means
Learning structures and performance structures
This could explain the FORM innovation takes:

Access to illegitimate means to achieve goals

Women blocked from criminal organizations so don’t have access to these opportunities (why women commit non-violence?)
Women used to be blocked from work outside of the home so lacked opportunities in the workplace
For adolescents, their access to illegitimate means depends on the resources available to them, such as cars, money, intelligence

Reaction Formation theory - Cohen

A more specific “adaptation” as specified by Merton – explains how subcultures that support violence are developed
Precursor to “subculture of violence” theories
Argues that middle class promotes values such as hard work, deferring gratification, respecting property, non-violent methods, hope for the future, etc.
These are taught in school and promoted by the media
Lack of opportunities to achieve these goals and lack of success in middle-class schools by members of the lower classes leads to strain (middle class, majority teachers)
Strain produces a “reaction-formation” which is reversal of middle-class values (rejection of middle-class values)
Subcultures evolve that promote violence (such as gangs)
This is an adaptation of “rebellion” per Merton’s theory