Nmerton's strain theory book

Human problems of an industrial civilization, i53, new york, i933. Mayo deals with the process through which wealth comes to be a symbol of social achievement. Violence in these circumstances may be a way to cope. Robert k mertons strain theory explained sociology. Robert agnew developed general strain theory believing mertons theory was too vague. Robert mertons strain theory stems from a fundamental question that he posed on why the rates of deviance were so different among different societies. Merton has 32 books on goodreads with 7647 ratings. Cohen 1955, richard cloward and lloyd ohlin 1960, neil smelser 1963, robert agnew 1992, and steven messner and richard rosenfeld 1994. In this article, merton set forth a theoretical framework for. Robert agnew argued that strain theory could still be a key theory within crime and deviance but it had to loosen its ties to social class and refocus on norms. Robert king merton was a distinguished american sociologist perhaps best known for having coined the phrase selffulfilling prophecy, the explanation for how a belief or an expectation, correct or incorrect, affects the outcome of a situation or the way a person or a group will behave. Mertons strain theory is an important contribution to the study of crime and deviance in the 1940s it helped to explain why crime continued to exist in countries, such as america, which were experiencing increasing economic growth and wealth. But merton is still ahead of his time relative to todays academic sociologists, who construe sociology as social psychology. Buy social theory and social structure 1968 enlarged ed by robert k.

Merton studied under talcott parsons at harvard, and was chairman of the department of sociology at columbia. Merton s most popular book is social theory and social structure. Strain theory, in sociology, proposal that pressure derived from social factors, such as lack of income or lack of quality education, drives individuals to commit. Actually the problem is not that of the sickness of an acquisitive society. In sociology and criminology, strain theory states that social structures within society may. In this social theory and social structure originally published in 1949.

Following on the work of emile durkheim, strain theories have been advanced by robert king merton 1957, albert k. After dominating deviance research in the 196os, strain theory came under heavy attack in the. Strain theory how social values produce deviance social. Strain theory states that social structures within society may pressure citizens to commit crimes. His latent and manifest consequence is still used by sociologists. This book is a collection of his best theories and insights over structuralfunctionalist paradigm. While mertons theory was based on 20 th century america, it is transferable to any contemporary, western, developed capitalist society. An overview of general strain theory 9780195330755. He thought that there could be deviance where there is a difference between what defines success and the proper means to achieve said goals. Social theory and social structure merton, robert k. This paper presents a general strain theory of crime and delinquency that is capable of overcoming the criticisms of previous strain theories. It argues individuals may commit crime due to emotion and not financial gain. Furthermore, merton did not explain why only some individuals reacted with criminal behavior when confronted with strain agnew, 1992.