How did Merton adapt Durkheim's idea of anomie to explain crime?

Merton used anomie for the strain between the goals society sets and the legitimate means of reaching them. When success matters more than how it is achieved, the normal rules lose their hold.

Why did Merton think American society produced high levels of crime?

American culture encouraged everyone to aim for material success, known as the American Dream. Many people in the lower classes lacked legitimate means, such as a good education, to reach it.

Name Merton's five adaptations to the strain between goals and means.

Merton's five adaptations are conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. Conformity, the most common, accepts both the goal of success and the legitimate means.

What is innovation in Merton's theory?

Innovators accept the goal of success but reach it by illegitimate means, such as theft or fraud. Merton saw innovation as the main source of crime among the lower classes.

How does ritualism differ from retreatism in Merton's theory?

Ritualists give up on success but stick rigidly to the rules, often in dull lower-middle-class jobs. Retreatists reject both goals and means and drop out of society, as some long-term drug addicts do.

AQA GCSE Sociology 8192

The Sociological Approach

Topic overview Key sociological concepts Sociological perspectives: consensus and conflict Durkheim, Marx and Weber How sociological knowledge develops

Families

Topic overview Functions of families Family forms and diversity Conjugal roles and the domestic division of labour Changing relationships within families Criticisms of families Divorce in Britain since 1945

Education

Topic overview Roles and functions of education Education, capitalism and the correspondence principle Class and gender differences in achievement Ethnicity, parental choice and school markets Processes within schools

Crime and Deviance

Topic overview Social construction of crime and deviance Formal and informal social control Explanations of criminal behaviour Patterns of crime and public debates Crime statistics and the dark figure

Social Stratification

Topic overview Functionalist theory of stratification Marx, Weber and socio-economic class Factors affecting life chances Poverty as a social issue Forms of power and authority Power relationships

Research Methods

Topic overview Research design, hypotheses and data analysis Sampling methods Questionnaires and interviews Observation and mixed methods Types of data and official statistics Reliability, validity, ethics and practical issues

Crime and Deviance

Explanations of criminal behaviour

3 things to know
Paper 2

Overview

Merton's strain theory and five adaptations, Albert Cohen's status frustration and delinquent subcultures, and Carlen's interviews with women offenders on the class deal and gender deal.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Who and when

What is a delinquent subculture, according to Albert Cohen?

Who and when

Why do some working-class women turn to crime, according to Carlen?

Numbers

Who was Robert Merton, and when did he set out his theory of crime?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
Who was Robert Merton, and when did he set out his theory of crime?
Model answer
Robert Merton was an American functionalist sociologist. Merton first set out his theory of anomie and crime in 1938.
2
How did Merton adapt Durkheim's idea of anomie to explain crime?
Model answer
Merton used anomie for the strain between the goals society sets and the legitimate means of reaching them. When success matters more than how it is achieved, the normal rules lose their hold.
3
Why did Merton think American society produced high levels of crime?
Model answer
American culture encouraged everyone to aim for material success, known as the American Dream. Many people in the lower classes lacked legitimate means, such as a good education, to reach it.
4
Name Merton's five adaptations to the strain between goals and means.
Model answer
Merton's five adaptations are conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. Conformity, the most common, accepts both the goal of success and the legitimate means.
5
What is innovation in Merton's theory?
Model answer
Innovators accept the goal of success but reach it by illegitimate means, such as theft or fraud. Merton saw innovation as the main source of crime among the lower classes.
6
How does ritualism differ from retreatism in Merton's theory?
Model answer
Ritualists give up on success but stick rigidly to the rules, often in dull lower-middle-class jobs. Retreatists reject both goals and means and drop out of society, as some long-term drug addicts do.

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AONS figures show that divorces rose briefly after the Second World War.

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