CRJU 3410 1st Edition Lecture 13Outline of Last Lecture i. Structural Functionalismii. Structural Functionalism & Emile Durkheimiii. Durkheim’s Anomie Theoryiv. Merton’s Strain Theoryv. Merton’s 5 Adaptations to Strain vi. Cloward& Ohlin’s Differential Opportunity Theoryvii. Cloward& Ohlin: Group Adaptations to Anomieviii. Strengths and Weaknessesix. Differential Opportunity & Public PolicyOutline of Current Lecture I. Agnew’s General Strain TheoryII. Agnew: Adaptations to Strain III. Institutional Anomie TheoryIV. 2 Step Crime ReductionV. Assessing Anomie/StrainVI. Criticism of Strain VII. Strengths and WeaknessesVIII. Public Policy IX. Law Enforcement Practices Current LectureI. Agnew’s General Strain Theorya. Redefined goals of American youth to include short-term aspirationsb. Social injustice/inequity is the root of strain which is the cause of crimec. Traditional vs. General StrainThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.i. Monetary vs. negative affective states (negative emotions) much more individualistic than societal (as previous theories were)d. 3 Major types of strain: i. Strain as the failure to achieve positively valued goals1. Disjunction between what you can do versus expectation2. Disjunction between expectation versus actual achievement3. Disjunction between just/fair outcomes and actual failed outcomeii. Strain as the removal of a positive valued stimuliiii. Strain as the presentation of negative stimuli e. Actual or anticipated strains may create a predisposition for delinquency f. 4 factors predispose them to delinquency i. normative coping strategies at absolute limitii. chronic strain lowers threshold for tolerance of adversityiii. chronic strain may lead to a hostile attitudeiv. chronic strain increases likelihood that they will be high in negative arousal at any given time II. Agnew: Adaptations to Strain a. Cognitive Coping (Change How You Think)i. Ignore/minimize importance of adversityii. Maximize positive outcomes, minimize negative outcomesiii. Accept responsibility for adversity b. Behavior Coping (Change How You Act)i. Maximize positive outcomes, minimize negative outcomesii. Vengeful behavior c. Emotional Coping (Change How You Feel)i. Act directly on the negative emotion III. Messner& Rosenfeld’s Institutional Anomie Theory a. The social reorganization for American society was the American Dream i. Anybody can achieve the American dream (financial success and stability)b. Communities work best when all the institutions contribute equally to welfare of citizens c. Crime results from American society due to 4 value orientations: i. American Dream’s economic sphere emphasizes achievementii. Emphasizes achieving success on our owniii. Endorses universal normative expectationsiv. Money the metric of success d. Dominance of economic institution has created a situation which makes crime a natural product of unbalanced social system IV. Messner& Rosenfeld’s 2 step Program for Crime Reductiona. 1. Society must reform its social institutionsb. 2. A redefinition of the American Dream to reduce the cultural pressures toward criminality and overemphasis on materialism V. Assessing Anomie/Strain Theoriesa. Durkheim’s anomie theory rarely testedb. Institutional anomie theory i. Chamlin and Cochran (1995): found tentative supportc. Addressing quest for monetary successi. Agnew et al (1996): found level of monetary dissatisfaction predicted income generating crimeii. Cernkovich et al (2000): Explored monetary success goal and satisfaction, found it related for Whites but not Blacks d. Overall, evidence tends to provide conditional support for the revised versions VI. Criticisms of Strain Theories a. Deviance is a relative conceptb. Class-biasedc. Not a general theory of behaviord. Too simplistic an answer to a complex probleme. Untestedf. Few tests of adult samplesg. Possibly racist, sexist, or bothh. Failure of general strain theory to serve as a mediating force VII. Strengths & WeaknessesTheory Strengths WeaknessesInstitutionalAnomie Theory(Messner, Rosenfeld)• Explains why crime rates are higher in America than in other capitalist societies.• Attaining a mature society with balance between its institutions may prove illusive• Empirical validity weak and uncertainGeneral Strain Theory(Agnew)• Provides a micro-level application to strain;• Research results are promising• Somewhat easier to measure than anomie• Hasn’t yielded definitive results, yet itis promisingVIII. Strain Theories and Public Policy a. One of the richest sources of policy initiative in history of criminologyIX. Strain Theories & Law Enforcement Practices a. Provides insight into police corruptionb. Society’s desire for law and order contrasts with its antipathy toward governmentauthorityi. Cops in anomic trap, caught between competing goals c. Police deviance can result from strains created by an ambiguous social system that pressures the police to response efficiently to crime, but restrains their ability to do so with due process