Aspiration and Anomie

Revisiting the Measurement of Anomie

Sociologists coined the term "anomie" to describe societies that are characterized by disintegration and deregulation. Extending beyond conceptualizations of anomie that conflate the measurements of anomie as 'a state of society' and as a 'state of mind', we disentangle these conceptualizations and develop an analysis and measure of this phenomenon focusing on anomie as a perception of the 'sta...

Anomie, Deviant Behavior, and the Olympics

Criminal and deviant behavior is known to occur in all places, settings, and times. The Olympics, both_ Summer and ~inter, are not immune to deviant behavior. This paper focuses on the _spec1f1c types of d~v1ant and criminal acts arising out of the Olympic settings and the anomic factor~ tha_t possibly le~d t~ deviance in this particular arena. The way that athletes are confor~1sts_, innovators...

Anomie and Strain: Context and Consequences of Merton’s Two Theories*

Robert Merton presented two, not always clearly differentiated theories in his seminal explorations on the social-structure-and-anomie paradigm: a strain theory and an anomie theory. A one-sided focus on Merton’s strain theory in the secondary literature has unnecessarily restricted the power and effectiveness of Merton’s anomie theory. For although structural strain is one way to explain why d...

Childhood experience memories and anomie in adults and college students.

The Maximizer: Clarifying Merton's Theories of Anomie and Strain

Robert Merton's (1957) theories of anomie and strain are among the most widely examined theories of criminality. Messner and Rosenfeld's (1994) theory of institutional anomie built on Merton's conception of anomie, delineating how specific institutions lead to conditions of anomie and criminality. Cloward and Ohlin's (1961) theory of differential opportunity built upon Merton's strain theory, u...