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Structural Strain Theory

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Deviant behavior is the behavior that is different from the most powerful norms of the society or can also be defined as odd or unacceptable behavior. In sociological way deviance is simply any violation of societal norms. There are many reasons why a person has deviant behavior which includes biological , psychological and sociological explanations. the most popular sociological theories are Structural Strain Theory which was developed by Robert K merton as an addition of the functional point of view on deviance.The theory discovers the origin of deviance that these are caused by the difference cultural and the ways people use to achieve their goals the theory of structural strains describes that “societies are characterized by both culture and social structure. Culture establishes goals for people in society while social structure provides the way for people to achieve their goals. society that has people uses acknowledged . And they have proper means to achieve the goals that society establishes. In structural strains the goals and means to fulfil them both must be balanced . Deviance occurs when goals and means are not balanced . this …show more content…

When groups of people are doing things at a level that is bad and is harming people . These norms can be disconcerting, confusing and painful. by bad deviation the normal day to day activities disrupted and the groups have to differentiate its behavior to respond to the deviant act. These norms are meant to maintain the social order and to provide a sense of living . The disruption is the fear of victimization. the last but most important point deviant behaviour is labelling that is most of the people after this are thought bad or good depending on deviation . and the group or that organization is always thought to be the same and not accepted by the society later . “Once the deviant label is attached, it is pretty hard for it to be

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1. How does Strain Theory define and explain deviance? Strain theory defines deviance as the situation whereby there exists a gap or difference between societal success goals and the determined means available to the society for achieving these goals. In a society, individuals share similar goals towards success and thus have agreeable means of achieving the same, however, when such an agreement is foregone such a society has a high rate of deviance.

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Heckert and Heckert (article 2) recognize that deviance can be seen as both positive and negative

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Finally, he begins to speak after the teacher called his name. In short, an individual will follow the norms to gain others’ acceptance in his or her society. Why the Brain Follows the Rules Deviance is a behavior that is different from the norms. An action against the norms is known as deviant behavior, it aims to disagree, disapprove and confront the societal norms. Accordingly, deviance can be defined differently depending on the time, place, culture and society.

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The labeling theory of deviance is how different people interpret the same action many different ways. This concept does not result from what people do but the way people react to certain actions. Primary deviance is the act itself then secondary deviance occurs if the label from primary deviance sticks. The taking on a deviant identity by talking, acting, or dressing in a different way, rejecting the people who are critical, and repeatedly breaking the rules. In this approach deviance is offered when anyone who breaks important rules would be then labeled as a deviant.

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Goode spends a brief portion of his article diving into deviance itself and defines it as the study of real or presumed violations of expectations (Goode 108). Furthermore, it is a universal truth that deviance exists within every crevice of human connection and underlies all that defines what is right and wrong. As good is to bad, so conformity is to deviance and one cannot identify what is morally just without defining what is morally deviant. Deviance and the study of deviance are inherently different, however, because deviance is a real-world spectacle that can be observed while the latter is simply the supposed violation of norms and their potential reactions (Goode 108). Nonetheless, where deviance is present there will always be a tendency to observe and study its nature and Goode argues that imagining that deviance will disappear if sociologists stop studying it indicates magical and wishful thinking (Goode 108).

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With that being said, it is important to be sociological mindful. According to Schwalbe, “What counts as “deviant”—that is, what gets defined as abnormal and immoral—depends on the perspective of a person or group”. With that being said, deviance behavior is something outside the social norm. The news is full of what they consider deviance acts.

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Deviance is behaviour that is violating the expected rules and norms of the society while deviants are the people in a society that assume what is considered a deviant identity. According to Box, The two are causally linked because deviance is committed by deviants (pg. 1, 1989). They are then conceptually linked because it is assumed that people who commit deviance could be classified as deviant because of their behaviour. According to Steven Box the problem with causally and conceptually linking deviance and deviants is these the deviants were seen as defective members of society, who some believed needed to be corrected through a tough minded view known as penal sanctioned punishments.

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Strain and Deviance: an empirical test of General Strain Theory of in a Philippine Public University LITERATURE REVIEW Theoretical Background During the past decades, various criminologists developed different theories in an attempt to explain the causes of crime within the society. In return they were successful, as of today it was adopted or accepted, indeed all of theories explain the root causes of crime. One of these theories is anomie or strain theory which originally argues that the lower class frustration to higher class causes crime (Merton, 1938) in attempt to explain why majority of the people who commits crime are lower class.

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Strain theory Strain theory is the state of a variety in certain strains and stressors in a person’s life that increases the likelihood of crime. A majority of life circumstances can lead individuals to create a crime from their negative emotions, such as frustration and anger. Crime may be used escape from strain, seeking revenge against the person or source of strain or any related targets. They come from social factors, such as lack of income or the level of quality in education the person has received.

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Deviance and crime is a common characteristic of Canadian society. Deviance is defined as: “recognized violation of cultural norms” (2013, pg.465). While crime is defined as: “recognized violation of society’s formally enacted criminal law” (2013, pg.464). There are some universal similarities about what we as humans consider morally deviant, still, what is regarded as deviant or criminal behavior in Canada may not resonate with other societies. Some behavior “can fall right in between deviant and criminal” (Healy, 2012).

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However, the social structure often fails in providing the means, thereby creating an imbalance in the fulfillment of the cultural goals. This imbalance that stems from the lack of necessary means to achieve socially accepted cultural goals leads to structural strain. The Strain Theory was propounded by Robert

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According to Hunt and Colandar (2011), a word deviant refers to when an individual’s actions contradict with society’s norms. For instance, majority peoples followed norms because society expect individual to behave in morally tolerate with each other. Those failing to conform the norms noted as deviant. In a social context, the task of the society is to blind the action of the social community together. Once failing to act them to the society’s reaction that seem as deviant.

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Crime is any act which breaks the laws of society, such as murder, rape, speeding etc. Social control is enforced by agencies such as police and the courts, more specifically defined than deviance. Deviance is behaviour which moves away from controversial norms and values such as burping, pass wind in public and queuing. It Can be positive e.g. extreme intelligence. Although in some situation in nature – time dependent of factors, place, who is involved.

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Although the term deviance usually carried a negative characteristic in first impression trough out history, afterward the term positive deviance was also introduced and analyzed. To begin with according to (“positive deviance.org”2015), “Positive Deviance is established on the inspection that in every community there are certain individuals or groups whose uncommon behaviors and strategies enable them to find better solutions to problems than their colleagues, while having access to the same resources and facing similar or even worse challenges”. “Positive deviance somehow exceeds social expectations. Moreover positive deviance can also be defined as individual or acts of individuals in a society that are superior because they super pass

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787 Words | 4 Pages

The structural strain theory was developed by sociologist Robert K. Merton as part of the functionalist perspective. Strain occurs when individuals find it hard to achieve cultural goals through institutionalized means (Merton, 1938). This theory suggests that there are five responses to strain, which include conformity, ritualism, innovation, retreatism and rebellion (Andersen and Taylor, 2009). The responses are developed based on two factors, which are, first, whether the individual accepts or rejects the cultural goals of the society and second, whether the individual accepts or rejects the instituitionalized means of achieving them. To understand this theory, we first have to understand what cultural goals and the institutionalized means of achieving them mean.

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