STRAIN THEORY (CONFORMITY AND DEVIANCE) – ROBERT K MERTON

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UPSC SOCIOLOGY – Paper 1 – SOCIOLOGICAL THINKERS –  Robert K. Merton- Latent and manifest functions, conformity and  deviance, reference groups

 

  • Conformity is that action which is oriented to social norms or expectations. It falls within the toleration prescribed by the society.
  • Deviance is non-conformity or deviating from the accepted path. Deviant in one society may be normal in other societies.
  • Merton views Anomie as a part of the system and a general feature of society. He defines its as ‘A situation in which there is a  discrepancy between culturally defined goals and structural means available to achieve them. Deviance is considered as a result of Anomie.

 

APPLICATION OF STRUCTURAL STRAIN AND DEVIANCE

  • Merton  gives the example of  American dream.
  • American Society places a great emphasis on material success but many people fail to achieve this success .
  • It is because structural means are not sufficient.
  • Only a few people reach at the top and this creates a feeling of depreciation among others.
  • Not all groups of people have equal access to those means.
  • The result is a structural strain that produces deviance.
  • Lower class individuals are most likely to experience these strains.
  • These individuals are more likely to turn to crime.
 

RESPONSES OF A DEVIANT PERSON

  • Conformist
    She accepts both goals and means and despite their utility or fairness, she keeps pursuing them. Eg: A student keeps on learning to get into a professional career (the goal) even though the method is not suitable for him.
  • Innovator
    It occurs when an individual accept culturally defined goals but reject socially accepted means. Innovators are imperfectly socialized. Eg: Scientists, Thieves.
  • Ritualist
    A Ritualist accepts socially understandable means but fails to understand the goals. Eg: Red-tapism in bureaucracy.
  • Retreatist
    It involves rejection of both means and goals. They are indifferent to socio-cultural norms and values. Eg: Alcoholics, vagrants, etc
  • Rebellion
    Involves rejection of both goals and means and then the creation of new means and goals. Eg: Social Reformers

     

ANOMIE AS A DYSFUNCTION

  • Anomie is a particular example of structural functionalism.
  • The basic idea of Robert K. Merton’s anomie theory is that most people strive to achieve culturally recognized goals. A state of anomie develops when access to these goals is blocked to entire groups of people or individuals. 
  • As per his functional paradigm, he is mainly concerned with dysfunctions.
  • Merton also introduces an element of criticism to the process of stratification in society which is seen as totally functional by the earlier structural functionalists.

 

CRITICISM

  • Merton refers to goals and means, but there may be other aspects of social structure which may cause Anomie.
  • Albert Cohen argues that deviance is due to a specific subculture that members of a particular subgroup develops. Hence, it is collective in nature and not at an individual level as Merton has tried to prove.
  • A person at different times may respond to the same type of social impetus differently. This shows that anomic behaviour depends on the individual as well.
  • Lemert and Laurie Taylor argue that those who wield power also decide who will be deviant. Definitions of deviance don’t reflect consensus of society.