According to Merton’s Strain Theory crime and deviance stem from a mismatch between socially regulated means and culturally mandated ends. Merton lists five ways that a person could adjust to this burden on their own such as Conformity. People embrace institutionalized methods as well as cultural goals. Innovation is when People accept cultural objectives but reject or change the methods by which they are to be achieved, which frequently leads to illegal activity. Ritualism is when people give up trying to achieve cultural objectives but nevertheless follow the established procedures. Retreatism is when people reject established methods as well as cultural objectives, frequently pursuing alternative lifestyles like drug misuse.
Rebellion is when people adopt their own goals and methods in place of the cultural ones, rejecting the former. Tommy Shakur Ross’s shift to gangs and criminality to fulfill culturally mandated ambitions that were otherwise unachievable by legal methods is consistent with Merton’s description of innovation adoption. According to Merton’s Strain Theory, Tommy would be more likely to engage in criminal activity as a reaction to any social or economic stresses in his life, such as discrimination, poverty, or restricted access to opportunities. In his statement, he said, “My father was a Baptist minister. I grew up going to church. Eventually, I started to resent going to church. There were things I wanted to do, like play football and take karate, but it conflicted with what my parents wanted me to do. See, my parents had this idea that I was going to grow up and be this minister to follow in my father’s footsteps. Some of the conflicts between me and my father were for things like misbehaving in church, and I would get these harsh whippings.” Merton’s Strain Theory may not go as far as it could into specific psychological elements, preferring to concentrate on societal institutions and cultural expectations. Tommy did not want to confirm to authority and his father’s beliefs but unfortunately he had taken negative routes to fulfill his goals. Also, Tommy contradicts himself by joining a gang and following their loyalty and rules. “I was looking for acceptance. Some of the older guys were like 15 or 17. I looked up to them and I wanted to emulate them. So, if these guys were doing the violent crimes, then I wanted to do the violent crimes, you know, more violent than them. I wanted to establish myself, you know, to a level that was beyond what they were capable of doing.” Psychological theories that offer a more thorough explanation of Tommy’s unique psychological makeup and how it influenced his decisions, including personality or psychosocial development theories, could be used in conjunction with Merton’s theories.
