A complete and comprehensive summary of the study material for Study Unit 5. Summaries were compiled using the reader provided by the lecturers, the lecture notes, as well as the study outcomes.
○ Stress, frustration, or strain (product of failed aspirations) – increase prospects for norm violation.
- Norms are violated to alleviate strain that comes with failure.
○ Blockage of legal goal achievement – encourages deviant solutions.
○ Key objectives: specification of sources of strain and deviant adaptions.
○ Strain – tends to be associated with distorted aspirations, unrealistic desires for attainment, and crass
materialism.
- Sets stage for individual failure + search for deviant solutions.
Emile Durkheim
Origins of Social Structure Theory
○ Emile Durkheim history:
- Born in 1858, France.
- 2 major changes that influenced society at the time:
The French Revolution of 1789.
Social and economic transformation due to the Industrial Revolution.
- Focus on how the organization of society can propel people toward violating
norms.
Saw behaviour as socially determined instead of individually determined.
○ Most important contribution to criminology – reviving the concept of “anomie”.
- Greek for lawlessness
- Durkheim – “anomie” = “Normlessness”
Breakdown of norms represents a threat to social control.
Hypothesized anomie contributes to suicide.
○ Studied the most individual form of deviance – taking one’s own life.
- Proposition: basic determinants of suicide are social variables such as religion, marital status, and
economic conditions
- To test his propositions – examined suicide data from 19th century Europe and descriptive data
about preliterate societies.
Findings:
→ Rate of suicide is much lower in purely Catholic countries.
→ Jews showed lower suicide rates that Catholics and Protestants.
→ Single persons are more likely to commit suicide than married people.
→ Suicide rates increase steadily with age.
→ More suicides are committed during periods of economic crisis.
→ Periods of crisis (like war) – associated with higher-than-normal suicide rates.
→ Number of suicides in military is greater than among civilians.
→ Suicides are found in some preliterate societies:
• Norms stipulate wives should take their own lives when husbands die.
• Norms stipulate servants must kill themselves of their masters die.
2|Page
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through EFT, credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying this summary from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller inkedseas. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy this summary for R55,00. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.