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Deviant Behavior Theory

500 Words2 Pages

Sociologists came together and formulated strain theories to help explain the disparities many people face in society and the consequences it causes. Society is known to be an economic power source that has produced inequalities for many people striving to attain status. The imbalance of equality has placed a great deal of strain on those looking to acquire a piece of the “American Pie”. For most, these strains tend to be unattainable solely because resources are distributed to the eligible. Without a fair chance in society, they are faced with high-levels of pressure to survive in a place that discriminates against the less fortunate. As a result, deviant behaviors emerge as an instrument to acquire the needs and wants they desire in society. Therefore, the theory is used to …show more content…

It is more prevalent for adolescents who derives from a broken family structure. Being deprived from a strong education prevents them from acquiring careers that can help with sustaining a prolific lifestyle. Societies approach of limiting resources for poverty-stricken members encourages them to commit crime. Crime is practically their last option in attaining their needs, yet their consequences for breaking the law is more severe. The strains they are faced with promotes frustration, anger and depression, which all is demonstrated through their behavior. Although this may be true, most people being deprived do not use crime as an answer, yet they are faced with the same challenges. Individuals who may have successfully completed their education and graduated from high school are still at a disadvantage. Many are working long-hard hours for companies to compensate below-average wages that cannot fully support their lifestyle. All in all, society has the power to curb crime without implementing punishment by providing unlimited resources to all people regardless of race and social

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James Bulger Theory

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These levels include individual, family, community or country. The outcome is a cycle of inclusion or exclusion categorised by varying levels of access to capabilities, resources, goods and services, inability to actively participate in normal societal activities which are available to the majority of the populace and rights which eventually lead to inequalities (WHO| Social Exclusion & Multidimensional Analysis).Sociologists see very strong links between crime and social exclusion. The growing rate of crimes in the society may be a result of the fact that the number of people who do not feel regarded or included in the society in which they live is increasing daily. Socially excluded populations may not have the needed resources to make live easy for them, so they resort to fraudulent means of getting needed resources. The two families involved in this case (Venables and Thompson) were socially excluded.

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Analysis Of The General Strain Theory

961 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1960s, the General Strain theory was the go to theory to describe deviance. Although it was fought against by many researchers it still came out on top. The theory “is written at the social-psychological level… [and] focuses on the individual and his or her immediate environment” (Agnew, 1992, p.48). The theory mainly focuses on the strains that cause the deviant behavior to be committed.

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Examples Of The Medicalization Of Deviance

370 Words | 2 Pages

Module 6: •Define deviance and its relationship to the social context -deviance is a violation of a social norm but not necessarily a violation of our values; people do tend to be put off by deviant behavior, even if it’s relatively harmless; whether or not something is perceived to be deviant depends on the social context in which it occurs •Understand the differences between how conflict theory and functionalism explain deviance -functionalism of deviance -> to affirm cultural values and norms, to clarify moral boundaries, to bring people together, and to encourage social change -according to conflict theory, the most powerful group in society has the power to define what is considered normal and what is considered deviant; each culture has a fair amount of discretion over how it defines what is normal and what is not, however, not all members of a given culture have equal freedom to contribute to such understanding

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Leading Merton Deviance

485 Words | 2 Pages

In the 1940s, Robert Merton proposed a biological explanations of deviance with the conclusion that biology cannot account for similarities from one society to the next in the new era and range of deviance (Author Unknown, p 1). His primary focus was on why the rates of deviance differ so dramatically in different societies and for different subgroups within a single society which reflected back on the roles of the culture, particularly its unifying aspects; giving an explanation for the distribution of deviant behavior across groups defined by class, race, ethnicity, and the alike (Author Unknown, p 1). Leading Merton to borrow a concept from Durkheim to analyze situations in which culture creates deviance and conflict to a situation in which cultural norms break down because of rapid change leading people unable to adapt (Author Unknown, p 1). Merton define his concept to concentrate on a situation’s disparity between the culture's norms on what constitutes success in life (goals) and the culture's norms on the appropriate ways to achieve those

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Robert Merton's Strain Theory

1163 Words | 5 Pages

According to the Robert Merton’s strain theory, when people in power pass laws that do not represent the common interests of the local residents, and which inhibit them from legitimately achieving their financial goals, the local residents start to experience stress and strain (Vold et al., 2002). The strain theory indicates that the social structure fails to provide the legitimate means to achieve what the local culture values (i.e., financial success) and that negative feelings (e.g., stress, frustration, anxiety, depression, and anger) are created because the poor perceive that their financial opportunities are being oppressed by the government (Vold et al., 2002). In short, the residents who have little power perceive society as unjust. The Declaration of Independence encourages residents to pursue happiness and the U.S. Constitution promotes economic freedom (Hames, & Ekern, 2005). Although American culture defines financial success as the country’s most important goal, the poor are not always given the opportunities to pursue happiness (DuBois & Berg, 2002).

