Chapter 4 Flashcards
What is Anomie?
Anomie is a state of normlessness where society lacks clear rules to guide people’s behaviour, leading to confusion and deviance.
Who introduced the concept of Anomie?
Émile Durkheim in his study of suicide.
What causes Anomie according to Durkheim?
Rapid social change disrupts norms, leading to uncertainty and deviance.
What is Merton’s Strain Theory?
Society sets goals (e.g., American Dream) but unequal access to means creates strain, leading to deviance.
What are Merton’s Five Adaptations to Strain?
Conformity – Accepts goals & means.
Innovation – Accepts goals, and uses illegal means.
Ritualism – Rejects goals and follows strict rules.
Retreatism – Rejects both goals & means.
Rebellion – Replaces goals & means with new ones.
What is Cloward & Ohlin’s Differential Opportunity Theory?
Just as legal opportunities are unequal, illegal opportunities are also unequally distributed.
What are the three deviant subcultures in Cloward & Ohlin’s theory?
Criminal Subcultures: Organized crime for financial success.
Conflict Subcultures:
Violence and gang activity.
Retreatist Subcultures:
Drug use and isolation.
What is Cohen’s Delinquent Subculture Theory?
Lower-class youth face status frustration and form oppositional subcultures.
What is Agnew’s General Strain Theory (GST)?
A: Strain comes from:
1. Failure to achieve goals.
2. Loss of positive stimuli.
3. Presence of negative stimuli.
What makes strain more likely to cause crime (Agnew)?
When it is unfair, intense, and pressures criminal coping.
What is Messner & Rosenfeld’s Institutional Anomie Theory?
The American Dream creates pressure to succeed at any cost, leading to corporate crime & economic-driven deviance.
What is Broken Windows Theory?
The Broken Windows Theory suggests that visible signs of disorder (like graffiti, litter, or vandalism) encourage more crime because they signal that laws aren’t being enforced.
How does Social Disorganization Theory connect to Strain Theories?
Poor neighborhoods with high instability lack social control, increasing crime.
What are common criticisms of Anomie & Strain Theories?
- Too focused on money as a goal.
- Fails to explain white-collar crime.
- Does not account for social bonds.
