Preview

social structure theory paper

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2241 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
social structure theory paper
In this paper I will examine the social structure theory, along with its definition and how the different types of theories make up the social structure theory. I will also attempt to discuss the strain, culture conflict, and social disorganization theory all of which make up the social conflict theory. I also wish to discuss the video “Tent City, Arizona” and answer the following questions, “How does the video you selected support a social structure theory? What is the primary subject or content of the video? What social issues are raised in the video? What major principles of sociological theory are addressed in the video? What might be some possible ramifications for social policy change?” The social structure theory is comprised of statuses (social) inside of the individual structure that are considered the root causes deviation and/or crime; they consist of lack of education, little to no marketable skills and a life of poverty, and an increase in deviant subculture values. Poverty (considered the lowest level or class in our society today) is one of the many reasons people revert to deviant criminal behavior. The poverty class and/or level is comprised of high levels of drug use and addiction, low level of employment, high level of unemployment, crime, and the people with a lack of skills to find continuous and prosperous employment. These types of situations are found in the higher levels of our society but the levels are decreased in number when compared to the poorer class of people. The serious lack of education in the poverty level seems to be blamed on the plight of students who do not succeed (by choice or otherwise) in our school systems. Some choose to drop out while others get “kicked out” due to continuous failures rather than strive to learn necessary skills required to graduate. The lack of marketable skills seems to derive from students who drop out of school before they have successfully completed the school’s curriculum who

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Gangs: Bloods vs. Crips

    • 1576 Words
    • 7 Pages

    When explaining lower-class crime and delinquency the two theories focus on two different reasons. The social disorganization theory believes that most of the gangs or delinquent groups all resided in areas that either had persistent poverty and unemployment or high minority residence. Basically this theory didn’t think it was necessary to blame the crime rate on aspects outside of the person’s control, such as ethnicity, culture, or traits they inherited rather than developed on their own. While the differential opportunity theory focused more on gangs and crime rate having more to do with opportunity than anything else. They also believed that a child’s relationship with their elders also had a large impact on how an adolescent felt about crime. This theory believed that the elders of a community could influence you from the beginning and mold your feelings about crime. If you lived in a community with a tight bond between generations it was way more likely for an adolescent to believe they are simply just “following in the footsteps of their family” than actually doing…

    • 1576 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social Disorganization Theory states that people’s choices are made because of their economical class. Shaw and McKay who brought this theory to peoples attention, proved that neighborhoods with higher crime have more poverty in them. Shaw and McKay studied Chicago’s neighborhoods. They could see that the lack of the social control was the reasoning behind the high crime rate. Crime is more likely to be high in disorganized areas such as schools, families, stores, and everything in neighborhoods.…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The social disorganization theory is accurate because living in low income areas definitely has a high impact on criminal activities, however there are other factors that can influence criminal activity, simply as feeling “safe” which was also discussed within the radio broadcast. Also having the money to move out of these low income areas is hard because the people that live there are basically stuck there because they cannot afford to move elsewhere. Leaving the residents to find the best way to make it. In Harper High School, social learning theory is basically in full motion. The police officer in the radio piece explained that one cannot avoid not being affiliated with a gang. The environment has changed where neutrons no longer exist. These students learn these rules from older people and how they are treated from outsiders of their…

    • 1340 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Crime Data Comparison

    • 1290 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The social conflict theory states that criminal behavior is founded on the conflict with a ruling social class labeling specific behaviors as illegal because of a social or an economic interest in protecting that community’s status quo. This is based on the belief that instead of laws showing the values of an entire society, the laws only exhibit the values of the few in society that hold power, and has no oppositions in using the justice system as a means of ensuring that power is kept. If behaviors, such as these are not corrected later in one’s life with improvements such as jobs and positive relationships, wrongful acts of behavior will continue to exist, possibly leading to future criminal activity…

    • 1290 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    social theory

    • 551 Words
    • 2 Pages

    After researchers do a field study of deviant behavior during a riot, law enforcement officials demand that the researchers identify the persons who were observed looting. Rather than risk arrest as accomplices after the fact, the researchers comply and turn over the names.…

    • 551 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Social Structure

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In this paper I will be exploring my social structure and defining my place in social groups. I will be using information learned from the textbook (The Sociology Project, 2013), as well as my own thought process to complete the paper. It will help with not only understanding myself and the class but with being able to finish my final project as well.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One of these approaches is Merton’s Strain theory whose key idea is that deviance is the product of a delinquent subculture with different norms and values from the rest of society that provides an alternative opportunity structure for those denied a legitimate chance to succeed. According to Merton, deviance within society is a result of the culture and structure of society itself because he believes all members of society share common values and goals but do not always occupy the same economic and social positions. Therefore, they do not have equal opportunities to realise those goals. One example Merton uses is the ‘American Dream’ to illustrate his theory. The philosophy behind this believes anyone can achieve their goals of the American Dream regardless of their social background through normal means including hard work, determination etc. However, Merton argues that the pressure from society to achieve financial success actively pushes individuals to commit crimes because they want to achieve…

