Reaction Formation
Definition
A concept Cohen borrowed from psychology to describe the process by which delinquent subcultures do not merely abandon middle-class values but actively invert them, treating the opposite of what schools reward as virtuous. This explains the non-utilitarian, malicious quality of much gang delinquency.
- Origin
- Psychoanalytic concept, adapted by Albert Cohen
- Theory context
- Subcultural strain theory
- Explains
- Non-utilitarian, malicious delinquency
- Mechanism
- Inversion of middle-class values
Common questions
Why does reaction formation explain vandalism better than a purely economic theory of crime?+
It accounts for delinquency that yields no material gain, such as destroying property for its own sake, by framing the behaviour as a deliberate rejection of school-endorsed values rather than a rational attempt to acquire money or goods.
Does reaction formation mean the same as simple rebellion against authority?+
Not quite. Cohen's concept describes a specific psychological defence in which a young person who has internalised but cannot meet middle-class standards resolves the resulting status frustration by actively prizing the opposite of those standards, not merely defying rules.
Related terms
- Code of the Street
- Elijah Anderson's term for an informal set of rules governing public behaviour in disadvantaged urban areas. The code centres on the display...
- Differential Opportunity
- Cloward and Ohlin's extension of Merton's strain theory: the type of criminal adaptation that people choose depends not only on blocked legitimate...
- Honour Culture
- A cultural context in which personal reputation for toughness or willingness to defend oneself against insults is essential to social standing. Researchers...
- Status Frustration
- Cohen's term for the psychological tension experienced by working-class boys who are measured against middle-class standards in school and find themselves repeatedly...
- Subculture
- A group within a larger society that shares a distinctive set of values, norms, symbols, and practices. In criminology, the term usually...