著者

小林 恵美子 福島 深雪

出版者

金沢大学外国語教育研究センター = Foreign Language Institute Kanazawa University

雑誌

言語文化論叢 (ISSN:13427172)

巻号頁・発行日

no.14, pp.165-188, 2010-03

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General strain theory, in its most genetic form, argues that three sources of strain, including failure to achieve positively valued goals, removal of positively valued stimuli, and confrontation with negative stimuli, lead to crime and other forms of deviance. Failure to achieve positively valued goals, which has been addressed in part in traditional strain theory, consists of three subtypes that describe various ways in which goal blockage might become manifest. The first type is a disjuncture between aspirations and expectations, which results when individuals hold aspirations for a positively valued goal but do not expect to achieve it. The second type is a disjuncture between expectations and outcomes, which results when individuals expect to achieve a certain goal but do not actually achieve it. Lastly, the third type is a disjuncture between perceived just or fair outcomes and actual outcomes, which results when what actually occurs is perceived by the individual as an unfair utcome. The other two major sources of strain, which include removal of positively valued stimuli and confrontation with negative stimuli, result when individuals experience stressful life events, especially during adolescence. All three sources of strain predispose individuals to engage in crime and other forms of deviance. In the research reported here, measures of strain that closely correspond to the theoretical definitions are developed, while taking into account two recent refinements (a distinction between global and goal-specific strain and an assessment of subjective responses to stressful life events). The effects of these strains on academiccheating are then examined in a sample of Japanese college students. Results offer partial support for general strain theory. While both removal of positively valued stimuli and confrontation with negative stimuli increase the inclination to cheat, failure to achieve positively valued goals does not seem to affect the inclination to cheat among the sample of Japanese young adults.