{"id":5964,"date":"2020-01-28T16:08:04","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T10:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/?p=5964"},"modified":"2020-01-28T16:08:04","modified_gmt":"2020-01-28T10:38:04","slug":"according-to-robert-k-merton-deviance-results-not-from-pathological-personalities-but-from-the-culture-and-structure-of-society-itself-evaluate-robert-k-mertons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/according-to-robert-k-merton-deviance-results-not-from-pathological-personalities-but-from-the-culture-and-structure-of-society-itself-evaluate-robert-k-mertons\/","title":{"rendered":"According to Robert K. Merton, deviance results not from pathological personalities but from the \u2018culture and structure of society itself\u2019. Evaluate Robert K. Merton\u2019s \u2018middle range theory of deviance\u2019."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Relevance: Sociology Paper I: Thinkers: Robert Merton: Deviance<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>Approach:<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Description of \u2018middle range theory\u2019, in theory formulation in sociology<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Sociological explanation of \u2018deviance \u2018 through \u2018functionalist analysis\u2019 on the basis of study of \u2018American society\u2019.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The culture and structure of \u2018American society\u2019 and the five types of deviance.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Conclusion: criticism and contribution.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em>Model Answer:<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5967\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5967\" style=\"width: 960px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/rober.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5967\" src=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/rober.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5967\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">He did this by breaking society into parts and studying them individually to better understand the whole.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Robert .K. Merton s <\/strong>, \u2018 <\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">middle range theory<\/span>\u2019 <\/strong>is opposed to \u2018abstract theorizing\u2019, which are a \u2018total theoretical system\u2019 covering all aspects of social life . According to him , sociologists should concentrate on <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2018<strong>measurable aspects of social reality\u2019<\/strong>,<\/span> rather than attempting to explain the\u2019 entire social world.\u2019 These theories transcend sheer description of social phenomena, and are theories , from which specific \u2018 hypothesis\u2019 can be derived and \u2018empirically tested \u2018. Robert .K. Merton s \u2018theory of deviance \u2018, has been derived from the study of \u2018 <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">American society<\/span> <\/strong>\u2018. An attempt has been made to<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2018<strong>integrate\u2019 <\/strong><\/span>a theoretical position with empirical observation .<\/p>\n<p>Beginning with the \u2018<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>functionalist analysis <\/strong><\/span>\u2018 Robert .K. Merton , argues that \u2018deviance results from<\/p>\n<p>the culture and structure of society itself.\u2019 Deviance is therefore , \u2018<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>relative and can only be<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">defined in relation to a particular standard and no standards are fixed or absolute\u2019<\/span>. <\/strong>Taking<\/p>\n<p>the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>\u2018functionalist position\u2019, <\/strong>of <\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">value -consensus<\/span> , <\/strong>Merton argues that , all members of the society ,share the \u2018 same values\u2019<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> <strong>(cultural goals<\/strong>)<\/span>, however, since members of the society are placed in \u2018different positions\u2019 , in the social structure ,they do not have the same opportunity of realizing the<\/p>\n<p>shared values . This situation generates \u2018<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>deviance\u2019.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Basing his study on the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>\u2018American Society\u2019<\/strong>,<\/span> Robert .K. Merton, opined that members of the American society share the<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> \u2018<\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">major values\u2019<\/span> <\/strong>of American culture. They share the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2018<strong>goal of success\u2019<\/strong>,<\/span> which is largely measured in terms of \u2018wealth and material possessions.\u2019 All societies have \u2018<strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">institutionalized means<\/span>\u2019 <\/strong>of reaching culturally defined goals<strong>.<\/strong>\u2019 In America, it is through education, talent, hard work, drive, determination and ambition. In any <strong>\u2018<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">balanced society<\/span> \u2018,<\/strong>an equal emphasis is placed upon both \u2018<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>cultural<\/strong> <strong>goals and institutionalized means\u2019<\/strong><\/span>. However , in America , great importance is attached to \u2018success, and relatively little importance is given to the \u2018accepted ways\u2019 of achieving success. Therefore , American society is <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2018<strong>unstable and unbalanced<\/strong><\/span>.\u2019 In a situation , where rules cease to operate , a situation of <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2018<\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">normlessness\u2019 or \u2018anomie<\/span> <\/strong>\u2018results and \u2018deviance \u2018is encouraged .<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Robert.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5965\" src=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Robert.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"841\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Robert.jpg 841w, https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Robert-150x115.jpg 150w, https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Robert-300x229.jpg 300w, https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Robert-768x587.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 841px) 100vw, 841px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>According , to Merton individual members of a society will respond to a situation of \u2018anomie\u2019 in different ways and their reaction would be shaped by their position in the \u2018social structure.\u2019 .He outlined <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>five<\/strong> <strong>possible <\/strong><\/span>ways in which members of American society could respond to \u2018success goals.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The first and most common response is<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> <strong>conformity<\/strong>.<\/span> Here, members of a society conform both to the culturally defined <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>goals<\/strong>,<\/span> and the <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">institutionalized means<\/span> <\/strong>to achieve them..