Malavika G NairAIR 45 · CSE 2024 · 282 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening
Merton, who considered himself an insider defending functionalism emphasized on the need for middle Range Theories in Sociology. He criticized Parson's grand theory and stated at the present level of development middle Range Theories like his study on deviance is the need of the hour.
Merton's Deviance Theory - A deviance from Grand Theoretical Systems:
Body · points and prose
(1) Merton sought to explain deviance in society using the concept of relative deprivation. He says deviance is a social phenomena, not individual and it is due to structural gap of legitimate means to achieve mutually sanctioned goals. The theory uses straight forward concepts.
(2) It sought to explain the social phenomena of deviance. Its scope was clearly defined unlike Parson's theory
which seeks to explain entire social reality.
(3) Merton uses classification to find the different types of deviant behaviour:
| Accepted Goals | Legitimate Means | eg: | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conformists | ✓ | ✓ | upper middle class |
| Retreatists | ✗ | ✗ | drug addicts |
| Ritualists | ✗ | ✓ | lower clerical staff |
| Innovators | ✓ | ✗ | marginal men, Entrepreneurs |
| Rebels | ✗ | ✗ | New social order-revolution |
(4) The theory is effective in classification and led to further research building social science as Merton envisaged.
Eg: Cloward and Ohlin the role of illegitimate means in society should also be explored.
(5) Created new concepts which led to further research on the same eg: David Matza on deterministic aspects and role of neutralization by deviants.
Close · a summary
Thus, Merton's deviance showed the utility of middle range theory. However, it lacked any empirical backing.