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I. Interconnectedness of Sociological Theories (page 116) A. Sociological theories seek to uncover the reasons for differences in crime rates in the social environment. B. These sociological theories can be grouped into three categories: 1. Strain Theory argues that all members of society subscribe to one set of cultural values; the values of the middle class. 2. Cultural Deviance Theories claim that the lower class has its own, different set of values, which tends to conflict with the values of the middle class. 3. Social Control Theories are based on the assumption that the motivation to commit crime is a part of human nature. As such, social control theorists seek to understand why people do not offend. II. Anomie: Emile Durkheim (page 116) A. The Structural-Functionalist Perspective 1. From this perspective, Durkheim introduced the concept of anomie, the breakdown of social order as a result of the loss of standards and values. 2. Durkheim believed that as a simple society transforms into a modern, urbanized society, the intimacy needed to sustain a common set of norms declines. 3. The decline of the intimacy and solidarity of simple societies results in anomie. B. Anomie and Suicide 1. Durkheim introduced the concept of anomie in a discussion of suicide. 2. Statistical analyses revealed that suicide rates increase in periods of rapid change when people are abruptly thrown into unfamiliar situations, for better or worse. 3. Anomie can develop whenever the rules that once guided behavior have changed. III. Strain Theory (page 117) A. Merton’s Theory of Anomie 1. Merton argues that in a class-oriented society, opportunities to get to the top are not equally distributed, with very few member of the lower class ever reaching the top. 2. His theory of anomie emphasizes the importance of two elements in society: a. cultural aspirations, or goals that people believe are worth striving for b. institutionalized means or accepted ways to attain the desired ends. 28 3. For a society to be stable, these two elements must be fairly well integrated. Disparity between goals and means fosters frustration, which leads to strain. 4. Merton’s Strain Theory explains crime in the United States in terms of the wide disparities in income among the classes. 5. Merton acknowledged that the high rate of deviant behavior in the United States cannot be explained solely on the basis of lack of means. 6. India is a country that has a more rigid class system than the United States with more limitations on people’s ability to achieve goals, without the problems that are present in American society. 7. India does not suffer from the problems that the United States does because, in India, people learn from birth that all people do not and cannot aspire to the same things 8. Not everyone that is denied access to goals becomes deviant. 9. Merton proposes five modes of adaptation that explain how people adapt to society’s goals and means. a. Conformity b. Innovation c. Ritualism d. Retreatism e. Rebellion 10. Tests of Merton’s Theory a. Social Class and Crime b. Race and Crime 11. Evaluation: Merton’s Theory a. The concentration of crime in the lower levels of the socioeconomic hierarchy neglects crime committed by members of the middle and upper class. b. Some criticize whether a society as heterogeneous as ours really has goals on which everyone agrees. B. Institutional Imbalance and Crime 1. In Crime and the American Dream, Steven Messner and Richard Rosenfeld agree that the goal of material success is pervasive in American culture. 2. The American dream encourages high-crime rates by suggesting that individuals should succeed by any means necessary, even if those means are illegitimate. 3. At the crux of the problem is the dominance of economic institutions, as demonstrated by: a. The devaluation of noneconomic roles and functions. b. The accommodation of other institutions to economic needs. c. The penetration of economic norms. 4. Crime will only decrease when noneconomic institutions have the capacity to control behavior. C. General Strain Theory 29 1. Robert Agnew revised Merton’s theory to explain more criminal behavior. 2. General Strain Theory suggests that there are three basic types of strain-producing events: a. Strain caused by failure to achieve positively valued goals. b. Stress caused by the removal of a positively valued stimuli from the individual. c. Strain caused by the presentation of negative stimuli. 3. This theory acknowledges that not everyone who experiences strain becomes a criminal. 4. Many are equipped to cope with their frustration and anger. The capacity to deal with strain depends on personal experiences throughout life. 5. Theory Informs Policy a. Head Start b. Perry Preschool Project IV. Cultural Deviance Theories (page 127) A. Cultural deviance theories attribute crime to a set of values that exist in disadvantaged neighborhoods. B. The Nature of Cultural Deviance 1. Deviance is defined as any behavior that members of a social group define as violating their norms. 2. Cultural deviance theorists argue that our society is made up of various groups and subgroups, each with its own standards of right and wrong. 3. Those who conform to the standards of cultures considered deviant are behaving in accordance with their own norms, but may be breaking the law—the norms of the dominant culture. C. Social Disorganization Theory 1. This theory focuses on the development of high-crime areas in which there is a disintegration of conventional values caused by rapid industrialization, increased immigration, and urbanization. 2. The Park and Burgess Model 3. Shaw and McKay’s Work a. Their work led to the conclusion that the crucial factor is not ethnicity but the position of the group in terms of economic status and cultural values. b. Cultural transmission indicates that delinquency is socially learned behavior, transmitted from one generation to the next in disorganized urban areas. D. Tests of Social Disorganization Theory 1. Social disorganization theory fell out of favor in the 1970s, but recaptured the attention of social ecologists in the 1980s and 1990s. 30 2. Ralph Taylor suggested separating the possible consequences of rising crime rates in neighborhoods into three categories: a. Psychological and Social Effects b. Behavioral Effects c. Economic Effects E. Evaluation: Social Disorganization Theory 1. This work is criticized for too much focus on how crime patterns are transmitted, and not how they start in the first place. 2. Does not account for the aging-out phenomenon. 3. Does not explain why most people that live in these areas do not commit crime. 4. Does not explain why some bad neighborhoods are insulated from crime. 4. Does not explain middle class delinquency. F. Theory Informs Policy 1. The Chicago Area Project 2. Operation Weed and Seed G. Differential Association Theory 1. This theory maintains that people learn to commit crime as the result of contact with antisocial values, attitudes, and criminal behavior patterns. 2. Sutherland’s Theory has nine propositions that explain the process of the transmission of values. H. Tests of Differential Association Theory I. Evaluation: Differential Association Theory 1. Much of the criticism of differential association theory stems from misinterpretation. 2. Some question whether this theory explains all types of crime. 3. Differential association theory suggests that there is an inevitability about the process of becoming a criminal. J. Theory Informs Policy 1. LEAP K. Culture Conflict Theory 1. Culture conflict theory states that different groups learn different conduct norms and that the conduct norms of some groups may clash with conventional middle class rules. 2. Culture conflict theory focuses on the source of these criminal norms and attitudes. 31