STRAIN THEORIES

• Strain is related to criminal motivation, people who feel

economically and socially humiliated may perceive the right to
humiliate others in return.
 THE CONCEPT OF ANOMIE

• The roots of strain theories can be traced to emile Durkheim notion of

anomie

• According to him, anomic society is one in which rules of behavior have

broken down or become inoperative during periods of rapid social
change or crisis such as war or famine
 ROBERT MERTON’S THEORY
OF ANOMIE

• Culturally defined goals and defined goals and socially approved

means for obtaining them.
• Merton argued that each person has his or her own concept of the
goals of society and the means at his or her disposal for their
attainment.
 MODES OF SOCIAL
ADAPTATIONS
1. Conformity
 Occurs when individual embrace conventional social goals and also the
means of attainment at their disposal.
2. Innovation
 Occurs when an individual accepts the goals of society but rejects or is
incapable of attaining them through legitimate means.
3. Ritualism
 These are people who enjoy the routine of work without having ambition
to climb to the top of their profession, they are not risk takers.
4. Retreatism
 Rejects both the goals and the means of society.
5. Rebellion
 Involves substituting an alternative set of goals and means for
conventional ones.
 INSTITUTIONAL ANOMIE OF THEORY
(IAT): STEVE MESSNER & RICHARD
ROSENFELD

• The desire to accumulate wealth and material goods pervades all aspect
of American life
• Explains why crime rates are so high in American culture
• It views anti-social behavior
As a function of culture and
institutional influences.
 GENERAL STRAIN
THEORY(ROBERT AGNEW)

• He identified the social-psychological, individual-level of influences that

produce strain.

• Agnews sees strain as an individual phenomenon.

• It can occur among all elements of society if they experience stress

producing events.
 CAUSES OF STRAIN
ACCORDING TO AGNEW
1. Failure to achieve positively valued goals
- result of the disjunction between aspirations and expectations.
2. Failure to achieve is relative
- Some very successful people may consider themselves failures.
3. Removal of positively valued stimuli
- The loss of positive stimuli may lead to criminality When a person
tries to prevent the loss, retrieve what has been loss, obtain
substitutes, or seek revenge against those responsible for the loss.
4. The effect of removal of positive stimuli may be class bound
- When you are expected to succeed because of your class position,
failure may be harder to swallow; those who have limited opportunities
and lower expectations may be able to take failure in stride.
5. Presentation of negative stimuli
- Strain is also produced by the application of negative or
noxious stimuli.