Robert K Merton Contributions to Criminology

The main aim of criminology is to combat crime in our society. Many people have contributed to the field of psychology. They have come up with theories and vital information that can help in the understanding of criminology. A theory can be considered as an assumption or accepted facts that attempts to explain the cause and effect of a relationship seen among a group. A theory is contemplative and provides general thinking, for instance, one may provide a method on how nature works. He then became a carpenter assistant so that he can be able to sustain his family. He received his education from Temple University and later on received his doctorate from Harvard University (Ashley, 2017). It was at Temple University where through the guidance of George E.

Simpson he started his sociological career. Since 1941 to 1978 he was a key figure in the department of sociology at Columbia University that made him receive much of the recognition due to his contribution to sociological analysis (Ashley, 2017). Secondly, was how people confront different clues and ambiguities leading to the development of ambivalent values and motives that respond to others. The third issue is the pervasive complexity of the social experience that generates multiple consequences. Merton advocated for a careful and imaginative study of the social phenomenon but mostly cautious on superficial investigations. He mainly studied social organization and group with the main focus on recurrent problems that occur in the society. He also put more focus on specialization and issues related to responsibilities, types, and complexity of social contracts.

During his career, flexibility was more notable with the combined theoretical formulation, empirical investigation, and concern for the practical implication of sociological work in the current society. One of his major works includes the Social Theory and Social Structure, sociology of science. He wrote many of the essays on the social structure that was represented in 1996. Influences What made Merton to be influenced and explain more about the crime was the just concluded World War II. Majority of the work was done during wartimes which made him need to know more about what was happening. Principles of the middle age should be reinforced with data to create theoretical problems coming up with proposals that allow empirical setting. Strain theory Strain theory was a theory developed by Merton.

It is sociology and criminology theory which states that society puts individuals under pressure for them to achieve some certain goals despite the individuals not provided with means which can lead them to commit crimes (Agnew, 2007). He argued that the society block individuals life which doesn’t allow them to achieve their goals leading them to commit a deviant behavior. For instance, he provides an example of individuals engaging in the selling of drugs or even prostitution so that they can gain their financial stability (Agnew, 2007). He contended that the general public provides anomie that creates the imbalance in a community. With this, it establishes strain or tension to people aspiring to meet their goals producing different aspirations (Antonaccio, Smith & Gostjev, 2015).

When one is faced with their objectives and situation of current status, strain should occur. When one is strained, they usually opt for criminal activities so that they can meet their goals. However, he came up with a solution when one is strained; one is conformity, this is pursuing your goals through special means that have been approved. The five ways are similar to those of stain theory they include; conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and finally rebellion (Stinchcombe, 2017). Derived theories Institutional anomie theory This theory emerged in the 1990s which appeared in the first empirical application of the theory presented at the sixth annual meeting of criminology and later published. It was presented by Messner and Rosenfeld through their book Crime and The American Dream of 1994 (Schoepfer, 2016).

The theory is an elaboration of the anomie theory. Following the Merton’s idea of systemic imbalance, it aggregated to the system of imbalances. For instance, GST determines how people use illegal drugs to make their lives better. The mains sources of GST are the loss of positive stimuli like the death of a friend or even a family member, secondly is the presentation of contrary stimuli like assaults and finally, lacking the ability to reach the desired goal. Discussion and conclusion The chief purpose of these paper was to explore the contribution of Robert K. Merton to the discipline of criminology. As seen he is considered as a key player in the field of criminology. Robert K. Merton gave many contributions to the field of criminology; he is considered to be the founder of the sociology of science where he pioneered many contributions to the study of social life, prophesizing consequences of social action.

With Anomie theory, it shows how people can lack ethics norms making them commit crimes. One empirical evidence that can be seen to be supporting the theory is how the society that we live in today. Many members of society especially parents, they force their children to engage in education which they perceive to be the “best” so that their children can achieve their goals. Agnew, R. Foundation for a General Strain Theory of Crime and Delinquency.  Criminology, 30, 47–87. Agnew, R. Pressured into crime: An overview of general strain theory. htm Micheal, T (2003) Robert K. Merton, Versatile Sociologist and Father of the Focus Group, Dies at 92. Retrieved on 14TH April 2018 from https://www. nytimes. com/2003/02/24/nyregion/robert-k-merton-versatile-sociologist-and-father-of-the-focus-group-dies-at-92. Institutional Anomie Theory.  The Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment.