ADJUS-120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Anomie, Social Control, Ritualism In The Church Of England

• School: Diablo Valley College
• Department: Administration Of Justice
• Course: ADJUS-120
• Professor: sinsel

Document Summary

Structural strain theory: robert merton re-engineered durkheim"s concept. Focused on the social system and how it produced social norms: merton argued that: Those goals can be attained by legitimate or illegitimate means: merton saw wealth and financial success as the primary goal emphasised by american society. The american dream: the socially approved (legitimate) means of attaining it are through education and employment, anomie results from an imbalance between societal goals and the means of achieving them. Very different from durkheim"s conceptualization (i. e. rapid social change leading to crime: members of social may employ several modes of adaptation in responses to anomie and strain: Conformity accept the cultural goals and means of attaining them (most common adaptation) Ritualism accept means, but reject cultural goal (e. g. work, but settle for less, such as a smaller house) Retreatism reject both cultural goals and means: outcasts, vagrants, drunkards, drug addicts (merton, 1957) Rebellion reject goals and means, substituting new ones: bikies (?)