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Merton also incorporated Durkheim's observations of the difference between intrinsic motivation for work and economic profit and purely superficial extrinsic motivation for the tangible trappings of success and/or social status. Since post-Industrial Revolution social values tended to focus so much more on acquisition and less on contributing to society through work, individuals experiencing psychosocial strains from the lack of available opportunities for legitimate work often sought to acquire the same outward social status through deviant and criminal means (Schmalleger, 2008).
The documentary traced the evolution of organized neighborhood protection and political rights organizations in vast criminal enterprises after the discovery of the economic profit potential associated with selling illicit narcotics. In Los Angeles, a parasitic relationship developed wherein the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) extracted protection money from the gangs while simultaneously increasing their official budget to upgrade their facilities and equipment on the basis of the increasing firepower and sophistication of the gangs.
Social Learning, Conflict Theory, and Labeling Theory:
The documentary provides classic examples of social learning, conflict, and labeling theories. Interviews with adolescent gang members and even pre-adolescent prospective gang members illustrates the manner in which individuals exposed to deviant social values and role models come to identify with them. The interview with the protagonist identifies the trend...
This dynamic was substantially responsible for the original evolution of organized gangs in the black Los Angeles community that eventually fragmented and gave rise to the modern criminal gangs covered in the documentary.
Finally, evidence of classic labeling theory is found in the different way that the LAPD authorities under the leadership of Parker dealt with juvenile delinquency in the black community and in the white community. The LAPD defined the former as hard-core crime and treated the offenders consistent with that perception. Meanwhile, the LAPD addressed the identical crimes in the white community as correctable mistakes of "misguided youth."
References
Gerrig, R., Zimbardo, R. (2005). Psychology and Life/. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Henslin, J. (2002). Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Macionis, J.J. (2003). Sociology. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Schmalleger, F. (2007). Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st
Concomitantly, gangs such as the Crips and the Bloods were created from the former members of movements meant to increase the reputation of black individuals in the U.S. because they had diverging opinions and wanted diversity. The Crips and the Bloods can be deemed as subcultures of the pro-black movements, given the fact that the people that were once part of the larger group did not agree on certain
Winston is impressed by a man named O'Brien who is supposed to be very powerful member of the party, but he believes in his heart that O'Brien is actually a member of the Brotherhood which is a group dedicated to overthrowing the Party (Orwell, 1977). Winston looks to O'Brien in the same way that Bromend looks to McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. O'Brien is someone that Winston comes
He has to object to it to keep from confronting it in himself. The Oklahoman is not so cynical, however, for he immediately grasps hold of Parr's contradiction and cries out, "Yeah, and how about hanging the bastard? That's pretty goddam cold-blooded too" (Capote 306). The Oklahoman objects to the murder, which he views as a product of that coldness which he hears in Parr's words. The Oklahoman may
In "Piaf," Pam Gems provides a view into the life of the great French singer and arguably the greatest singer of her generation -- Edith Piaf. (Fildier and Primack, 1981), the slices that the playwright provides, more than adequately trace her life. Edith was born a waif on the streets of Paris (literally under a lamp-post). Abandoned by her parents -- a drunken street singer for a mother and a
Hitler's early life as well as his rise to power in Germany. This paper will discuss the Nazi Party and the start of the Second World War. Early Life Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in Braunau, Austria, a small town across the Inn River from Germany. He was the fourth child of his father's third marriage. His father, Alois was born illegitimate and this would later have bearing
Brewster Place in these stories thus stands at a point when change is taking place but has not yet been as thorough as it would be later. The African-Americans now living in Brewster Place have largely migrated from the South. Indeed, Mattie Michael and several other characters arrive in Brewster Place from her parents' home in the South. When Mattie leaves her parents' home, she is pregnant by a disreputable