anomie and strain theory

The concept of anomie was first introduced by Emile Durkheim in his book the division of labour 1893. During Durkheim's writing, this concept of anomie was mostly ignored in American criminology. It was not until 1950's when Robert K. Merton in his essay on "social structure and anomie" (merton,1938) brought the concept of anomie in sociology, having wide use and recognising by other sociologist not only then, but also in the presents time to explain and analyse the "moral panic" of youth crime which we are bombarded with; by the media, official statics and other official bodies. Writing then, Durkheim was highly influenced by his functionalist perspective. He claim that we should look at society as an organic system just like that of the human body (all the parts such as the brain, liver work conjunctionally. If the parts where in isolation the human body would not function properly. ), thus fulfilling a particular function which helps the whole society to work efficiently and effectively. He particularly disagree with the classical, biological and psychological explanations of crime offer by (Cesare Beccaria 1738) (Lombroso1876) and (Freud 1941) that crime is an individual issue. He argue that while obligations, values, attitude, and beliefs may appear to be individual, these social facts exist at the level of society as a whole i.e. society extract pressure on the

  • Word count: 2768
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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To what extent is Robert Merton's theory of 'anomie' helpful in understanding crime in contemporary society?

To what extent is Robert Merton's theory of 'anomie' helpful in understanding crime in contemporary society? It is rightfully argued that crime, whether or not in a contemporary society, is an extremely complex and multi-faceted Phenomena that has puzzled academics for many years. Theories that aim to rationalise the causes of crime and understand the origin of criminal behaviour are often criticised for being too biased or deterministic in their research studies. Many have been of great influence and seen to explain (to an extent) the cause of crime but none has fully decoded the mystery of why people commit crime. Merton's anomie theory aimed at explaining deviance from a sociological perspective as opposed to previous academic theories on crime and criminals. The first well known study of crime and criminals is that of one who is often referred to as the 'father of criminology', Cesar Lombroso. Lombroso's argument was based around the Darwinian theory of human evolution and his theory argued that criminals were a throw back to an earlier period of human progression. In other words, they were less evolved humans, with visible physical features such as large ears and big lips. His theory suggested that criminals were born and not made therefore, where genetically prone to criminality. Merton's argument was to the contrary. Rather than observing

  • Word count: 2247
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Anomie and Alienation.

Anomie and Alienation When looking at what alienation and anomie are, we can see that they are similar psychological states. Anomie is a concept that was used in both the studies of Emile Durkheim and Robert K. Merton. The concept of alienation was one used frequently by Karl Marx in his earlier works, and less obviously in his later works. While both concepts are fairly unique, they are all very much similar and related to one another as psychological and sociological states of mind. "The state of anomie is impossible wherever organs solidly linked to one another are in sufficient contact, and in sufficiently lengthy contact. Indeed, being adjacent to one another, they are easily alerted in every situation to the need for one another and consequently they experience a keen, continuous feeling of their mutual dependence. (Durkheim, The Division of Labor in Society, 304) Emile Durkheim theorized the concept of anomie in his studies, The Division of Labor in Society and Suicide. Durkheim defined the term anomie as a condition where social and/or moral norms are confused, unclear, or simply not present. Durkheim felt that this lack of norms led to deviant behavior. Durkheim argued that sudden changes in society make formerly satisfactory norms obsolete. Under the strain of rapid change, social rules fail to keep pace with attitudes and expectations. Inappropriate rules

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Anomie is dysfunctional and not a force for liberation.

Anomie is dysfunctional and not a force for liberation. What is society? Maybe all of us know it. But it is not easy to define this word. In practice, generally, it means a group of people who share a common culture, occupy a particular territorial area and feel themselves to constitute a unified and distinct entity. We all live in societies, sometimes it is the same society, sometimes not. But they are all interrelated and interact with each other. Society tries to make progress all the time, but industrial society tends to produce anomie because of the rapid social change. Anomie means the breakdown of norms in society. In my opinion, anomie is dysfunctional for society and not a force for liberation. Generally speaking, anomie occurs during periods of social upheaval or transition. According to Durkheim's theory, there are two kinds of solidarity: mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity. In pre-industrial societies (small-scale traditional societies) where relationships are personal and there is a limited division of labour. It is easy to get the collective conscience and normal regulations. However, in industrial societies, there is an extensive division of labour and the relationships are often highly impersonal. When in the transition from the mechanical solidarity to the organic solidarity, a breakdown in social consensus and social controls over the individual

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Outline and evaluate Merton’s theory of Anomie.

Outline and evaluate Merton's theory of Anomie ) Anomie is a state of normlessness first coined by Robert K Merton, an American functionalist sociologist borrowed Durkheim s concept of Anomie to form his own theory called Strain Theory Merton argued that the real problem is not created by a sudden social change as Durkheim proposed, but rather by a social structure that holds out the sane goals to all its members without giving them equal means of achieving them. It is the lack of combining between what the culture calls for and what the structure permits that causes deviant behaviour. Merton uses Durkheims notion of Anomie to describe the breakdown of the normative system. 2) Merton argues that the American dream, which suggests that success is achievable through hard work and discipline has a significant effect on whether or not some groups commit crime. However, ones position in the social structure can influence their chance of success and its situation that Merton argues results in anomie. An individual's response to anomie will also be influenced by their position in the social structure and Merton breaks down these responses into five categories namely conformists, innovators, retreatists, ritualists and rebels. 3) Conformists is the first response which is the most common. These are people who try to achieve societies goals in the approved ways. Innovators

  • Word count: 763
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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Anomie, Egoism, Suicide, and Fatalism

