Gaines And Miller's Strain Theory

By applying both classical and strain theory to the crime problem of drug trafficking we can identify and compare their strengths to evaluate which theory is more useful in explaining this crime. Starting with Classical theory, this theory holds some strengths in relation to this crime problem, namely, it’s easy applicability/transferability and the clear definiteness of their answers. Classical theory is able to provide definite answers and solutions to drug trafficking (i.e. it was individual A who committed the crime, the law violated in response to this crime is this, and the violation of this law carries the pre-determined punishment of this) without having to apply consideration for such variables as mitigating circumstances since the

The four theories of deviance are The Learning Theory, The Strain Theory, The Social-Bond Theory and the Labeling Theory. These theories alone can explain the reasoning behind someone’s deviant behavior. But, in There Are No Children Here we see all of these theories being demonstrated. This lets us have an understanding of exactly why we are seeing the deviant behavior that we are.

Strain theories of criminal behaviour have been amongst the most important and influential in the field of criminology. Taking a societal approach, strain theories have sought to explain deficiencies in social structure that lead individuals to commit crime (Williams and McShane 2010). Strain theories operate under the premise that there is a societal consensus of values, beliefs, and goals with legitimate methods for achieving success. When individuals are denied access to legitimate methods for achieving success, the result is anomie or social strain. This often leads an individual to resort to deviant or criminal means to obtain the level of success that they are socialized to pursue. This is the basic premise of strain theory. This

Robert Agnew developed his theory called General Strain Theory based off of Robert Merton’s Classic Strain Theory. Agnew introduced three types of strain. Generally, “the higher the dose of strain that a person experiences the greater the likelihood of the person becoming engaged in crime or in some form of deviance” (Lilly, Cullen, & Ball, 1989). A journal article called “General Strain Theory and Delinquency: the Developmental Process of Robert Agnew’s Works from a Historical Perspective” says that “the strain may result from when others (1) prevent an individual from achieving positively valued goals; (2) remove positively valued stimuli pertaining to individual; (3) present

There are many criminological theories that attempt to explain criminal behavior or crime patterns. For instance, Agnew’s General Strain Theory can be applied to explain why the criminal John Dillinger committed various crimes. Agnew’s General Strain Theory assumes that all individuals experience strain, which, in turn, causes negative emotions that can result in legitimate or illegitimate coping, depending on an individual’s constraints or dispositions. Thus, the continuous criminal behavior throughout John Dillinger’s life can be explained using Agnew’s General Strain Theory in relation to strain, negative emotions, and dispositions.

Social Strain Theory and criminal offending are seen by most theorist as a way of understanding what could be the causes of youth committing crimes. Theorist are very concern if social strain theory really does have the answer to why this is happening, but they also believe that the result may be inconclusive, because of all the different variables and independent variables that could be used in their research. We will take a look at this theory, and see if they and ask our participants from the state of Georgia inner-city neighborhoods a few question that they will supply their own answer to, and then ask them an open-ending question face to face and ask them to choose the answer that best state why they might commit a crime or not. If we are able to understand the results then we hope we can implement it into policy. And by incorporating it into policy, then we might be able to design a strategy that will help LEOs or other agencies to reduce youth offending, deter criminal acts and future crimes. Lastly, so with the implementation of social strain theory into the policy and the evaluation of the data, discussion and the questions we can create a foundation for further research studies to build on our results.

Additionally, functionalism maintains that crime and deviance are normal responses to one’s environment (Gervais: October 1, 2017). Doughboy lives in an neighbourhood where he is constantly exposed to violence, and as a result, he too engages in criminal behaviour. Also, the tension-reduction function demonstrates that Doughboy uses crime and deviance as a way to relieve the tensions accumulated in his life, especially those that are caused by his mother’s differential treatment of her son’s Ricky and Doughboy (Gervais: Oct 1, 2017). At the same time, social disorganization can be used to explain Doughboy’s deviant behaviour. Doughboy is responding to the social disorganization in the community by conforming to the deviant behaviour that resides in the members of the community itself. He fulfills the expectations of other members in the community by engaging in like-minded activities, such as selling drugs, being a member of a gang, and by using ‘hood-like’ language that is incredibly sexist and racialist.

To lists some of the crime he has committed such as the case with vandalism, petty theft, grand theft auto, rape, assaults and assault with a deadly weapon, drug dealing, and attempt murder. Not only does the offense he committed affect him, but it has also caught up with him to do three years in prison. The use of Strain Theory is to examine deviancy within Nathan McCall’s life when he is confronted by the cultural goals that is within his environment and the institution means that enable him to achieve the goals. Within a healthy society, McCall will be acceptable towards the goals and suitable means to achieve the goals that society have impose upon on him. In contrast, when McCall cultural values and means becomes imbalance, he would encounter strain by adapting to five modes of adaptation.

