General Strain Theory Analysis

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In criminal justice researchers try to develop and locate some criminological findings of what motivates people to offend, especially if it can be alluded to in human nature. There have been many theories that attempt to rationalize and understand what shifts in human nature may motive otherwise normal people into becoming criminals. Theories like rational choice, strain theories, anomie theories, and learning theories offer up various explanations for why people do the crimes that they do. In Criminological Theory the authors Cullen, Agnew, & Wilcox (2014) defined rational choice perspectives as the idea that human beings naturally are rational thinkers; they will make careful calculated decisions weighing both the risks and rewards, and …show more content…
Theories like the General Strain Theory from theorist Agnew claim that the reason why some people commit crime is in response to the strain put on them by various sources. General Strain Theory claims that when exposed to strain and stressors it is only human nature to respond negatively and some people may try to cope through crime. Agnew’s theory as mention in Criminological Theory by Cullen, Agnew, & Wilcox (2014) claims that strains are most likely to cause crime when they are seen in high magnitude, are seen as unjust, are associated with low social control, and create some pressure or incentive to engage in criminal coping. Strains with these characteristics are more likely to elicit strong negative emotions, reduce the ability to engage in legal coping, reduce the perceived costs of crime, and create a disposition for crime. (p. 205). Based on this it is assumed that it is in some people’s nature to be more disposed to respond to strain with crime than others as not everyone is treated equally in society as some will experience greater degrees of …show more content…
As mention in Cullen, Agnew, & Wilcox’s (2014) Criminological Theory Merton claims that everyone is subjected to the ideals of achieving financial success and high-social standing and discussed that it is in some people’s nature to value the accomplishment of those societal goals over the methods to do so. Innovators may feel pressured to smuggle and sell contraband in order to achieve a great deal of wealth, rebels may choose to challenge authorities in order to gain respect from their peers, and retreaters may commit small robberies in order to sustain their poor life choices. His theory in regards to how some people adapt to social pressures assumes that it is human nature to fall into delinquency and crime when society overlooks moral guidance as there is little reason not

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