Chapter 7: Social Structure and Anomie, Robert Merton

Cultural Goals and Institutional Norms

5 Types of Individual Adaptation

1. Conformity

2. Innovation

3. Ritualism

4. Retreatism

5. Rebellion

What is the relationship between opportunity structures and crime/deviance?

Independent Concepts

~ Blocked Opportunity Structure

~ Anomie

Chapter 8: Differential Association; Sutherland and Cressey

9 Features of Differential Association Theory:

1. criminal behavior is learned

2. criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication

3. the principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups

4. when criminal behavior is learned, the learned includes (a) techniques of committing the crime, and (b) the motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes

5. the nature of drives is learned from the definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable

6. a person becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions favorable to violation of law over definitions unfavorable to violation of law

7. differential associations vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity

8. the process of learning criminal behavior is the same as any other type of  learning

9. criminal behavior results from an expression of general needs and values, just  like all other behavior

Key Features: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7