In this unit you will be presented with a comparative critique of parsons and merton on some selected areas, in their functional approach. Merton, 1945b, in 1949 when he elaborated one for functional analysis, and later one for structural analysis merton, 1975. Theories of the middle range according to robert k. Robert mertons contributions to the sociology of deviance. Mertons inter vention d efinitely extended the life of functionalism, with the introduction of some valid new concepts. The enduring theoretical significance of strain theory lies in its sociological completeness. Merton is considered one of americas most influential social scientists. Deviance provides the key to understanding the disruption. Merton 19102003 born of poor jewish immigrant parents from eastern europe, merton has become one of the leading proponents of structural functionalism and influential figures in modern sociology. Merton department of sociology columbia university new york, ny 10027 february 9, 1980 ccnumber 21 this weeks citation classicmay 26, 1980 merton r k.
In criminology, the strain theory describes social structures inside society that may support people to carry out crime. It is a more elaborate formulation of a theory that applies to a society like. Read about social thinkers and thinkers of sociology. Brooks march 4, 2012 since the beginning of mankind criminality has been a major problem and the most debated topic of interest by theorist on the grounds of why crime is committed, who is more prone to commit crime, and what prevents people from. Merton and talcott parsons were the twin theoretical towers of structuralfunctionalism. Each copy of any part of a jstor transmission must contain the same notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. Merton emphasized that, rather than a person assuming one role and one status, they have a status. Merton on the social and economic conditions of america. Social roles were central to mertons theory of social groups. So, the views are at different ends of the spectrum.
This paper assesses the theoretical and policy significance of one of robert merton s most influential contributions to modern sociology, the anomie or strain theory of deviant behavior. Motivating sentiments and conflict openedition journals. Mertons theory of anomie is a borrowing but essentially different from that of durkheim. A state of anomie develops when access to these goals is blocked to entire groups of people or individuals. Although the idea has been, and still is controversial, the suggestion that sociologists develop middlerange theories which come between grand theories and more narrow empirical observations struck a. Robert mertons 1957 theories of anomie is the most widely examined theory of criminality. However, equal access to those goals did not exist. Merton has 32 books on goodreads with 7647 ratings. Savannah state university theories of criminal behavior prof. Merton was born july 4, 1910 and died february 23, 2003. On sociological theories of the middle range 1949 robert k. Merton 19102003 merton on structural functionalism.
Merton termed this as adumbrationism or the denigrating of new ideas by pretending to find them old. First and foremost, he contributed to sociological theory and is the founder of the sociology of science. The functionalist perspective on deviance boundless. Quelles sont les contributions theoriques dun classique. Ccnumber 21 this weeks citation classicmay 26, 1980. Functionalism claims that deviance help to create social stability by presenting explanations of nonnormative and normative behaviors. He created an american style of sociological inquiry theories of the middle range that linked theories closely with empirical testing. The exploration of the social conditions that facilitate or retard the search for scientific knowledge has been the major theme of robert k.
Because its referents are so diverse including everything from minor working hypotheses, through. A clear example of this was sorokins berating of marx and engel as being without originality and that their theories were completely political. This presentation is based on the theories of robert king merton as presented in his works. Mertons work has contributed greatly to criminological theory as he took a different perspective than durkheims concept of anomie and reworked to the american context. Merton in theories of the middle range, in social theory and social structure 3rd ed. Merton, argues deviance and crime comes from strain, the presence of norms. Cohen, richard cloward and lloyd ohlin, robert agnew, and steven messner and richard rosenfeld. His contributions have sparked research on deviant behavior, or studies of criminality. This paper assesses the theoretical and policy significance of one of robert mertons most influential contributions to modern sociology, the anomie or strain theory of deviant behavior. Pdf robert k mertons theory of anomie and crime in. Merton like so many words that are bandied about, the word theory threatens to become meaningless. Chapter 4 anomiestrain theory 3 strain theories are generally macrolevel theories, and they share several core assumptions.
Merton harvard university t here persists a notable tendency in sociological theory to attribute the malfunctioning of social structure primarily to those of mans imperious biological drives which are not adequately restrained by social control. A structural functionalist approach emphasizes social solidarity, divided into organic and mechanical typologies, and stability in social structures. Mertons theory of anomie explains how people may involve in criminal activities by illegitimate opportunities for achieving desired goals in a. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext.
Merton 19102003 was one of the most influential sociologists of the twentieth century, producing clear theories and innovative research that continue to shape multiple disciplines. Merton demonstrated an impressive productivity as a sociologist of different specialties. Durkheim developed the theory of anomie, a state where there is an absence of norms regulating human behaviour. An overview of mertons attempt to marry theory to research. The theories and concepts of anomie and strain that merton argued have influenced the works of cohen as well as the new deviancy theory and the new penology. This collection of papers is a fascinating overview of this sustained inquiry. On sociological theories of the middle range 1949 csun. Two traces of pareto in mertons effort toward a theory of reference groups.
Mertons reach can be felt in the study of social structure, social psychology, deviance, professions, organizations, culture, and science. Merton, in this book, also introduced the notion of theories of the middlerange to sociology. Merton, in full robert king merton, original name meyer robert schkolnick, born july 4, 1910, philadelphia, pennsylvania, u. Mertons anomie theory is that most people strive to achieve culturally recognized goals. The result is a deviant behaviour characterized by rebellion, retreat, ritualism, innovation, andor conformity. Mertons most popular book is social theory and social structure.
In its simplest understanding, the strain theory asserts that there are certain factors in the society such as stressors and strains that can. Mertons strain theory is an important contribution to the study of crime and deviance in the 1940s it helped to explain why crime continued to exist in countries, such as america, which were experiencing increasing economic growth and wealth. Partly as a result of scientific achievements, therefore, the population at. Robert merton presented two, not always clearly differentiated theories in his seminal explorations on the social.
K merton came as rejection of mega theory of parsonian sociology. Merton social theory and social structure by robert k. Merton, social theory and social structure newyork. Merton, one of the towering figures on whose shoulders contemporary sociology rests, died sunday, february 23, 2003.
Following the work of emile durkheim, strain theories have been supported by robert king merton, albert k. His theory advocates that theory building in sociology should not be governed by intellectual aggression or academic speculation. His publications include the classic social theory and social structure and on the shoulders of giants. The varying perspective of parsons and merton in their study of sociology is discussed in subsection 31. Robert merton is a functionalist sociologist who viewed society as a system of functioning parts or structures that, together, create a stable. The basic sources are the three articles included in part iii of social theory and social structure, the sociology of knowledge and mass communications merton 1957, and a second direction indicated in mertons thesis on puritanism in science, technology and society in seventeenth century england merton 1970or as harriet zukermann. Jstor is an independent notforprofit organization dedicated to and preserving a digital archive of scholarly journals. Robert mertons contribution to sociology is one of great importance in regards to the functional perspective of society. Storer the university of chicago press chicago and london 73 the sociology of science theoretical and empirical investigations the normative structure of science 1942 science, like any other activity involving social collaboration, is subject to shifting fortunes. Taking a look at how this sociologist viewed the entire organism of society, this quiz and corresponding worksheet will help you gauge your knowledge of robert k. Because its referents are so diverse including everything from minor working hypotheses, through comprehensive but vague and unordered speculations. Andserendipity again perhapsmerton decided to sit in on the first theory course offered by the young talcott parsons, just back from europe. Brooks march 4, 2012 since the beginning of mankind criminality has been a major problem and the most debated topic of interest by theorist on the grounds of why crime is committed, who is more prone to commit crime, and what prevents people from committing. Robert k mertons strain theory explained sociology.
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