In the field of criminology‚ social learning theories and anomie/strain theories make up a good chunk of the most well-known theories in this discipline. Social learning theories discuss how criminal behavior is learned through interactions‚ knowledge‚ and values. It discusses how criminal behavior is a set of general needs‚ but it also recognizes that all behaviors have a similar foundation. Anomie/strain theories focus on how anomie is a sense of normalness and without said normalness a person’s
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Chapter 4 of Lilly‚ Cullen & Ball mainly focuses on Robert Merton and his theories of Anomie and Strain Theories. Merton wanted to theorize the root of social deviance. He did not reject the thoughts of the Chicago school theorists of Sutherland‚ Shaw and McKay‚ but however he did suggest that other factors were involved in such as conditions essential to society and not just in the slums‚ was the center point of the nation’s crime and deviance. He thought the “American Dream”‚ “a message sent
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The strain theory states that deviance is more likely to occur when a gap exists between cultural goals and the ability to achieve these goals by legitimate means. To get a decent job in today’s society requires a college degree. The average four year degree is almost $10‚000 just for tuition. We are expected to start school at a young age‚ keep up with homework‚ extracurricular activities‚ chores‚ and keep a job to pay for future expenses. It is extremely hard to earn enough money to pay for your
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horror of domestic terrorism is a problem all Americans should be concerned with‚ especially since there is a violent subculture in this nation which seeks out and indoctrinates people into their way of life. The crime that I will be focusing on during the course of this paper will be domestic terrorism‚ specifically hate groups such as the KKK‚ and various other white supremacy groups. The theory that I will be using to try and explain these crimes will be subcultural theory‚ but more especially
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of occupation. Sociologists have studied several white collar crimes and made their own definitions based on different aspects of the crimes. Reiss & Biderman (Simpson 2013) defined white-collar crime as “violations of law to which penalties are attached and
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he concluded that offenders had not developed to the unchanging lengths as non-offenders. His method was a structure of biological positivity‚ since it suggested that reliable information is obtained from science‚ reasoning and physical senses. His theory came from his study of prosecuted criminals both deceased and live. Lombroso differentiated the criminal bodily fitness to those of non-criminals‚ as well as people who were identified psychotic. In his study he found‚ to some degree those offenders
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Strain theory was introduced by sociologist Robert Merton‚ he thought that some societies may be set up to encourage deviance from societal norms. Merton thought when cultural goals placed too much pressure on the person to conform. The individual would be forced to work inside the structure that society has created or instead turn to become a follower of a deviant subculture to achieve their goals. The main concern was that certain societies were not providing the resources to achieve these societal
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The concept behind strain theory is that when there’s a gap between what society wants such as wealth or success and the means to these things are difficult‚ individuals might feel strained and feel the need to use shortcuts to obtain these riches in life. This tension could result in deviant actions because people are attempting to reach these desired objectives using unorthodox or non-accepted means. This strain is caused by individuals’ inability to achieve their
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may claim that how well a society is functioning symbolizes the amount of deviance in a society. Therefore‚ if a society is doing poorly‚ there must be a lot of people that are not conforming to the social norms. Now‚ using specific sociological theories or concepts‚ discuss what you feel are the best sociological explanations for why someone might choose to do deviant—even criminally deviant--things. (6 pts. possible for discussing at least TWO
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homicide can be explained by many theories‚ particularly biological‚ psychological and sociological. This essay will be competing the usefulness of the three explanations in understanding the homicide of Sukhdev who was killed by Ryan in a brutal attack. While all three explanations are useful in the understanding of this particular case‚ they have limitations and criticisms which will also be looked at. One sociological theory of homicide is Merton’s strain theory. He theorised that crime and deviance
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