5.5 Conclusion
Looking at these sociological theories of crime shows how difficult it is to really answer the question of what causes criminal behavior. Social structure encompasses so many aspects of life, and it is impossible to isolate one factor for study. However, with the goal of understanding society’s role in crime, one thing is clear: different groups have very different experiences in the United States, and that extends to crime and the notion of justice. In the following chapters, we will continue to explore different ways in which criminologists have attempted to explain the impact of society on offending behavior.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, we started exploring sociological theories of crime. Early concepts in the field, such as Durkheim’s anomie, which refers to normlessness during societal transition, influenced the development of theories that are still examined today. Social structural theories see that the institutions, culture, and patterns of relationships in a society impact and can cause human behavior, including crime. For example, the distance between what someone wants to achieve and what they are actually able to achieve leads to strain. Merton’s strain theory, which is focused on the structural level, claims that discrepancies between conventional goals and means lead to strain, and sometimes people adapt and take alternative routes to get to the goals they want. Agnew added to Merton’s ideas by identifying new types and ways of experiencing strain at an individual level.
The Chicago School is a collection of theories that came from theorists in Chicago during a time of rapid change and growth. Park and Burgess took an ecological approach to understanding city growth and compared it to that of plants. The resulting zones in an urban setting were linked to various social ills, including crime and deviance, which were most prominent in zone two. Shaw and McKay extended the work of Park and Burgess to establish social disorganization theory. This theory claims that neighborhoods with weak community controls and no collective efficacy due to poverty, residential mobility, and ethnic heterogeneity will experience a higher level of criminal and delinquent behavior.
Strain theories and social disorganization theory are still applicable today and have had a lasting impact on the field of criminology. Concepts and ideas from these theories have inspired similar approaches in new theories and crime prevention policies.
Discussion Questions and Supplemental Resources
Discussion Questions
- Explain how Merton’s strain theory differs from Agnew’s general strain theory. Why is Merton’s theory referred to as structural strain theory?
- What are some examples of institutional or conventional means and goals in the United States now? How do you think they influence conformity or deviance?
- What is the significance of the City of Chicago in The Chicago School theories?
- How do factors like poverty, ethnic heterogeneity, and residential instability contribute to increased crime rates, according to theories in this chapter?
- How might different theories in this chapter explain the importance of American culture in criminal offending behavior?
- Watch the CrashCourse Sociology video, Social Stratification in the US [Streaming Video]. How is the concept of social stratification relevant to the theories discussed in this chapter?
- What are the ethical considerations in terms of social justice and human rights in implementing policies based on social structural criminological perspectives?
Supplemental Resources
If you want to dig deeper into the topics covered in this chapter, check out the following resources:
- A synopsis of key factors in Merton’s strain theory [Website].
- The Chicago School of Criminology [Streaming Video]: A video example of the theory of social disorganization/Chicago School perspective.
Licenses and Attributions for Conclusion
Open Content, Original
“Conclusion” by Jessica René Peterson and Curt Sobolewski and Taryn VanderPyl is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
legal term describing the violation of a criminal law
the framework and relationship between institutions, groups, and norms in a society; all the things that make up a society
a state of normlessness in society, especially during societal transition
a statement that proposes to describe and explain why facts or other social phenomenon are related to each other based on observed patterns
a sociological term describing behavior that is outside of accepted social norms
the theory that neighborhoods with weak community controls caused by poverty, residential mobility, and ethnic heterogeneity will experience a higher level of criminal and delinquent behavior
the ability of a community to mobilize their existing social networks toward common goals, especially against crime, in their communities
the study of crime and why it happens
a theory that assumes a society has conventional goals and means to achieve them and that people who are unable to achieve conventional goals due to blocked opportunities experience structural strain and may adapt in a way that involves criminal behavior
a theory that posits different types of strain, felt at the individual level, can lead to frustration and negative emotions that may lead to crime if someone does not have adequate coping skills to deal with those strains