DEVIANCY FROM THE NORMS OF SCIENCE - THE EFFECTS OF ANOMIE AND ALIENATION IN THE ACADEMIC PROFESSION

Anomie Theory, as formulated by Robert K. Merton, has been posited as a possible explanatory framework for deviancy from the norms of science. Anomie is the inability of some individuals to achieve excessively emphasized group goals through adherence to group norms. This study tests Anomie Theory by using alienation from the reward system of academic disciplines as an operationalization of this theory. Findings suggest support for Anomie Theory as an explanation for deviancy from the norms of communality, disinterestedness, and universalism. Implications for such topics as the use of norms as interpretative devices and the ambivalence of academics over compliance with dominant and subsidiary (counter-norms) are discussed. Implications for professional practice are also offered.