Exploring the role of negative emotions among murderers in a population of federal offenders: the General Strain Theory

The theory of General Strain is how the strain on an individual leads them toward criminal activities and behaviors. The main concepts of general strain theory explain how a negative relationship affects the individual and their future in the expansion towards delinquency. Negative or harmful relationships are defined as affiliations with others that are partake in similar criminal activity and how an individual believes they should be treated. The strain theory is broken down into three types: (1) Strain as the failure to achieve positively valued goals (Traditional Strain), (2) Strain as the removal of positively valued stimuli from the individual, and (3) Strain as the presentation of negative stimuli.

The movie “Menace 2 Society” which highlights the livelihood in Watts, California and had characters that had relations with many criminological theories. Watts, is an impoverished and crime reckoned neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The movie highlights the life of Caine who is an African-American 18 year old. Although Caine graduated from high school he struggled to find ambition to go on to find a job or obtain higher education. He rather do obtain wealth by drug dealing and hang out with peers in his neighborhood. Most of his friends were no strangers to experiencing crime as crime rate was high in Watts. Some of them would go out and commit murder. Because how bad the living is in his neighborhood, he has thoughts of moving out. During my analyzation of the characters and their actions in the movie, I’ve related them to the criminological theories of social strain theory, social learning theory and Self-control theory.

Crime and deviance can be observed on many levels in society, ranging from speeding to illicit drug use and human trafficking (Kilpatrick et al, 1987). Social scientists and criminologists dedicate their careers to deriving patterns and developing interventions and programs for people who have had frequent contact with the criminal justice system. This paper will reflect on the types of criminal activities that occurs in the movie “Animal Kingdom”. Specifically, it will follow the actions and outcomes of the protagonist, Joshua “J” Cody. Hirschi’s Social Bond Theory and Agnew’s General Strain theory will be introduced and compared. Applications and limitations of these criminological theories will be discussed and used to explain main character’s motivations and justifications to initially become involved in and continue engaging in criminal activities.

In the 1980’s, Criminologist, Robert Agnew, presented his theory of general strain, in which he covers a range of negative behaviors, especially how adolescents deal with stresses of strain. General strain theory focuses on the source, such as anything that changes in the individual’s life that causes strain. His theory provides a different outlook on social control and social learning theory for two reasons: the type of social relationship that leads to delinquency and the motivation for the delinquency (Agnew, 1992). He states that certain strains and stresses increase the likelihood for crime such as economic deprivation, child abuse, and discrimination. These factors can cause an increase of crime through a range of negative emotions. For some people it can take a lot of willpower to take a corrective action and try to deter away from committing crime in a way that they can relieve these negative emotions. When people cannot cope with the stresses of the strain, they turn to crime as a coping mechanism. Agnew also states, that not all people that experience the stresses of strain will go forward to committing crime and live a deviant life.

Why some people cannot escape from criminal activities while others never have any problems has been examined for decades. The study of criminology targets why individuals commit crimes and why criminals behave in certain situations. This criminology research helps to break down a true story on the film “Blow” which tells the story of George Jung, one of the most significant drug traffickers in the United States in the 1970’s. The film depicts several criminal theories on why George lived his life the way he did. This paper will explain the theories best noted in the film Blow about General Strain theory, Differential Association theory and Social Bond theory. These three theories help possibly explain why George became a criminal.

Introduction: Throughout history there have always been many different theories of crime and why people commit crimes. In the late 1930s a new theory rose to the forefront; this theory was called the anomie theory. Anomie means a lack of ethical standards. The anomie theory was proposed by Roberton Merton. It stated that society, as a whole, generally shares the same goals relating to having success in life; whether that is having a family, wealth, power, or just happiness. Society generally agrees that these are things that are to be sought after. Furthermore, Merton proposed that society, as a whole, also has a list of generally accepted ways to achieve such goals (Merton, 1938). Criminal activity, such as robbery, murder, and corruption, are among the things that are not accepted by society as appropriate means to achieve these goals. Merton’s anomie theory was built upon in 1992 by Robert Agnew who developed the general strain theory. General strain theory argues that when members of society are unable to achieve the general goals that society has set forth, they will, in order to avoid further rejection, further alienate themselves from society. Agnew also argued that if these individuals feel as if their shortcomings were a result of their environment failing them they will likely develop very negative feelings towards society, causing them to