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Social Disorganization Theory Of Deviance

188 Words | 1 Pages

The researchers (Hart and Waller, 2013) of this study endeavors to answer two questions related to concerns about the methodology and approach used to understand deviance found in neighborhood crime and delinquency rates. The first has to do with how a neighborhood should be represented in terms of an administratively defined geographic unit. The second question addresses how and if the perceived characteristics of a neighborhood structure apply to social disorganization as opposed to better established indicators for these theories. The researchers discuss the concepts of neighborhood, neighborhood crime, and social disorganization theory in depth.

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Deviant Behaviour Theory

266 Words | 2 Pages

Judith Van Evra (1990) states that the social learning theory youth have higher chance to model deviant behaviour when they are similar or are attracted to a character, by identifying with the character the behaviour becomes realistic and viewed as a social agent to allow deviant behaviour (Anderson, 2013). Another, important factor is the vicarious reinforcement of the deviant behaviour, for example, if youth see that the bad behaviour is rewarded and is constantly shown multiple time on television they feel more conformable to engage it in themselves or ignore it in others when they display the behaviour (Anderson, 2013, Van Evra, 1990). For instance, youth smoking and drinking if a parent on a television accepts this type of behaviour a

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Deviant Or Criminal Behavior Analysis

276 Words | 2 Pages

I do agree that the residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely than residents of economically stable neighborhoods to engage in deviant or criminal behavior because there are factors that cannot help an individual, but to act against a law. For example, children from the disadvantaged neighborhoods have limited resources and supports from their surrounding to keep improving academically and would engage to something they are familiar too, an act of deviant or criminal behaviors. Whereas, the economically stable neighborhoods have resources that can help their children get education and away from the street. The self-reported surveys can provide a specific reason for a criminal or deviant person behaviors and not just the class

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Undereducated Children And Crime Essay

215 Words | 1 Pages

• Criminology data regarding undereducated children and juvenile crime show a strong connection. This data shows that teenagers who perform poorly in academics, are absent frequently, face expulsion or are likely to drop out of school, have an increased likelihood of committing crime. If teenagers leave school early, they are unable to develop essential social skills such as being able to deal with their peers, being on time for deadlines and following instructions. Without this proper education, teenagers will realise that they are at a disadvantage. This feeling of hopelessness together with the media emphasis on low employment, make an environment suitable for juvenile crime.

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Research Paper On Deviance

491 Words | 2 Pages

Deviance is defined as behavior, ideas, or attributes of an individual or group that some people in society find offensive. A behavior of mine that can be seen as deviant is my constant worrying over my physical appearance. It’s very common for one to feel insecure but when does the constant worrying over one’s physical appearance classify as deviant behavior? Personally, I feel like in order for insecurity to classify as a deviant behavior in need of treatment, it would have to affect a person’s life in such a great amount that they would no longer be able to function correctly and perform their everyday tasks because of it.

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The Rich Get Richer And Poor Get Prison Essay

1078 Words | 5 Pages

Many of the low and middle class people would do a crime to fulfill their temporary needs. Which is somehow justifiable I think. For example a homeless person would tend to commit a crime such as steal food or break or entry to find shelter. But after that he is being put in jail. And the higher class society is very well aware with

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Deviance Is A Learned Behavior

423 Words | 2 Pages

This theory explains that deviance is a learned behavior that results from continuous exposure to others who violate the norms and laws. It states that people commit crimes and deviant acts because they associate with other deviants. It is evident in the famous Albert Bandura “Bobo doll experiment”, that just the mere exposure to others is what teaches us what is acceptable behavior. The family home life is the foundation in which children learn attitudes and behaviors that influence their outcomes (Merrin, Hong, & Espelage, 2015).

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2386 Words | 10 Pages

Poverty stems from the effects of family income which leads to issues such as lack of education, employment, and necessities (Chase-Lansdale, 1995). Issues like these can result in individuals committing crimes as they are unable to have a secure education or earn a wage that they are comfortable to living on or providing for their families. This implies that in desperate need individuals can turn to crime for help. (Guardian,2021). Crimes involve minor to serious crimes.

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1060 Words | 5 Pages

Background of present Study Criminal activities exist in almost all the regions of the United States of America. These realities have led to the government as well as local governments to develop strategies of reducing crimes within the country. There are number of factors that lead to poverty within a given society.

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Essay On Poverty And Crime

832 Words | 4 Pages

Poverty’s effects on crime can be explained through a variety of reasons. There is a higher rate of mental illness among the poor than the rich. Poverty can lead to high levels of stress, which in turn drive individuals to commit theft, robbery or other violent acts. Moreover, poverty may lead to actual or perceived inferior education. Youth with less access to quality schools, jobs, and role models and opportunities end up spending time on the streets associating with gangs.

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