Strain Theory
How does general strain theory differ from biopsychological theories?
“Throughout history, one of the assumptions that many people have made about crime is that it is committed by people who are born criminals; in other words, they have a curse, as it were, put upon them from the beginning. It is not a question of environmental influences determining what they were going to do; they were ‘born bad’. Consequently, whatever society may do, these people will eventually commit criminal acts. The Mark of Cain, as it were, is upon them” (Eysenck 1964)
Within the scientific world research and studies continue in an attempt to prove the link between criminal and deviant behaviour and the genetic makeup of the individual and the importance of studying human behaviour through scientific means and this essay will look at the work of theorists within this field and their positivist approach and compare those theories alongside the central ideas of Merton’s Strain Theory and Agnew’s General Strain Theory which concentrates on the effect societal strains have on the individual.
Robert Merton’s Strain Theory continued with Emile Durkheim’s (Durkheim, 1938) notion that whilst crime is inevitable and a normal aspect of social life, high levels of crime did indicate a breakdown in society and Merton felt that deviance resulted from the culture and structure of society itself (Haralambos & Holburn, 1995) His is functionalist approach insisted that all members of society share the same values, a ‘value consensus’, however as Merton argues not all members of society are placed in the same economic or class position and they do not have the same opportunity to realise these shared values. It is this situation that Merton believed caused deviance. (Haralambos and Holburn 1995) Merton’s theory came at a time when ‘The American Dream’ (Adams 1931) and its set of ideals was engaging Americans with the notion that all men are created equal and life should be better, richer and fuller
“Throughout history, one of the assumptions that many people have made about crime is that it is committed by people who are born criminals; in other words, they have a curse, as it were, put upon them from the beginning. It is not a question of environmental influences determining what they were going to do; they were ‘born bad’. Consequently, whatever society may do, these people will eventually commit criminal acts. The Mark of Cain, as it were, is upon them” (Eysenck 1964)
Within the scientific world research and studies continue in an attempt to prove the link between criminal and deviant behaviour and the genetic makeup of the individual and the importance of studying human behaviour through scientific means and this essay will look at the work of theorists within this field and their positivist approach and compare those theories alongside the central ideas of Merton’s Strain Theory and Agnew’s General Strain Theory which concentrates on the effect societal strains have on the individual.
Robert Merton’s Strain Theory continued with Emile Durkheim’s (Durkheim, 1938) notion that whilst crime is inevitable and a normal aspect of social life, high levels of crime did indicate a breakdown in society and Merton felt that deviance resulted from the culture and structure of society itself (Haralambos & Holburn, 1995) His is functionalist approach insisted that all members of society share the same values, a ‘value consensus’, however as Merton argues not all members of society are placed in the same economic or class position and they do not have the same opportunity to realise these shared values. It is this situation that Merton believed caused deviance. (Haralambos and Holburn 1995) Merton’s theory came at a time when ‘The American Dream’ (Adams 1931) and its set of ideals was engaging Americans with the notion that all men are created equal and life should be better, richer and fuller
References: Adams, J.T., 1931. The Epic of America. Boston. Little, Brown & Co Burgess, R Cohen, A.K., 1955 Delinquent Boys: The culture of the gang. New York. The Free Press Curran, D Durkheim, E. 1938. The Rules of Sociological Method, New York, The Free Press Eysenck, H.J., 1964 Crime and Personality Newton, T., 2007. Criminology. New York. Willan Publishing Newton, T HALL, S., Winlow, S. and Ancrum, C., 2008. Criminal Identities and Consumer Culture. Cullompton. Willan Publishing Traub, S Young, J., 2007.The Vertigo of Late Modernity. London: Sage.