Anomie

Anomie is a condition in which weakened or disrupted social norms leave people with little guidance for behavior and a diminished sense of social connection.

Émile Durkheim: Émile Durkheim was a French sociologist who helped establish sociology as a discipline. He framed anomie as a breakdown of regulation during rapid social change.
The Division of Labor in Society: Émile Durkheim’s 1893 book examines how social solidarity changes with the division of labor. Durkheim introduced anomie while analyzing inadequate regulation in modern economic life.
Alienation: Alienation is estrangement from one’s work, social relations, or sense of self. Anomie concerns weakened norms; alienation emphasizes estrangement and powerlessness.
Deviant behavior: Deviant behavior violates a group’s social norms or expectations. Anomie theories explain how disrupted norms can alter patterns of norm violation.
Social cohesion: Social cohesion is the strength of bonds, trust, and shared commitment within a society. Anomie marks weakened shared expectations that can erode cohesion.
Robert K. Merton: Robert K. Merton was an American sociologist known for theories of social structure and the sociology of science. He recast anomie as a gap between cultural goals and legitimate means.
Suicide (Durkheim book): Émile Durkheim’s 1897 book uses comparative statistics to explain suicide as a social phenomenon. It develops anomic suicide as a consequence of disrupted social regulation.
Social disorganization: Social disorganization is the weakening of a community’s capacity to maintain shared institutions and regulate behavior. It describes community-level breakdown, while anomie can describe broader normative disruption.
Innovation (Merton typology): Innovation is Merton’s mode of adaptation that pursues approved cultural goals through institutionally disapproved means. It illustrates one response to the gap between success goals and legitimate opportunities.
Collective conscience: The collective conscience is the shared beliefs and moral attitudes that bind a society, in Durkheim’s theory. Anomie signifies weakened regulation by this shared moral framework.

Linked from 7 pages