Wrap-up on Anomie/Strain Theory, Contemporary Perspectives & Guidelines for Making up Short-Answer Questions

WRAP-UP OF ANOMIE/STRAIN THEORY

I trust those of you in attendance got the point about Merton's theory and his 5 modes of adaptation, the main criminal path being that of "innovation." I also talked briefly about a couple later modifications. At the very end, I made a few scattered remarks about research support for the theory, so let me go back to that.

F. Research on this theory offers mixed support. Looking at official figures, the inverse relationship between social class and crime does appear to hold up, especially considering serious offenses (but there is less of a difference when considering minor offenses).

1. There is even a mixed picture when we consider the relationship between unemployment and crime. Citing a couple studies from the 1980s, Prof. Akers observes: "...there is little evidence that unemployment motivates people to commit criminal acts. Moreover, crime is as likely to affect unemployment as vice versa." (especially these days with widespread drug-testing)

2. Focusing just on the "social structural correlates" of crime, such as social class, poverty, unemployment, racial heterogeneity, there is some fairly strong evidence of the influence of such factors. And this is seen as consistent with Merton's anomie theory.

G. Despite some of the problems we've seen with both social disorganization and anomie theories, our two MACRO theories, I would endorse the general policy recommendations that flow from these theories, as Prof. Akers describes:

"The utlimate policy implications of any structural theory is that basic social changes need to be fostered to remove the criminogenic features of economic, political, and social institutions of society. The clear implication of anmoie theory, for instance, is to promote the integration of cultural goals and socially approved means, and the redistribution of opportunities in the class system."

And, I would add, David Callahan in "The Cheating Culture" draws a similar conclusion.


CONTEMPORARY "THEORIES"

A. Many of the more contemporary theories, to my mind, don't represent much of an improvement over the traditional theories we've covered to this point. Indeed, they seem to be more concerned with exposing the biases in the way our criminal justice system operates.

CONFLICT THEORY: biases based on social class and race; that we have a two-tiered justice system with lower classes and minorities getting harsher treatment. Or, that laws (such as drug laws) seem more directed at these groups than people of higher socio-economic status.

MARXIST THEORY: biases based on social class; that laws mainly protect property rights of the capitalist class and the focus of our criminal justice system is on street crime engaged in mainly by lower and working classes.

FEMINIST THEORY: biases based on gender, especially the subordinate position of women.

B. No doubt these "theories," or better, perspectives, bring out some valid issues, but many of these theorists tend to exaggerate the role of these factors and they are more IDEOLOGICAL. Among them, I would say the feminist's claim that there are biases against women in our criminal justice system may be the most unjustified. The conflict theorists have helped to expose the issue of racial bias, which I believe there is evidence for, especially considering the impact of the drug war, but many criminologists (such as Prof. Akers) downplay the role of race as an "extra-legal" variable in criminal justice decision-making. The Marxists may have a point in suggesting that capitalist societies (with greater inequality) tend to have higher rates of crime than socialist ones. But they have been guilty of idealizing socialist systems, or just assuming they would have lower crime rates. Also, they did not seem to be aware of the obvious differences in crime rates between various capitalist countries.

1. An interesting point some Marxist theorists have raised is -- that as the former Soviet Union , Eastern Europe (I would say, even China) have become more capitalist, their crime rates have risen dramatically. But that is a bit simplistic. We must consider how repressive the former Soviet Union was, for example, and that other things could explain this surge.

CONCLUDING OBSERVATION ON THE SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIMINAL AND DEVIANT BEHAVIOR:

Even though no theory stands out as THE answer to the many different types of criminal and deviant behavior, I believe sociologists have identified some important social factors that must be considered not only in terms of explaining this behavior but also in, ultimately, addressing this problem more effectively.


GUIDELINES FOR MAKING UP SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS FROM THE CHAPTERS IN "CRIME TYPES" WHICH YOU WILL BE REPORTING ON.

1. Remember, I am asking each family to submit THREE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS on anything you reported on in your chapter. You may submit them to me in writing or via email. I will consider them and post on the blog the ones I accept.

2. Types of questions I do NOT want: NO TRUE-FALSE, NO MULTIPLE CHOICE.

3. Fill-in-the-blank is ok. But basically what I mean by short-answer are questions that can be answered in a word, sentence, or a few sentences, at most. For example, a question I might ask about the theories might be: What is the first proposition of Differential Association theory? Answer: criminal behavior is learned. (I could also ask, briefly discuss why this is significant, which could be answered in a couple sentences. That would make it a 2 or 3 point question.)

4. You can make up multiple-point questions, but no more than three or four points.


REMINDERS:

***Several of you still need to turn in your first essays. Please do so ASAP. I will probably be handing back the essays next Tuesday (10/11), which means that will be the deadline for late papers.

***On Tuesday, 10/11, our next class. We will start right off with the Green Family reporting on Chapter 2: Homicide and Assault, and then move on to the Blue Family reporting on Chapter 3: Violent Sex Crimes.