Anomie

He showed that negative social factors influence suicidal behavior. Anomie, a concept that Durkheim referred to as a feeling of aimlessness or despair, is a prime example of what would provoke an individual towards taking their own life. Karl Marx was a German economic, political, and social theorist that sought to explain…

As human beings we establish groups for socialization. These groups consistently enforce conformity similar to a high school ‘click.’ For example, being members of the jocks you are urged to wear certain shoes, designer clothing, play on the football or soccer team and other forms of conformity. Enforcing conformity is formal and informal or positive and negative. This behavior can be on a small scale such as a group of friends or on a large scale such as a city or country. While there are…

In this paper, I will review the experiences of Lawrence Otis Graham at Princeton University, his alma matter, using the functionalist, group/conflict, cultural, network, and interactionist perspectives. Ultimately, I will conclude that the interactionist perspective delivers the most compelling analysis of Graham’s college experience. Through the functionalist perspective, segregation and racism at Princeton University are societal functions that promoted positive ends for the Princeton…

Americans are fascinated with the concept of teen parenting. If you’ve ever seen 16 and Pregnant or Teen Mom on MTV it is shown the glorified images of the reality of teen parents. It has become a nation topic not with actual concern but, in ridiculing those who wind up pregnant at such a young age for entertainment. While, there are commercials and ads that shame teen parents such as, “You should be saving the world not diapers,” it fails to ignore the damages these words have on young parents.…

Emmanuel Hernandez Nature of Crime CRIJ 3303.01 Date: April 29, 2015 Strain Theory This article’s goal was to test the applicability of Agnew’s general strain theory to other explanations regarding whether or not physical victimization while being incarcerated increased the risk of negative reentry from previous inmates that were incarcerated, particularly criminal offenders and substance abusers. Two studies that have been previously made have used the general strain theory as a way to…

This essay looks at serial killer Aileen Wuornos and the bias shown toward her because she does not fit the profile of being a “feminine” woman; this meaning non-aggressive, compassionate and motherly, to name a few descriptive words applied to the patriarchal woman. Aileen has been deemed “evil” by American society, cultures worldwide and through the media because she behaved in “male” terms and as such could not be human because she does not fit any criteria known to our patriarchal society –…

created mass incarceration and its effects to further widen the gap between the races. The theories that best explain the book are Symbolic Interactionism (labeling theory, looking glass self, standpoint theory), Weber’s rationality and rational-legal, Anomie, Marx & capitalism, conflict theory, power elite theory, Prison Industrial Complex, mass media and consumer…

The reasons why people joined Heaven’s Gate was out of choice and not being brainwashed. According to Zeller, the members of Heaven’s Gate were religious seekers who found everything about Heaven’s Gate appealing and did not consider the idea of death as something they needed to experience to transcend from their humanly form. A lot of those beliefs and theologies involved many concepts, theories, and beliefs from Christianity. Members of Heaven’s Gate believed in soteriology, Christology,…

individual experiences when society does not provide acceptable and approved resources to achieve culturally valued goals. This theory was developed by the sociologist Robert K. Merton in 1957. Merton’s strain theory is influenced by Durkheim’s concept of anomie. It is the universal socialization of the “American Dream”. According to Merton, social roles are set by social structure and what are believed to be expected behaviors. He grouped individuals in five deviance groups: 1. Conformity…

Social Structural Theories states that crime is based on class, family, education, religious, economic or political institutions that could have an influence on whether or not an individual will par-take in crime. For instance, a delinquent growing up in a home with two parents is less likely to take part in crime rather than a delinquent who grows up in a single home. The reason behind this statement is that growing up in a home with two parents makes a child less likely to commit a crime due…