Mertons Strain Theory in Understanding Crime Free Essay Example, 1750 words

The strain theory by Merton maintains that the cultural structures set goals and the societal structures create the means of achieving the goals. This means that many people have parallel goals, but they do not all have identical chances or skills. When these individuals fail to realize society s prospects through accepted ways such as delayed gratification and hard work, they might try to accomplish success through criminal ways. This is true since they would seek opportunities to meet these goals even if it is at the expense of others. This theory aptly captures the motivation for the crime. This is the main contribution to understanding crime as defined by Merton s strain theory. Merton mentions, for instance, while the likelihood of accomplishing economic success would be improved by receiving a college education, not all fellows of American people are able to ensure that. Those inferior on the socio-economic hierarchy are predominantly vulnerable due to their moderately underp rivileged starting line in the race in the direction of affluence (Samaha, 2006 p34). In another example, individuals as an institution can feel that the school is not giving enough ways of achieving success in examinations. We will write a custom essay sample on Merton's Strain Theory in Understanding Crime or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page