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Robert Merton Typology Of Deviant Behavior

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According to the English dictionary a ‘reference group’ refers to a group with which an individual identifies and whose values the individual accepts as guiding principles. Reference groups are used in order to calculate and regulate the features of an individual or other group's characteristics and sociological attributes. Reference groups provide the criterion and differentiation needed for comparison and interpretation of group and personal characteristics. Robert K. Merton hypothesized that individuals compare themselves with reference groups of people who engage the social role to which the individual desires. ‘Reference groups are groups that people refer to when evaluating their [own] qualities, circumstances, attitudes, values …show more content…

The theory states that social structures may pressure civilians to commit crimes . Strain may be structural, which refers to the actions at the societal level that filter down and influence how the individual identifies their needs. Strain may also be individual, which refers to the distress and pains experienced by an individual as they explore ways to satisfy individual needs. These types of strain can signify social structures within society that then cause individuals to become criminals. Merton proposed a typology for deviant behavior that showed the possible distinctions between societal goals and the means available to achieve these goals. Merton’s typology is interesting because people often turn to deviance in the hunt for socially accepted values and goals. According to social strain theory, social values lead to deviance in two ways. An individual can reject social values and thus become deviant, or and individual can welcome social values but acquire these using deviant means. Merton’s theory of social strain has faced many critics who have acknowledged that there is a broad amount of crime and deviant behavior that is “non-utilitarian, malicious, and negativistic” (O’Grady, 2011), which highlights that not all crimes are understandable using Merton’s theory. For example, vandalism cannot be explained by a need to achieve a social

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