A Study Of Robert K.Merton’s Theory Of Anomie

In the study of anomie,there are few researchers whose influence is so extensive and even far beyond the social circle as Merton.Merton has unprecedentedly reduced the dimension of anomie theory to an operable level,which makes it have both theoretical significance and practical value.Based on this,the author takes the development process and basic structure of Merton’s anomie theory as the research problem,hoping to provide some reference for the solution of some social problems in China and the research of anomie in local situation.The article has five parts.The first part is the introduction,which mainly explains the basic content such as the research problem and the research method.The second part is the literature review,which is mainly divided into three sections:The first section briefly explains the origin of the concept of anomie and its connotation changes.The second section summarizes and evaluates the contribution and deficiency of Merton’s anomie theory,the extension of this theory and the empirical test.The third section summarizes and evaluates the literature review,and finds two key points in Merton’s anomie theory,namely,structural analysis and the middle level theory connecting the macro and micro levels.This paper summarizes two ways to test Merton’s anomie theory,that is,to measure the anomie at the macro level by using national level data or transnational data sets,and to measure the anomie at the micro level by measuring the desire and its realization possibility or the anomie scale.At the same time,it reveals the advantages and deficiencies of the existing research.The third part is the four stages of development of Merton’s anomie theory.On the basis of the existing analysis,this study divides the development of Merton’s anomia theory into three stages:emergence(1930s),development(1940s to 1960s),perfection(1970s to 1980s)and retreat(1990s and later).Then,based on the text analysis of Merton’s anomie theory,this paper sorts out his anomie concept,research questions,theoretical framework and analytical paradigm to restore the overall development process of this theory.The fourth part,through the textual analysis of the development of Merton’s anomie theory,presents the key elements of his anomie research works as completely as possible.This section has six subsections:The first section discusses the composition of cultural and social structures,the cultural goals under the interaction of these two structures and the institutionalized means of achieving these goals;The second section analyzes the types of individual adaptation based on the structural factors of cultural goals and institutionalized means,and sorts out the extended research on these types of adaptation.The third section discusses Merton’s anomie at the macro social level and the micro individual level.The fourth section explores the causal logic of Merton’s anomie theory.Through sorting out,it is found that his anomie theory contains three causal logics in different development stages.The fifth section discusses Merton’s coping style to deviant behavior and social anomie and reveals his control strategy The sixth section is the summary.The fifth part is the summary and discussion,that is to summarize the full text,draw lessons from the experience of Merton and his successors in the anomie research,point out their shortcomings in the anomie research,provide a little view for the localization of anomie research,in order to closely combine Merton’s anomie research with the needs of The Times.Finally,the progress and shortcomings of this study are explained.