Modes of adaptation by Robert K. Merton
Robert K. Merton developed a sociological and criminological theory that explains how individuals adapt to specific behaviours. Strain theory, according to Robert, outlines how individuals are pressured to adopt socially accepted norms. Embracing those goals becomes hard because there are no provide means to achieve them. Due to this, individuals end up committing crimes such as selling drugs, cybercrimes, and prostitution. Merton believes that society is responsible for how people behave (Bernburg, 2019). According to strain theory, individuals face problems of integrating goals, which are related to money with their current situation. Robert Merton proposed five modes of adaptation, which includes conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion. Conformity entails how an individual will use socially accepted goals and means to be successful. The method adopted in this case should be to meet an individual's set goals. For instance, an individual will go to school to attain a degree that will enable one to find a job.
However, one will encounter difficulties that may draw them back, but one will still comply with socially approved means to be successful. Innovation advocates for cultural settings and forgoing the traditional methods of attaining the goals. In this mode, individuals do not want to use the means to achieve their goals. For instance, schooling, in this case, is not a necessity, and individuals who have conformed to this mode indulge in illegal activities such as selling drugs in exchange for money. Crimes are prone to rise in innovation mode because one strives to be successful by engaging in illicit activities. Another model used by Robert Kings is ritualism; he suggested that individuals here will forgo the social goals but will embrace the means of achieving them. Individuals in these social settings tend to have different behaviour. Retreatism mode involves abandoning both the cultural goals as well as the methods of achieving them. For instance, when one refuses to go to school but chooses to stay home and watch movies. Rebellion mode is where one has forgone both the cultural goals and the means then decides to look for their replacements. At this point, most of the people in this category will reject the fact that one can be successful with the means and goals in place.
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Foundation of social disorganization theory and concentric zones and legacy of Shaw and MCkay
Social disorganization theory advocates that crime rates are associated with neighbourhood ecological traits ( Kubrin and Mioduszewski, 2019). The Chicago school and it is closely related to ecological approaches. One of the primary principles in social disorganization theory is that the location plays a significant role in determining if an individual is likely to indulge in illegal activities. In this theory, it outlines that ecological factors mainly contribute to the rising crime rates in the community. Again, given that other factors are linked to criminal acts such as gender, race, and age, the residential location has shown to be more significant. Some of the ecological factors associated with crime include unemployment, single parent's homes, school dropouts, and high poverty levels. Other scholars have come up with the different meaning of social disorganization theory that has links to individual thinking and attitude, which is influenced by the current situation. In this case, a person's action will have a positive or negative impact on shaping one's perspective. Besides, people shape attitudes through the accumulation of social experiences. Robert E. Faris extends another concept of social disorganization where his definition base on the weakening of relationships that put the social organization together. In this case, every crime acts link to disorganization, which is a reflection of poor control of society. Robert J. Sampson, in his definition of social disorganization, claims that crime acts belong to teenagers and that the presence of street gangs will eventually grow to full-time criminals. Social control should implement ways to address such behaviours.
Shaw and Mckay link criminal behaviours as a response to t abnormal conditions one is subjected to in their daily life. If society is not able to set morals and values to be observed, then individuals may tend to misuse their freedom. Due to this, Shaw and Mckay designed concentric zones to elaborate that delinquency disperses in cities. The concentric zone's primary purpose was to demonstrate whether a crime was a result of immigrants or the environment where they lived. Shaw and MCkay found out that areas with a lack of behavioural codes produced high crimes. The inner part of the city experienced high rates of crimes, unlike the suburbs. Social problems link to rising crimes. One of the legacies of Shaw and Mckay is that they facilitated the development treatment of programs in the community. Again, their work remains prominent in criminology for more than 70 years, and also they founded one of the influential community treatment programs.
Elements of the social bond
In the social bond theory, it outlines four essential elements of the social bond. The approach was innovated by Travis Hirschi, who suggested that attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief facilitated socialization and conformity. Social bond theory primarily focuses on peer groups. Attachment in social bond describes the relationships people forms with significant others. Significant others, in this case, is the family where they help in shaping the character of their children, Parents here become their role model where they indulge in teaching them socially acceptable values and morals in the community. Individuals who have strong and stable attachments are less likely to violet social norms, such as indulging in crimes. Besides, it presumed that they have a deep concern for others and are less likely to deviate from social expectations. The second element is a commitment, which entails the aspiration of an individual to abide by the legal law, their commitment to their studies, and future goals. It is also the level of involvement in social activities. The level of commitment plays a significant role in an individual's goals because they put more effort into achieving their career and aspiration. Society uses more time and resources to abide by these social norms and expectations. Concurrently, individuals with a high commitment to their future goals are more likely to lose more because they encounter a lot of hindrances. However, people who are less commitment indulge in behaviours such as alcoholism. The third element of the social bond is involvement.
According to Costello and Laub (2018), the theory outlines that an individual who spends most of their time doing convectional things are less likely to indulge in unacceptable behaviours. Attachment and commitment are noticeable on this kind of an individual because they are highly attached to their careers. Besides, commitment drives them in their career paths. Ideally, they strive to take any opportunity presented to them. For instance, an involved person is tired of work deadlines, appointments, and working hours, which will provide no space for one to deviate from their course. However, if one spends time doing nothing, it is more likely that they will get involved in illegal or socially unacceptable behaviours. Belief is the degree to which an individual is willing to adhere to moral values associated with the law. It revolves around how moral validity and norms related to social bonding. An individual who recognizes set benefits in society is less likely to commit a crime. Lack of belief has also resulted in deviation, which has brought about a violation of the law. Adherence to one's beliefs and morals diminishes the possibility of one to deviant on illegal activities. The supporting research emphasizes that a person who is highly attached to the family, committed to moral values, involved in social acts, and the belief of all these aspects is less likely to indulge in criminal activities. In its research, it portrays the significance of social bonds in individuals especially the youths. According to this theory, people who are found guilty of committing criminal acts link to having weak social relationships and vice versa.
References
Bernburg, J. G. (2019). Anomie Theory. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice .
Costello, B. J., & Laub, J. H. (2018). Social Control Theory: The Legacy of Travis Hirschi's Causes of Delinquency. Annual Review of Criminology , 3 .
Kubrin, C. E., & Mioduszewski, M. D. (2019). Social Disorganization Theory: Past, Present and Future. In Handbook on Crime and Deviance (pp. 197-211). Springer, Cham.
