ipl-logo

Robert Agnew General Strain Theory

1237 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Chapter 7 quizlet strain theory

RUNNING HEADER: GENERAL STRAIN THEORY

How General Strain Theory Connects with Crime and Race

Jailyn Brown and Haile Contaste
Criminal Justice 101
Professor Medhin
April 21,2017
RUNNING HEADER: GENERAL STRAIN THEORY
Robert Agnew is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Sociology at Emory University and past-president of the American Society of Criminology where he founded General Strain Theory. General Strain Theory is considered to be a solid theory, and has accumulated a significant amount of empirical evidence, and has also expanded its primary scope by offering explanations of phenomena outside of criminal behavior. It provides a broader range of negative emotions, and introduced the concept of conditioning factors and coping …show more content…

Subjective stains are connected to emotional response when a person dislikes something or someone that acts as a strain, while objectives strains are described as a group of people that dislike something such as children in a divorce. In examining juvenile delinquency and its connection to general strain theory (GTS), there are three groups of stressors or strains that is believed to increase criminal activity(Peck). The first group is not being able to achieve goals, the second groups is positive stimuli removed, and the third groups is negative stimuli being present. Among juveniles it is believed strains such as child abuse or rejection, divorce, low or negative environment, poor schooling, discrimination etc., may cause more crime than others(Peck). Understanding a more define connection between general strain theory and juvenile delinquency is the breakdown among racial factors and strains that may affect one group more than the other. Minorities such as blacks and Hispanics are more like to be charged with more serious crimes than whites(Peck). The reason being is because minorities may have more stains such as poverty, discrimination, and criminal victimization. These strains can leave a damper on the growth of one group of people when there is various amount of strains to keep a group from progressing. Often as a young minority, juveniles are taught by their environment or parents on how to survive in America. Which is not always positive and due to stereotypes set by society, it can become easier for a minority to be mistaken as a criminal and soon follow in the footsteps of a

Show More
Related
961 Words | 4 Pages

While a few theories are not as regular, others have developed and are utilized as a part of numerous criminal reviews today. Cutting edge criminologists consolidate the most important aspects of sociology, psychology, anthropology, and biological theories to advance their comprehension of criminal behavior. Rational choice theory, psychological, biological, and strain theory are used to analyze the

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

In the movie Scarface we view go in depth about some life events of Cuban refugee Tony Montana when he enters the United States and receives his green card. We also see what leads him to his criminal activities of becoming a national drug lord. In this film there are a number of different theories that can be applied. I will be using Cornish and Clarkes Rational Choice Theory, along with Robert Agnew’s Strain theory in order to analyze Tony’s reasoning behind committing these crimes. I will be using examples from the film Scarface in order to draw and link these theories with the film.

Read More
400 Words | 2 Pages

The strain theory implies that crime may occur because of the stress or frustration placed on people when

Read More
1440 Words | 6 Pages

Agnew’s General Strain Theory in There Are No Children Here Introduction Throughout this semester, we have covered various criminological theories along with their strengths and limitations. These theoretical perspectives provide possible explanations to why individuals commit crimes. In addition to, these theories are indirectly woven within cultural objects such as song lyrics, movies, books, and television.

Read More
1445 Words | 6 Pages

The culture of the United States was established on the American Dream regardless of race, religion, gender, or class. However, the American Dream was not attainable by everyone, so this imbalance created a strain between people’s means and goals. Merton’s strain theory was also prevalent in the documentary, 13th. The theory says that society puts pressure on people to achieve socially accepted goals, even though they lack the institutionalized means, which leads to strain, which may lead people to act out and commit crimes to meet these unattainable goals. People of color, specifically African Americans, don't have the same means that others do in this country.

Read More
1048 Words | 5 Pages

a. Use Strain Theory to define and explain the following: i. The theft of a loaf of bread by a hungry person Using strain theory, the theft of a loaf of bread by a hungry person can be explained as a situation where an individual employs different means of success of getting fed, one that is against the agreeable ways in the society of getting money and feeding themselves. ii. Alcoholics Using strain theory, an alcohol has ultimately rejected the society’s goals of conforming to the societal values such as happiness and a stable job, such an individual essentially rejects the goals because they have been ultimately been unable to live up to the society’s standards. iii.

