Ccnumber 21 this weeks citation classicmay 26, 1980. Merton was born july 4, 1910, and his extraordinary life story evokes both a very american trajectory appropriate to the holiday birthday and the. Mertons theory of anomie is a borrowing but essentially different from that of durkheim. Merton on the social and economic conditions of america. However, equal access to those goals did not exist. Durkheim developed the theory of anomie, a state where there is an absence of norms regulating human behaviour. Because its referents are so diverse including everything from minor working hypotheses, through comprehensive but vague and unordered speculations. The varying perspective of parsons and merton in their study of sociology is discussed in subsection 31. Merton 19102003 born of poor jewish immigrant parents from eastern europe, merton has become one of the leading proponents of structural functionalism and influential figures in modern sociology. So, the views are at different ends of the spectrum. Mertons most popular book is social theory and social structure. Merton is considered one of americas most influential social scientists.
A state of anomie develops when access to these goals is blocked to entire groups of people or individuals. This paper assesses the theoretical and policy significance of one of robert mertons most influential contributions to modern sociology, the anomie or strain theory of deviant behavior. Read about social thinkers and thinkers of sociology. Deviance provides the key to understanding the disruption. Mertons theory of anomie explains how people may involve in criminal activities by illegitimate opportunities for achieving desired goals in a. He created an american style of sociological inquiry theories of the middle range that linked theories closely with empirical testing. Merton social theory and social structure by robert k. Merton, one of the towering figures on whose shoulders contemporary sociology rests, died sunday, february 23, 2003. Savannah state university theories of criminal behavior prof. Pdf robert k mertons theory of anomie and crime in. Functionalism claims that deviance help to create social stability by presenting explanations of nonnormative and normative behaviors. The functionalist perspective on deviance boundless. A more complete summary of mertons theories as well as the theories of other macrotheorists can be found in macrosociology.
Merton in theories of the middle range, in social theory and social structure 3rd ed. Storer the university of chicago press chicago and london 73 the sociology of science theoretical and empirical investigations the normative structure of science 1942 science, like any other activity involving social collaboration, is subject to shifting fortunes. This presentation is based on the theories of robert king merton as presented in his works. Merton has 32 books on goodreads with 7647 ratings. Jstor is an independent notforprofit organization dedicated to and preserving a digital archive of scholarly journals. On sociological theories of the middle range 1949 csun. Merton like so many words that are bandied about, the word theory threatens to become meaningless. Merton s strain theory is an important contribution to the study of crime and deviance in the 1940s it helped to explain why crime continued to exist in countries, such as america, which were experiencing increasing economic growth and wealth. Merton recognized the problems that sociology, as an academic discipline, had in.
Quelles sont les contributions theoriques dun classique. Social roles were central to mertons theory of social groups. Merton emphasized that, rather than a person assuming one role and one status, they have a status. The exploration of the social conditions that facilitate or retard the search for scientific knowledge has been the major theme of robert k. This research program set the new field apart from the conception of science studies. Merton 1938 concluded that americans were socialised into believing in the american dream.
Brooks march 4, 2012 since the beginning of mankind criminality has been a major problem and the most debated topic of interest by theorist on the grounds of why crime is committed, who is more prone to commit crime, and what prevents people from. Brooks march 4, 2012 since the beginning of mankind criminality has been a major problem and the most debated topic of interest by theorist on the grounds of why crime is committed, who is more prone to commit crime, and what prevents people from committing. Merton, in full robert king merton, original name meyer robert schkolnick, born july 4, 1910, philadelphia, pennsylvania, u. His contributions have sparked research on deviant behavior, or studies of criminality. The basic sources are the three articles included in part iii of social theory and social structure, the sociology of knowledge and mass communications merton 1957, and a second direction indicated in mertons thesis on puritanism in science, technology and society in seventeenth century england merton 1970or as harriet zukermann. Merton and other functionalists viewed society as an organism with various. Merton, in this book, also introduced the notion of theories of the middlerange to sociology. K merton, theories of the middle range, clarifying functional analysis, dysfunctions, manifest and latent functions, functional alternatives, mertons theory of deviance and sociology of science. Following the work of emile durkheim, strain theories have been supported by robert king merton, albert k. Merton 19102003 merton on structural functionalism. Best known for developing theories of deviance, as well as the concepts of selffulfilling prophecy and role model, robert k. Merton, social theory and social structure newyork. K merton came as rejection of mega theory of parsonian sociology. Mertons work has contributed greatly to criminological theory as he took a different perspective than durkheims concept of anomie and reworked to the american context.
