Individual Achievement Theory Analysis

The authors put a good argument up when clarifying the reasoning behind it. For example, rebellion, retreatism, and innovation explain each goal differently. While I can understand, these categories could be used to base a races goals I also don't believe that makes a person who they are. Anyone who has been brought up in an unstable household has the same possibilities as one who had a stable home. As for this being the best explanation for racial differences in offending I agree with this theory. Each society has a dominant set of values and goals, alongside with their own way of handling those goals, but when those people who want a successful living don't work for it simply doesn't happen. Individual achievement is key when wanting to exemplify success and show recognition for social status, …show more content…
While there continues to be an acceptable way of attaining some goals, people accept society's goals but reject the mean of achieving them. This is called innovation where there is either negative or positive form of possessing the goal. When applying the theory, it explains the high rates of delinquency and criminal behavior among ethnic and racial minorities in the United States. Because the American Dream is denied to these minority groups individual achievement is hard to comprehend. Alongside this theory shows the higher rates of retreatist, where people are more prone to abuse drugs; innovative, where there are higher rates of criminal activity within these minority groups; and the high levels of economic inequality where discrimination becomes an issue because a young minority teen does not have a pair of Nike tennis shoes, therefore he is made fun of all throughout his childhood. Consequently, he will continue to believe he is no good or able to achieve at a socially acceptable matter, so he starts selling drugs at a young age so that he can afford those