SOCPSY 2YY3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Travis Hirschi, Anomie, Differential Association
6 Jan 2020
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Anomie - sense of normlessness that can occur in times of social change or upheaval when there is little consensus about what is right and wrong. Robert merton applied durkheim"s concept of anomie to study deviance. Strain theory: states that there are some things that is legitimate to desire in our society but not everyone can legitimately obtain these. Merton"s typology of the relationship between societies goals and individual deviance. Focus on conformity - why do people choose not to commit deviant acts. Deviance occurs when an individual bonds with society are weakened in some way. Commitment - decision to follow the rules (rational component) Belief - respect for law and order in society. Deviance is learned through interactions with others (learned in groups) There is a cost benefit analysis when choosing deviant behavior. Deterrence factors - do they make crime more or less likely. Certainty - how likely people believe they are to get caught.
