Merton Rather Than Attribute Deviant

Merton

Rather than attribute deviant behavior to psychological or biological impulses, Robert Merton explains deviance in sociological terms. Merton's ideas were revolutionary when he presented them, as emerging psychological theories at the time attempted to explain deviance in terms of immutable internal drives. Moreover, Merton's ideas resonate with conflict theory. Merton builds his ideas on Durkheim's notion of anomie: the absence of norms within a society. Deviance is, according to Merton, a natural response to anomic social structures. When the overarching values of a society, such as wealth, are emphasized more than normative patterns of behavior, deviance becomes a natural and common way to achieve goals that might otherwise be out of reach. Thus, Merton's theory has two integral and interrelated parts. First, deviance flourishes in cultures like ours, in which wealth is stressed more than judicious action. Second, deviance especially flourishes when socially sanctioned means to attain wealth are inaccessible.

Merton's argument depends on the existence of universally agreed-upon, socially sanctioned goals that are reinforced through social and cultural institutions. For example, the media promotes and reinforces the goals of financial success, slimness, and fame. These goals may be reinforced by family members and peers. Merton also claims that deviance arises when the society fails to provide significant impetus to follow the normative, acceptable means of attaining those goals. Anomie creates and even ironically normalizes deviance. In some cases, the opposite occurs: norms outweigh the goals they were intended to support. Ritualized actions and outmoded cultural institutions are examples of norms that have become detached from their original goals. A Merton describes it, "sheer conformity becomes a central value," (p. 227). However, in "Social Structure and Anomie," Merton focuses more on societies with anomie: goals stranded from norms.

As the author notes, as long as the majority of citizens agree and are comfortable with the balance between goals and norms the society will remain stable. if, however, a significant number of people find themselves cut off from legitimate means of attaining the socially sanctioned goals, deviant behaviors become the only viable means of attaining those goals. Moreover, Merton mentions how goals can become distanced from ethical norms. The desire to win at all costs in sports; the desire to get good grades in school no matter what; and the desire to get as rich as possible all become more salient emotional needs than the need to be kind, the need to be creative, or the need for inner peace. Merton explains that money is essentially an amoral substance in our culture; audiences are more impressed with a gangster's mansion than a studio apartment in a low-income suburb. Schools reinforce the collective goal of financial success by indoctrinating students into pursuing education specifically as a stepping-stone to lucrative careers (Merton p. 229). Deviance can and does arise not only when the goal is amoral but also when significant portions of the population do not have access to socially acceptable means of attaining the goal.

One of Merton's central arguments is that deviance is in fact a function of peer pressure. Individuals feel intense pressure to conform to the universal ideals of coolness, thinness, and exuberant wealth. If an individual lacks any of the cultural status symbols, he or she will either attribute that failure to personal shortcomings or to "bad luck." Both explanations fall short of the truth. Even though our culture claims to be completely egalitarian, hard work does not necessarily lead to financial success. Similarly, attributing success or failure to luck is irrational: a sign of mystical thinking (p. 236). Merton finds that both self-chastisement and mystical thinking are means of avoiding the root cause of inequality. Merton stops short of addressing the core social institutions, values, and structures that reinforce anomie but his essay prompts sociologists to postulate which structures or value may be culprits.

The author does offer three "success prototypes" extant in American culture. First, all Americans are encouraged to strive for the same goals and those goals are believed to be possible for all. Second, any stumbling blocks along the way will soon transform into success. Hope is integral to the American Dream. Third, by aiming high, the only way a person can fail is to not participate or not play the game.

Merton also describes five types of individual adaptations to social goals. A person may shift from one of these adaptation patterns to another depending on the circumstance. The most common adaptation tool in stable societies is conformity. Innovation is another tool of adaptation in a culture like ours, in which the pressure to succeed is often divorced from clearly explicated or poorly enforced means by which to achieve success. Merton centers his theory on financial attainment and its role in American society. The author's ideas still hold true nearly a century after Merton published "Social Structure and Anomie" but the theory can also extend to different social realities and cultures. For instance, Merton's theory would be helpful in illuminating the differences between cultures like ours, in which "the sacrosanct goal virtually consecrates the means," and cultures that are nearly opposite on Merton's continuum. Cultures that condone female genial mutilation, for example, or those that overemphasize religion at the expense of reason are ones that fall into Merton's category of "ritualism" (p. 232-3). Furthermore, Merton's explanation of deviance as being a natural, not abnormal response, forces sociologists to work harder to unearth structural causes for social conflict. Not all criminological problems can be blamed on psychological problems. Americans have come to believe that by medicating the population with anti-depressants and other socially acceptable pharmaceuticals, we can avoid addressing the anomie that plagues the culture.