![]() For example, one study of adolescents measured strain with an index of Negative Life Events (such as the death of a friend) and with an index of Life Hassles (such as not being respected). Strain theorists sometimes say, “When kids get mad, they get bad.” Although that saying risks trivializing the theory, the saying does state the core of the argument. For instance, if parents verbally and physically abuse and reject a child, the child will respond by engaging in delinquent acts (Agnew 2007). Of the three types, general strain theory gives priority to the third type of strain, negative stimuli. Table 12.3 Quick Recap: Deviance Produced by Societal Strain Structural strain leads to four types of deviant behavior called innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion ( Table 12.3). ![]() Structural strain develops when conventional goals cannot be met through conventional means. Most people are conformist in this sense of the term. If you strive to obtain success in this way, you are, in effect, conforming to expectations. In the United States, for instance, obtaining wealth is a legitimate goal, and education is a culturally approved means to attain that goal. According to the theory, structural strain develops when culturally prescribed goals cannot be attained through culturally approved means. Strain Theoryĭuring the 1930s, sociologists began exploring a theory of deviance called strain theory (Merton 1938), and by the 1960s, it had become widely accepted. In short, despite the passage of 100 years, Durkheim’s insights into the functions of crime resonate in contemporary society. If you observe other students copying a term paper from the Internet, you might chastise them, thereby placing them on the far side of the moral boundary between cheaters and non-cheaters. Even noncriminal offenses, such as student cheating (plagiarizing), highlight moral boundaries. Films and television dramas about crime almost always end with criminals being caught or killed, thereby reinforcing the line between right and wrong. The process of crime and punishment also creates what current sociologists call a moral boundary: a set of distinctions based on ethical attributes that separate people into two broad groups: one socially construed as “bad” and the other socially constructed as “good.” This determination is crucial because insiders deserve community support while outsiders deserve little or nothing. Although these are works of fiction, by dramatizing fictional crime-fighting technology, they spur the development of real-world technology and motivate young people to enter careers in law enforcement. Today, the scientific aspects of crime investigations have caught the public imagination as exemplified by television shows such as NCSI, CSI Miami, Bones, and, more recently, CSI Cyber. The current controversy over privacy and government snooping speak to the point that Durkheim made more than a century ago.ĭurkheim also argued that the total suppression of crime would remove the opportunity for many social changes. Today, the task would involve technological surveillance by spy cameras, hidden microphones, and GPS tracking devices beyond what we can imagine. In his day, it would require thousands of police officers patrolling virtually every city block and every mile of country road. Given the number of criminal laws and size of the United States population, thousands of people will accidentally or deliberately break one or more laws each day.ĭurkheim further argued that to enforce total compliance with the law would require a ruthless system of enforcement. Adding to the confusion is the fact that state and local governments have passed laws criminalizing thousands of behaviors. Justice Department estimates that there are approximately 5,000 federal crimes, but since these offenses are scattered among 23,000 pages of Federal Code, no one is sure of the precise number or which laws are still in effect. Even though Durkheim was writing at a time when Western societies were much smaller and technologically simpler than now, his point still applies. ![]() On empirical grounds, he said that because complex societies require so many laws, it is inevitable that someone is likely to break one. ![]() Émile Durkheim on Crime and PunishmentĪccording to Durkheim, crime is normal for several reasons. How can crime be functional when it harms people, property, and the community? We now address that question and expand on Durkheim’s explanations for crime and punishment. He asserted, as we mentioned at the outset of this chapter, that crime is normal because it is functional. ![]() Émile Durkheim helped to develop what is now called functionalism. ![]()
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