Assignment:
Describe Strain Theory from Robert Merton. What is your informed position on the theory based on random sampling reading?
Strain theory talks about how people of lower economic status' feel strained by their inability to achieve the same things that an affluent person can because of their social class and therefore resort to crime and violence in order to achieve gratification. Merton added the theory of Anomie which is the lack of social or ethical standards and stated that some people don't have the means to achieve those goals which create different social adaptations. "Conformity, Innovation, Ritualism, Retreatism, and Rebellion."
After you've completed the reading, please write a 300-word reflection on the topic and what you've learned from sampling.