Introduction Robert K. Merton was an American sociologist and is considered a major influence on modern day sociology. Robert Merton was born Meyer R. Schkolnick on July 4, 1910 and died February 23, 2003. Merton attended Temple College and Harvard University before earning his doctorate degree in 1936. After which he taught at Harvard, Tulane, Columbia and Rockefeller until 1984. Robert K. Merton is best known for his theories of deviance and development of the concepts of self-fulfilling prophecy
Manifest and Latent Functions Robert K. Merton increased our understanding of social functions by presenting a concept that suggest while many social functions are clearly obvious and additionally intended; others are unclear and unintended. Manifest functions are the known or recognized and also intended consequences of any type of social pattern while the latent functions are those who are unclear or unrecognized and have unintended consequences. For the purpose of analyzing the manifest functions
Robert K Merton came up with “Strain Theory” in which he argued that although Deviance can be beneficial to a society- keeping the society in order, it could also promote inequality. In our society it’s more proper for a woman to be modest about her body, the moment she defies that norm she is considered Deviant. In order to encourage a decline of inequality groups will need the help in order to reach that goal. There are many organizations that help groups that experience oppression, HIPS is an
theory concentrates on the conditions within the urban environment that affects Merton that sees crime as a function of the conflict between people’s goals and the means available to obtain them. (Siegel, L. J., 2016). The theory states that society puts pressure on individuals to achieve socially accepted goals though they lack the means, this leads to strain which may lead the individuals to commit crimes. (Merton, Robert (1938). "Social Structure and Anomie". American Sociological Review. 3 (5):
race, and population differences. In credit of Merton strain theory, researchers were able to discover the relationship between classes in crime. For example, middle-class populations are likely to commit white-collar crimes. Lower-class communities are likely to commit minor crimes. Agnew defines strain as the events disliked by other individuals. Since the development of Agnew strain theory, GST has been applied to a variety type of crime and
Merton’s work has contributed greatly to criminological theory as he took a different perspective than Durkheim’s concept of anomie and reworked to the American context. The theories and concepts of anomie and strain that Merton argued have influenced the works of Cohen as well as the New Deviancy Theory and the New Penology. Therefore, Strain theory has evolved across time to encompass different situational circumstances of crime. Furthermore, due to the individual’s inability to achieve the appropriate
drastically, along with suicide and crime rates, particularly murder rates (Siegel 2010, p. 44). Robert Merton’s influence for the development of strain theory came from his observation of how influential the economic institutions were in regards to all other social factors. He drew heavily from Emile Durkheim’s earlier concept of anomie, or normlessness, to develop his own theoretical structure (Merton 1938; Merton
2. The leading theorists in the Anomie and Strain Theory are Émile Durkheim and Robert K. Merton. According to Reid (2012), Durkheim was born in 1858 and later died in 1919 (p. 1090. As French sociologist, Durkheim believed that “crime has functional (or positive) consequences, such as fostering flexibility” (Reid, 2012, p. 109). An excerpt from Jones (1986) notes that Durkheim grew up with a Jewish influence and later attended a rabbinical school for his early education (para. 1). Later, Durkheim
basis of commonly held beliefs and traditions. Anomie theory was popularised by the classic works of Emile Durkheim and further explored by Robert K Merton. According to Durkheim, anomie refers to an environmental state where society fails to exercise adequate regulation or constraint over the goals and desires of its individual members. Conversely, Robert K Merton argued that, anomie is a strain between the goals set by society and the legitimate means of achieving them. Evidently, anomie perspectives
individuals turn to crime. It mostly concentrated on the lower class but can also be seen in the middle class. Apart from Durkheim, otherwise known as the father of sociology, there are other sociologists who have their own theory of anomie. Robert. K. Merton, an American sociologist, though argued by many that his understanding of anomie is identical to Durkheim’s, he himself insists otherwise. Society hates criminals, but Durkheim believed that crime plays a major part in keeping society balanced