Anomie, Egoism, Suicide, and Fatalism In order to answer the question posed it is important to firstly define what is meant by the important terms, we can then analyse Durkheim´s views and the way that they have been used to explain the complex issues surrounding suicide. The Oxford Dictionary of Sociology defines anomie as 'An absence, breakdown, confusion or conflict in the norms of a society.´ Marshall B. Clinard stated that anomie is " A sense of confusion and (is when) people become disorientated from their world". Anomie is also one of the ways that Durkheim categorised the different types of suicide. Durkheim believed that social causes were the explanation for suicide and they could be examined and separated into four different categories, namely anomic, altruistic, egoistic and fatalistic, by their differences and similarities, Durkheim also states that of being morphological, his classification would be aetiological. (Durkheim, 1952 p147) Durkheim believed that anomic and egoistic are the commonest forms of suicide. Anomic suicide is when there is said to be insufficient rules, the individual often finds themselves in a new situation where they are unsure of the conditions and expectations and the rules which govern this new situation (Durkheim, 1952 p147) It is not only unfortunate circumstances which put an individual in this situation,

  • Word count: 1506
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Compare and contrast the concepts of Anomie and Alienation.

Compare and contrast the concepts of Anomie and Alienation. In order to answer the question posed, it is important to firstly define what is meant by the two important terms, I can then both compare and contrast Anomie and Alienation and discuss some of the complex issues surrounding both. Alienation is seen to be the separation from oneself, other individuals, society, or work. Some sociologists believe that alienation is inevitably produced not by the individual but by the shallowness and the lack of individuality of modern society. The concept of alienation has been held to account for behaviour patterns as diverse as motiveless violence and total immobility. Alienation is a state in which the creations of humanity appear to humans as alien objects. People create their own society but remain alienated until they recognise themselves within their own creation. Until this time people will assign an independent existence to objects, ideas and institutions and be controlled by them. In the process they lose themselves, become strangers in the world they created: they become alienated. The notion of alienation is an ancient one. St Augustine wrote that, because of its corrupt nature, humanity was alienated from God. However, he believed that a compromise could be gained through the belief in Christ. To Sigmund Freud, alienation was self-estrangement caused by the split

  • Word count: 1230
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Crime and Deviance

Critically analyse factors influencing the recording of crime statistics using at least 2 sociological theories. The following essay will look at the factors influencing the recording of crime statistics whilst giving an overview of sociological theories regarding crime and deviance. A century ago, most people who thought about the issue believed that some people were just biologically criminal (Giddens; 2006). Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso believed that criminal types could be identified by anatomical features. Psychological approaches to criminality have searched for explanations of deviance within the individual, not society. Both biological and psychological approaches to criminality presume that deviance is a sign of something 'wrong' with the individual, rather than with society (Giddens; 2006). Deviance may be defined as non-conformity to a given set of norms that are accepted by a significant number of people in a community or society. No society can be divided up between those who conform and those who deviate from social norms. (Giddens; 2006). Most of us on some occasions transgress generally accepted rules of behaviour. For example at some point in one's life one may have committed minor acts of theft, like shoplifting or taking small items from work such as pens, paper - for personal use, exceeded the national speed limit, made prank phone calls

  • Word count: 1686
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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The Sociology of Crime and Deviance

Access to Nursing and Healthcare Professions 2007 Sociology Assignment (3) Group (1) The Sociology of Crime and Deviance By: Stephen Davies For: Jane Simpson Contents Access to Nursing and Healthcare Professions 2007 1 Contents 2 Introduction 3 Theories of Crime and Deviance 4 Functionalist Theory of Crime 4 Merton's Theory of Anomie 6 Marxist Theory of Crime 8 Sub-Cultures 10 Cloward & Ohlim (Delinquency and Opportunity) 11 Social control 11 Labelling 12 Conclusion 13 References 14 Introduction This assignment contains information on the theories of crime from a sociological viewpoint. Theories in this assignment include Marxist, Functionalists, Merton's theory of anomie and so on. Crime has been in society since time began and as humans have evolved, so has crime and punishment. There are a number of reasons why criminality happens and this could be due to oppression from a capitalist system, family has a history of criminality or even to feed the family. Many years ago criminals, who were very poor targeted the rich, would often go into town or to a neighbourhood with rich homeowners. In modern day society criminals will usually target the house down the road of a working class man as they have exactly what the criminals want. Working class men in the 18th and 19th century were very different to the working class men of modern day society. It

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Compare and Contrast: Marx's theory of Alienation with Durkheims theory of Anomie

Compare and Contrast Marx's theory of Alienation with Durkheims theory of Anomie Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim are two of the founding fathers of sociology. They have both had a profound influence on the development of sociology. This essay will examine two of their theories - Marx's theory of alienation and Durkheims theory of anomie, and will look at the similarities and differences in their thinking. Marx (1818-1883) wrote the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts in 1844, and one of these manuscripts, entitled 'Estranged Labour', contains his discussion of alienation - the experience of isolation resulting from powerlessness. Marx's basic concern was with the structures of capitalism that cause this alienation. He offered a theory of alienation rooted in social structure. He wanted his theory to convey two central and dominant ideas. First, the idea that human beings make society, and at some point society is a natural extension of their nature and their being, and second, the idea that, as modern society develops, human beings begin to feels that society is not of their making, and no longer reflects their being or their nature, but instead appears to be alien. Marx believed that labouring was the primary means by which human beings realised themselves in nature and history. Alienation, according to Marx, breaks this fundamental connection humans have to the

  • Word count: 1407
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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