    • 1608 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Social Bond Theory

    • 2297 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The Social Control Theory as written by Travis Hirschi in 1969, can be divided into several parts, in this case, we will be looking at the Causes of Delinquency, more specifically, the Social Bond Theory and its four components. The Social Bond Theory links delinquent behavior in the individual with the quality of the bonds he or she has within the society. The theory suggests that the probability of an individual to commit delinquent acts is inversely related to how strong the individual's bond to society is. Ergo, the stronger the bond that the individual has with his or her society is, the less likely it is that they'll commit delinquent acts.…

    • 2297 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The article Social Structure and Anomie, published by Robert K. Merton in 1938, focuses on societal pressures that an individual experiences in order to achieve a social goal, however, they do not have the necessary means to reach that desired goal. Merton emphases on the American Culture and Anomie as he believed that all United States citizens strived for the “American Dream”; however, the ways in which citizens obtain the “American Dream” of success are not the same, simply because not all citizens have the same opportunities and advantages (Bond, 2015). He concentrated on the five different types of deviances: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion (Bond, 2015).…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To begin with, Social structure theories enlighten on how social economic structures can influence economic opportunities in our society, which then could also lay an impact on criminal tendency to a person. According to (author), strain theory, developed by Merton, states that there are certain things or circumstances that could increase the likelihood of a person to commit a crime, these are known as strains or stressor. These strains or stressors create a negative impact to the person’s emotions such as frustration and anger. These types of emotions influence the corrective actions and behaviors of an individual, thus committing a crime is an unavoidable result. Moreover, material success, such as cars,…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Society’s obsession with the rankings of social class has been a problem for many years, and it will likely continue to be obsessed over. However, the classification of the people within each class has changed over time. The official definition of social class is: a broad group in society having common economic, cultural, or political status. One popular story that was written during a time when the top social class was the mercantile class was The Canterbury Tales. The story written by Geoffrey Chaucer was written and published at a time when new social classes were shaking up the rule of traditional social classes. As time progressed the top social classes have been changing, and those changes are not based so much on job types but they focused more on the “popularity” of the person. This was especially true in the setting of a high school, or any place with teens. A current movie that shows a theme of social classes playing a prominent role is High School Musical. Much like The Canterbury Tales, the students in High School Musical relied heavily on which class they were grouped in to decide their friends (Bryson). The way a person is perceived is not always accurate with how they actually are. Sometimes it is in a good way and sometimes it is in a not so good way. Over time the way the world classifies each social class has changed, but the overall idea of social classes ruling the way people are perceived by their peers is still the same.…

    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to a study executed by San Diego State researchers, “One third of community college students in California face uncertain housing and even homelessness while 12 percent sometimes aren’t sure where they will get their next meal”. Luckily for the other two thirds we don’t have to think about this problem, at least not as heavily. In her quote, Wanda Katz-Fishman touches on an issue that everyone can see, yet nothing is being done about. This is the fact that the relationship between having a career and having a college education isn’t compatible anymore in this day and age. Both social-conflict theory as well as social construction theory play a major role in this relationship and can help us better understand our reality.…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    After much research I found that social disorganization theory helps us to understand why there are varying rates of crime in different communities. This theory categorizes the shared characteristics of high crime neighborhoods and it also uses other social theories to define why those specific characteristics lead to crime. Now, Organization is seen when people of all age levels are involved in community-led activities, but without these sort of activities, it leads to what researchers call social disorganization.…

    • 944 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sociological Imagination

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This chapter states three major sociological theories including functionalist theory. This theory depicts like if a certain group cant maintain or accomplish what needs to be done, like a school failing to teach what is needed for that grade. There’s conflict theory that states all social problems start from the exploitation of capitalism like when a individual is racist to all African American people. There’s symbolic interaction that states that if individuals are around criminal behavior than they will take after their traits and become a criminal. Much like if after so much a bullied kid becomes the bully.…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sociological theorists believe delinquency coincides with conditions of poverty, long-term unemployment, neighborhood deterioration, and cultural values. For example, they believe that poverty leads to social disorganization, which coincides with an erosion of traditional values. They have determined that an absence of informal, social control leads to a weakened institutional control, which aides in the development of criminal areas. Adults then pass on the social norms they have been accustomed to, which leads to a cultural transmission, which then has the ability to translate into some adolescents becoming career…

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays