Strength A03

Question 1

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Answer 1

S1. A useful additional theory to Durkheim’s. It helps to illustrate in a particular context (the American Great Depression) how structural change can increase crime & deviance, exploring reasons why different social classes might be more or less likely to deviate.

S2. Merton usefully shows how both normal & deviant behaviour can arise from the same mainstream goals. i.e. Conformists (more likely to be middle class) & innovators (more likely to be working class) both pursue the same goal, but by different means.

S3. He helps to explain patterns shown in official statistics – most crime is property crime (because American society values material wealth so highly) & committed by the working class (who have the least opportunity to obtain wealth legitimately).

Question 2

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Answer 2

S4. It helpfully explains how deviance results from individuals adapting to the strain to anomie (which Durkheim does not do) but ignores the role of group deviance, such as delinquent subcultures (which subcultural strain theories such as Cohen and Cloward & Ohlin then go on to do!).

S5. Hannon & Defronzo (1998) provide some empirical support for Merton in a study of 406 metropolitan counties in the USA & found that those with higher levels of welfare provision (e.g. child support) had lower levels of crime. They argued that the welfare provision opened up opportunities for people to achieve the goal of material success through legitimate means & therefore reduced anomie & the crime which would result from it. In short, their study shows that if people are given a decent standard of living then less of them commit crime.