In the context of Merton's theory, which class is often wrongly assumed to be the primary source of criminal behavior?

• A. Upper class
• B. Lower class
• C. Middle class
• D. Working class

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that criminal behavior, in Merton’s framework, comes from the social structure creating pressure or strain, not from a person’s class identity. People often picture crime as something the lower class does, partly because street crime is more visible and headlines highlight poverty-linked acts. But Merton shows that when culturally approved goals (like wealth and success) are hard to reach through legitimate means, people in any class may respond in deviant ways. The mode called innovation, for example, involves pursuing those goals through illegitimate strategies when legitimate opportunities are blocked. That pattern isn’t confined to one class; it can appear across the board, and other classes have their own forms of crime too—such as white-collar offenses by the upper or middle classes.

So the reason this choice is commonly assumed is because of stereotypes and the visibility of certain crimes, but the theory points out that strain from blocked opportunities can drive criminal behavior across different classes, not just the lower class.