<\/p>\n<p>A second response is <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">innovation<\/span>. <\/strong>It <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">rejects<\/span> \u2018<\/strong>normative means\u2019 of achieving success and turns to deviant means, in particular, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>crime<\/strong><\/span>. According to Merton, members of the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>lower social strata, <\/strong><\/span>who have little access to conventional and legitimate means for becoming successful, are most likely to respond in this manner. However , Merton , argues it is only those in the lower strata , who have been \u2018imperfectly socialized\u2019 , who innovate ,<\/p>\n<p>The third response is <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>ritualism<\/strong>.<\/span> Deviance results from <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>abandoning <\/strong><\/span>the success goals. It is greatest for members of the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2018<\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">lower middle class\u2019<\/span> <\/strong>whose occupations provide less opportunity for success . They are <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>lowgrade<\/strong> <strong>bureaucrats<\/strong><\/span>, ultra-respectable. Unable to innovate , they scale down the \u2018success goals\u2019. The fourth response is <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>retreatism. <\/strong><\/span>They have strongly internalized means, yet are unable to achieve success. They resolve the conflict by <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">abandoning<\/span> <\/strong>both the \u2018goals\u2019 and the \u2018 means\u2019 of reaching them. Merton<\/p>\n<p>does not relate retreatism to any \u2018 social class position\u2019. It applies to psychotics, , outcasts, vagabonds,<\/p>\n<p>tramps, chronic drunkards and drug addicts.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Rebellion <\/strong><\/span>forms the fifth response. It is a <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2018<strong>rejection\u2019 <\/strong><\/span>of both the success goals and the institutionalized means, and it<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> <strong>replaces <\/strong><\/span>them with \u2018different goals and means\u2019. According to Merton, it is typically members of \u2018<strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">a rising class\u2019<\/span> <\/strong>rather than the most depressed strata.<\/p>\n<p>Robert. K. Merton, thus through his analysis showed how the\u2019 culture and structure\u2019 of a particular society generates deviance . The theory of deviance , which establishes that deviance results not from \u2018<strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">pathological personalities<\/span> <\/strong>\u2018 but from the \u2018culture and structure \u2018 of societies, can be empirically tested on other societies ..<\/p>\n<p>Robert .K.Merton s theory of deviance , though was a departure from constructing \u2018total theoretical systems\u2019 in explaining social phenomena , yet suffered from certain <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">deficiencies<\/span> . <\/strong>He has been criticized for assuming that there is a <strong>\u2018<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">value consensus\u2019 in American society<\/span> <\/strong>and that people deviate only because of <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2018<strong>structural strain\u2019<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>According to<strong>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Taylor and Young<\/span> <\/strong>, Merton s theory cannot account for \u2018politically motivated criminals,\u2019 such as freedom fighters, who break the law because of their commitment to the cause rather than the effects of anomie. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Albert Cohen, <\/strong><\/span>questioned if \u2018non -utilitarian crime \u2018, such as vandalism, were directly motivated by the \u2018success goals\u2019 of the mainstream culture .<\/p>\n<p>Some critics, have questioned Merton s explanation of empirical reality , by arguing that , his theory, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>over predicts <\/strong><\/span>and exaggerates \u2018working class crime\u2019 and <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">under predicts<\/span> <\/strong>\u2018 middle class or white collar crime .\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The \u2018<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>positivist approach <\/strong><\/span>\u2018 implicit in Merton s theory of deviance has been questioned by critiques . According to the \u2018interactionists\u2019, deviants do not simply passively react to the \u2018external forces\u2019, and they stress on <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2018<strong>internal factors\u2019<\/strong><\/span>. Deviance is rather produced , by a process of \u2018 interaction between the potential deviant and the agents of social control \u2018<\/p>\n<p>The \u2018<strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">sub culture theorists<\/span> <\/strong>\u2018 have criticized Merton s theory of deviance , by explaining deviance ,<\/p>\n<p>through commitment to the norms and values of the \u2018<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>sub culture\u2019 <\/strong><\/span>group to which an individual belongs , rather than the class position on the whole . However , some<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> <strong>empirical support <\/strong><\/span>for Merton s theory has been provided by , Hannon and Defronzo. The emphasis through the \u2018middle range theory\u2019 on the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>study of specific aspect of social<\/strong> <\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">reality<\/span> <\/strong>, through \u2018empirical observation\u2019 , has hugely contributed towards making sociology ,an <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2018empirically orients discipline<\/span> \u2018. <\/strong>Merton , argued that the theories , thus derived could be eventually consolidated in <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2018general theory of society<\/span> \u2018. <\/strong>The sociological theory of deviance, thus remains one of the most plausible attempts to explain <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>\u2018 crime rates in whole societies .\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Robertt.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5966\" src=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Robertt.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"449\" srcset=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Robertt.png 850w, https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Robertt-150x79.png 150w, https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Robertt-300x158.png 300w, https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Robertt-768x406.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Relevance: Sociology Paper I: Thinkers: Robert Merton: Deviance \u00a0Approach: Description of \u2018middle range theory\u2019, in theory formulation in sociology Sociological<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[114,115],"tags":[392],"class_list":["post-5964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sociology-optional","category-sociology-optional-paper-i","tag-union-public-service-commission-upsc"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5964"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5968,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5964\/revisions\/5968"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}