SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL PROCESS 5
According to Schmalleger (2014) Robert K. Merton, who developed the concept of anomie meaning normlessness, uses the term as a disjunction between socially approved means to success and legitimate goals. Merton maintained that legitimate goals, involving such thing as wealth, status, and personal happiness are generally portrayed as desirable for everyone. The acceptable means to these goals, including education, hard work, and financial savings, are not equally available to all members of society. As a consequence, crime and deviance tend to arise as alternative means to success when individuals feel the strain of being pressed to in a socially approved ways but find that the tools necessary for such …show more content…
Social structure theories see various formal and informal arrangements between social groups (the structure of society) as the root of crime and deviance. Negative aspects of societal structure, such as disorganization in families, poverty or income inequality within the economic arrangements of society, and the lack of success for some in the educational process, produce criminal behavior. Strain theory is a sociological approach that posits a disjuncture between socially and sub-culturally sanctioned means and goals as the cause of criminal behavior. Basically, people that live in poor neighborhoods, and don’t have access to good schools, well-paying jobs, feel pressured to live a happy life that consist of wealth, status, great education and to reach those American dream goals they turn to crime to fulfill that American dream. The poor neighborhoods would be a subcultural because of the shared values that are communicated within the group. Social process theories are the process of interaction between individuals and society for their explanatory power. Social learning theory says that all behavior is learned in much the same way and that crime is learned also. Under social process people learn their deviant behavior from within subcultures. If a child grows up in a home that only see dad selling drugs for a living, that child will most likely do the same, because that’s the only way he knows to make money. Both social structure and social process play a part in the society when it comes to crime. As a society we have to break down and remove the barriers so all can leave in society without committing crimes to get
According to Schmalleger (2014) Robert K. Merton, who developed the concept of anomie meaning normlessness, uses the term as a disjunction between socially approved means to success and legitimate goals. Merton maintained that legitimate goals, involving such thing as wealth, status, and personal happiness are generally portrayed as desirable for everyone. The acceptable means to these goals, including education, hard work, and financial savings, are not equally available to all members of society. As a consequence, crime and deviance tend to arise as alternative means to success when individuals feel the strain of being pressed to in a socially approved ways but find that the tools necessary for such …show more content…
Social structure theories see various formal and informal arrangements between social groups (the structure of society) as the root of crime and deviance. Negative aspects of societal structure, such as disorganization in families, poverty or income inequality within the economic arrangements of society, and the lack of success for some in the educational process, produce criminal behavior. Strain theory is a sociological approach that posits a disjuncture between socially and sub-culturally sanctioned means and goals as the cause of criminal behavior. Basically, people that live in poor neighborhoods, and don’t have access to good schools, well-paying jobs, feel pressured to live a happy life that consist of wealth, status, great education and to reach those American dream goals they turn to crime to fulfill that American dream. The poor neighborhoods would be a subcultural because of the shared values that are communicated within the group. Social process theories are the process of interaction between individuals and society for their explanatory power. Social learning theory says that all behavior is learned in much the same way and that crime is learned also. Under social process people learn their deviant behavior from within subcultures. If a child grows up in a home that only see dad selling drugs for a living, that child will most likely do the same, because that’s the only way he knows to make money. Both social structure and social process play a part in the society when it comes to crime. As a society we have to break down and remove the barriers so all can leave in society without committing crimes to get