Strain Theory

Merton and the Origins of Strain Theory

Robert K. Merton grew up in Philadelphia in the first quarter of the twentieth century. While working on his graduate degree at Harvard, he published one of the most influential articles ever written in criminology—“Social Structure and Anomie,” which first appeared in the American Sociological Review in 1938. In it, Merton argued that deviance is not an inborn characteristic or trait; rather, deviance flows from certain conventional social forces. These social forces shape people differently, so that some are at greater risk for involvement in deviance than others.

In America, culture extols the accumulation of wealth, and while not the only culturally defined goal, [Page 1577]making money remains a top priority for status achievement. According to Merton, the cultural mandate to pursue wealth is universal. All those raised in America regardless of their social class define status and success primarily in terms of money and material goods.

Culture defines not only the goals but also the acceptable means of reaching the goals. Merton refers to these allowable procedures as “institutionalized means.” For example, he mentions formal education and occupational opportunities that flow from an education as legitimately recognized approaches to accumulation of wealth (1957). He also implies that persistence, hard work, and deferral of gratification facilitate access to the legitimate means for financial success (education and occupation).

Strain results when a person embraces both the cultural goal and the institutionalized means for reaching the goal, but certain obstacles impede the use of institutionalized means. One of the best ways to achieve wealth in American society is through higher education, but if the doors to college remain closed for some Americans, then their access to institutionalized means is blocked. These people, faced with a disjunction between their goals and their access to institutionalized means experience strain, and strain increases the likelihood of a deviant adaptation.

The people most likely to experience strain are not evenly distributed in American social structure because the social structure fails to complement the cultural mandates. The cultural demand for accumulation of wealth is widespread, but the social structure limits access to the legitimate opportunity structure. Although all Americans are strongly encouraged to compete for monetary success, only some are allowed on the playing field. Social class, one particular aspect of social structure, often determines who gets access and who does not. A disproportionate number of the lower class stand on the sideline, excluded from the conventional opportunity structure; as a result, “the greatest pressures toward deviation are exerted upon the lower strata” (1957: 144).

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