2.3 Strain

• Strain Theory?

  Society has shared goal of the American Dream and individuals are socialised to want to achieve it. If society and people make the most of the opportunities they are given, then they can enjoy a high standard of living. In society, success equates to wealth in American society. Strain theory says everyone achieve success through legitimate means.
• Why does criminality occur? (Strain)

  Merton argues that not everyone has an equal chance of achieving these goals via legitimate means, and opportunities are blocked by poverty.

  This then creates a strain between the goal and the ways that people can actually achieve the goals.

  As a result, crime and deviance occurs as for people who cannot use legitimate means to achieve these goals, they must find other illegitimate means of obtaining success.
• What are goals and means?


  Goals: things that individuals in society are socialised to achieve.

  Means: are the ways or structures that people are supposed to use to achieve the goals.
• Innovation?


  The individual desires to achieve the goals but do so without following the institutionalised means.
• Conformity?


  The individual chooses to achieve the culturally accepted goals via the legitimate means.

  This group maintains social order and accept the goals and society’s ideas of means.
• weakness - ST?

  Focuses on utilitarian crime and ignores crimes with no economic motive e.g vandalism.
• weakness - ST 2?

  Merton sees crime as individual response to strain and ignores group crime and deviance.
• strength - ST?

  ST explains the crime patterns shown in official statistics. Most crime is property crime because society values wealth and working class crime rates are higher.