The theories and concepts of anomie and strain that merton argued have influenced the works of cohen as well as the new deviancy theory and the new penology. Andserendipity again perhapsmerton decided to sit in on the first theory course offered by the young talcott parsons, just back from europe. Cohen, richard cloward and lloyd ohlin, robert agnew, and steven messner and richard rosenfeld. Merton department of sociology columbia university new york, ny 10027 february 9, 1980 ccnumber 21 this weeks citation classicmay 26, 1980 merton r k. The enduring theoretical significance of strain theory lies in its sociological completeness. This collection of papers is a fascinating overview of this sustained inquiry. A clear example of this was sorokins berating of marx and engel as being without originality and that their theories were completely political. Robert merton presented two, not always clearly differentiated theories in his seminal explorations on the social. Mertons reach can be felt in the study of social structure, social psychology, deviance, professions, organizations, culture, and science.
Although the idea has been, and still is controversial, the suggestion that sociologists develop middlerange theories which come between grand theories and more narrow empirical observations struck a. In its simplest understanding, the strain theory asserts that there are certain factors in the society such as stressors and strains that can. Over the period of three quarters of a century, robert k. Two traces of pareto in mertons effort toward a theory of reference groups. Robert mertons 1957 theories of anomie is the most widely examined theory of criminality. Each copy of any part of a jstor transmission must contain the same notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. It is a more elaborate formulation of a theory that applies to a society like. Mertons students fleshed out this program by emphasizing, in addition, the institutional structure within sciencefor example, its social structure e. Robert mertons contribution to sociology is one of great importance in regards to the functional perspective of society. In this unit you will be presented with a comparative critique of parsons and merton on some selected areas, in their functional approach. Robert merton is a functionalist sociologist who viewed society as a system of functioning parts or structures that, together, create a stable. The contribution of robert mertons work to criminological. Merton harvard university t here persists a notable tendency in sociological theory to attribute the malfunctioning of social structure primarily to those of mans imperious biological drives which are not adequately restrained by social control.
The result is a deviant behaviour characterized by rebellion, retreat, ritualism, innovation, andor conformity. Merton 19102003 was one of the most influential sociologists of the twentieth century, producing clear theories and innovative research that continue to shape multiple disciplines. Merton, argues deviance and crime comes from strain, the presence of norms. Partly as a result of scientific achievements, therefore, the population at. His theory advocates that theory building in sociology should not be governed by intellectual aggression or academic speculation. Mertons strain theory is an important contribution to the study of crime and deviance in the 1940s it helped to explain why crime continued to exist in countries, such as america, which were experiencing increasing economic growth and wealth. Motivating sentiments and conflict openedition journals.
A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Because its referents are so diverse including everything from minor working hypotheses, through. Theories of the middle range according to robert k. His publications include the classic social theory and social structure and on the shoulders of giants. On sociological theories of the middle range 1949 robert k. Merton demonstrated an impressive productivity as a sociologist of different specialties. Mertons inter vention d efinitely extended the life of functionalism, with the introduction of some valid new concepts. Robert k mertons strain theory explained sociology. Taking a look at how this sociologist viewed the entire organism of society, this quiz and corresponding worksheet will help you gauge your knowledge of robert k.
Robert mertons contributions to the sociology of deviance. Merton termed this as adumbrationism or the denigrating of new ideas by pretending to find them old. Robert king merton 19102003 is a selfstyled durkheimian, writing very much in the functional tradition. Merton was born july 4, 1910 and died february 23, 2003. First and foremost, he contributed to sociological theory and is the founder of the sociology of science. Merton, 1945b, in 1949 when he elaborated one for functional analysis, and later one for structural analysis merton, 1975. Merton and talcott parsons were the twin theoretical towers of structuralfunctionalism. Mertons anomie theory is that most people strive to achieve culturally recognized goals.
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