Read More
929 Words | 4 Pages

His areas of study are Juvenile delinquency, Youth violence and Criminological theory. The main argument of the source is that General strain theory provides and explanation of crime and delinquency and that it is the latest and broadest form of strain theory. General Strain Theory represents a revision and extension of prior strain theories. “General strain theory is distinguished from other criminological theories by the central role it assigns to negative emotions in the etiology of offending. It is also distinguished by the emphasis it places on particular strains, especially strains involving negative social relations “ (Brezina, 2018).

Read More
1894 Words | 8 Pages

We were told that this theory is too broad because it explains everything and yet explains nothing. The question of which came first the chicken, or the egg conception is the same of learning is too simplistic. Do we truly learn from those who are closest to us who else can we learn from? We should ask the all-time question, “Why don’t we commit crime?” not why do we.

Read More
822 Words | 4 Pages

There are many theories that suggest that crime is constructed socially, or is a product of the society in which the crime is committed. One such theory, proposed by Robert Merton, is known as strain theory. While strain theory is a useful model for explaining how societal values can drive people to commit crimes, it has several flaws and does not focus on how laws are made and how this contributes to the formation of crime. While Merton suggests that laws are created from consensus within a society, it will be argued that strain theory can also support the idea that laws are a “product of conflict” (Hagan 5). Strain theory is founded on the idea that the goals of a society and the accepted means of achieving said goal causes strain that can

Read More
2124 Words | 9 Pages

In 1985 Robert Agnew a sociologist come to an interest of studying the theory and finds a potential for the theory in explaining several causes of crime in society, but due to its limitation he developed and reformulated the theory to widen its dimension or scope. After revising the theory he come up into General strain theory of crime and builds its foundation in 1992. General strain theory argues that frustrations and anger leads someone to deviance and may result into committing a crime (Agnew, 1992). GST defines strains as negative life events and conditions which are commonly disliked by the people who experience it or negative experiences of a person in a given group (Agnew, 1992; 2001; 2006). Strain is often classified in two distinct types, the Objective Strain and the Subjective Strain.

Read More
1863 Words | 8 Pages

The core idea of general strain theory is that people who experience strain or stress become distressed or upset which may lead them to commit crime in order to cope. One of the key principles of this theory is emotion as the motivator for crime. The theory was developed to conceptualize the full range of sources in society where strain possible comes from. The strain theory also focuses on the perspective of goals for status, expectations and class rather than focusing on money. A clear example of General strain theory is the people who use illegal drugs to make themselves feel better and that will lead the people to commit

Read More
1840 Words | 8 Pages

Albert Francis Charles Augustus Emmanuel Cohen presented the theory of gang constitution that used Merton’s strain theory as a basis for why individuals resort to such group behavior. There are five adaptions to strain and of the five Sanyika was proximately cognate to the adaptation of revolt, which is the most complex of the five adaptations. Strain is considered the primary source for the development of criminals. According to Cohen, delinquent youths begin to value destruction of property and skipping school, not because these behaviors lead to a payoff or success in the conventional world, but simply because they defy the conventional norms and laws as good, thereby psychologically and physically rejecting the cultural system that has been imposed on them without preparation and fair distribution of resources. (Tibbets, p. 116)

Read More
546 Words | 3 Pages

The news channels focus more on the crime in lower middle class areas, When you hear them talking about the story, you start to make an assumption that a minority committed the crime. Newspapers and news programs tend to shine a light on crimes done by a minority. They depict minorities as the suspect, and whites as crime victims. The Distortions Bolster Harsher Penalties, Study Finds "Black and Latino suspects are also more likely than whites to be presented in a non-individualized and threatening way. " When you are a minority they will talk about your previous convictions, meanwhile if you are white they will talk about how you were a scholar student who was led down the wrong path by the wrong people.

Read More
761 Words | 4 Pages

Introduction The two most important components of societies are the social structure and culture. Culture deeply influences an individual 's beliefs, values, goals as well as his identity. Cultural goals are developed in accordance with the existing social structure of the society. The social structure of a society must provide the 'means ' for an individual to achieve his cultural goals.

Read More
696 Words | 3 Pages

Strain theory says that crimes are committed when people “experience a conflict between goals and the means available to obtain the goals” (Pg.127). This is especially true for lower class citizens that commit crimes to achieve what they see as success and feel they cannot obtain otherwise. An example of this can be seen in the poor populations that want to have money but turn to drug dealing because they feel they cannot get a job to make that money. This example of innovation is one of the modes of adaptation that Merton outlines in the book. Another way that the strain theory is adapted is rebellion.

Read More

More about Robert Agnew General Strain Theory

Related Topics

Open Document