Social Theory and Social Structure

To understand how a structural theorist would explain the presence of middle class crime you have to first understand what the Social Structure Theory stands for. Social Structure Theory is defined as “the view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime” (Siegel, 2015, p. 187). What Siegel means is that the lower the social class and more disadvantaged and oppressed the population they have more of a reason to commit crime. Everyone knows that 95% of the wealth is held by 1% of the population. Thus leaving and extremely large gap between the middle and upper class. This causes such a diverse gap of opportunities between the two. If looking at strictly income that defined the middle class one would be surprised…

Chapter 6 focuses on social structure theory, which is the idea that the starting point of most crimes can be traced back to the sociological economic disadvantages that are immersed in society. This means that the economic structure of the United States has created a society where statuses are spread out by means of social classes. Different social classes are prone to different opportunities in life and social problems. These opportunities and problems are directly linked to crime rates.…

What are the policy implications of social structure theories? What kinds of changes in society and in government policy might be based on these theories? If these policies were implemented, do you think they would likely bring about a reduction in crime? Why or why not? The approaches that find fault in social structure as the main cause in criminal behavior, suggest the correct course should be that of social action as a solution to combat crime (Schmalleger, 2012, p. 171). Due in part to the…

Social structures around the world define what is right and what is wrong. Economic well being greatly controls and influences behavior in most cultures and its relation to crime has been observed over the past century. When economic and social inequality rise, so do crime trends in a community. These changes can greatly affect the way a community is viewed and will start to change the members of the community. Social structure theory identifies that a person’s environment is a direct cause of…

The social structure theory is a theory of the haves and the have nots. The well off versus those struggling. Age does not play much of a factor in this theory as it is applied to all age ranges. Focusing on the economic status as the primary factor to the contribution of crime, it adheres that one’s need to compete for the American dream. With conformity being the primary mode of adaptation, while all other modes are cynical the American dream is always just out of reach. The developmental…

commit deviant crimes? Social structure theory and social conflict theory are used to explain why a person may commit the crimes that they do. Tito is a young man with good intentions but because of where he and his family stand in the social class system he turns to deviant crimes in which it’s the only way he really knows how to make fast money, like selling drugs. According to the theories of crime, I believe Tito really doesn’t make a choice of turning to deviant crimes to obtain money to…

finishing CIS 170’s class, the professor asked everyone in the class to select two of the theories suggested in chapter three of the text that a researcher could use to explain the cause of digital crime. To begin with, there are many theories to explain the cause of digital crime, however the most important or most popular rather are, Choice theory, and Social structure theory. The purpose of the two stated here being the most significant are as follows. To start, choice theory is very…

correction subfield a common method use is the reintegrated philosophy, which focuses on rebuilding social ties between the offenders and the community, restoring family ties, as well as obtaining education and employment. The Next Door Chattanooga, a non-profit…

Structural functionalism is a theory that explains why society functions the way it does and how different institutions work together in order to create a well-functioning society. This theory explains how everyone’s lives are built based around social structures and basic human behavior. The different institutions in society are: government, education, economic, family, and religion. Each one of the institutions create a different social structure, behavior, and role in society. Examples of…

Structural functionalism is a perspective which views society as interconnected in to meet society’s needs. Early structural functional theorists compared the organs in the human body in that they are all connected to function properly. The structures in society include social institutions which can be described as patterns and beliefs. Institutions include government, family, healthcare, and religion. Structural functionalism refers to social facts as the activities that make our society stable…