Robert K. Merton is a widely respected sociologist who has offered much insight in the field of criminology. In efforts to understand why the U.S has disproportionate levels of crime in comparison to similar countries Merton retouched Emile Durkheim’s form of Anomie theory (Lecture, 2016). Merton’s theory is grounded in the belief that the norms of society and their culturally defined goals (for example: The American Dream) place great pressure (or Strain) on individuals to either conform with the
Emile Durkheim is largely credited as the man who made Sociology a science. As a boy, he was enraptured by the scientific approach to society, but at that time, there was no social science curriculum. Vowing to change this, Durkheim worked scrupulously to earn his “degree in philosophy in 1882”. (Johnson 34) Unable to change the French school system right away, Emile traveled to Germany to further his education. It was there that he published his initial findings and gained the knowledge necessary
Anomie/Strain Theory Historical Background The theoretical framework of strain theory can be credited to sociologist Emile Durkheim. Durkheim research on formed a platform for other sociologist to further develop strain theories of crime. One of which is Robert Merton. One of Durkheim’s major works that opened the door to further research on strain theories was his book, Suicide. In this book Durkheim sough to understand the why led to one’s own self-destruction. Emile Durkheim studied suicide rates and its
The Deviance of Atheism Sociologically, deviance is defined as actions or behaviors that violate both formal and informal rules of social norms. I chose to address the deviance of atheist belief; the belief of heterosexual cis gendered middle class atheist males in America is incredibly deviant according to patriarchal historical pretense. Atheism is defined as “the doctrine that there is no deity” (Merriam-Webster). Heterosexual cis gendered middle class atheist males are deviant from the generationally
individuals are governed.” (ask.com, 2014) In Applerouth and Edles Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory 2nd edition textbook, there are two theorists that focus on structural functionalism. These theorists are Talcott C. Parsons and Robert K. Merton. Talcott Parsons’s was known as the greatest contributors, and specialist, of structural functionalism. Parsons’s theory was constructed from the AGIL system which is four functional imperatives. These imperatives include, “(1) The adaptive function
three sociological approaches such as, strain theory, rational choice and psychopathy. A sociological approach called strain theory, coined by Robert K. Merton (Bucerius lecture, Oct.7), looks at how individuals have different
According to Bernard, Snipes and Gerould (2010), Robert K. Merton adopted Emile Durkheim’s anomie theory, which Durkheim defined as the breakdown of social norms or rules, as a result of rapid social changes. In other words, anomie refers to a breakdown in the ability of society to regulate the natural appetites of individuals (Bernard et. al., 2010). Merton, however, argued that many of the appetites of individuals are not natural, instead, they are a product of American society. As stated by Bernard
which they find themselves"(Merton, 1957 p. 186). American sociologist, Robert Merton has become one of the worlds most cited theorist in the study of deviance. Born in 1910, in the slums of South Philadelphia, Merton received a scholarship attend Temple University, following his education at Temple, Merton won a graduate assistantship to Harvard, where he later went on to teach at the renowned University, (Lilly, 2002). In 1938, while teaching at Harvard, Merton published his book, "Social
The Sociological Quarterly 21, (1980): 529-544. Lemert, Charles. "Social Theory: Its Uses and Pleasures." Social Theory 1-20. Lemert, Charles., ed. Social Theory: The Multicultural and Classic Readings. 2nd ed. Boulder: Westview, 1999. Merton, Robert K. "Social Structure and Anomie." Social Theory 229-41. Mills, C. Wright. "The Sociological Imagination." Social Theory 115-123. Ward, David A., Timothy J. Carter, and Robin D. Perrin. Social Deviance: Being Behaving and Branding. Needham Heights:
provide a comparison of Robert K. Merton and Erving Goffman. These two theorists are very different. Merton is considered to be a functionalist and Goffman is an interactionist. These two different trajectories led these thinkers to have very different theories and ideas about the social world. The contrasts can be seen in some of their well known theories including Merton’s theories of the middle range and Goffman’s theories of impression management and total institutions. Merton valued a positivistic