Sociologist Robert Merton's Strain Theory
Strain theory was introduced by sociologist Robert Merton, he thought that some societies may be set up to encourage deviance from societal norms. Merton thought when cultural goals placed too much pressure on the person to conform. The individual would be forced to work inside the structure that society has created or instead turn to become a follower of a deviant subculture to achieve their goals. The main concern was that certain societies were not providing the resources to achieve these societal goals fairly to the social classes, making deviant paths an even more appealing option. “Wanting success but being cut off from the approved means to reach it leads to the strain (Henslin 156)”. The strain theory believes there are five responses
to cultural goals, the first being conformity. It involves chasing society’s goals through approved resources, they have recognized the goals of their culture and understand the approved methods to achieve them. The conformists do not believe that the strain will lead to anomie, a lack of moral and social standards. “These people the conformists, have approved resources, and they strive for success. The others feel strain between society’s goals and the approved means to reach them. (Henslin 157)”. The conformist by accepting these standards choose legal resources to obtain their goals, an example would be going to college to earn a degree to work a more lucrative career and earning money honestly without deviance. The next response is innovation, which is accepting social and cultural goals but choosing to reach them through other alternative paths. The innovators are chasing the same goals, especially the “American dream” they just usually choose to achieve it through a deviant path. An example of an innovator is someone trying to pursue wealth but rejecting traditional means of attaining it, such as a mobster involved in organized crime. Another response is ritualism, which involves rejecting cultural goals, but accepting the methods of attaining them. “The ritualist have given up on achieving success, but they still work in culturally approved ways (Henslin 157)”. An example of ritualism is a worker who goes to work every day just to get by, not to advance up the corporate ladder more to avoid being fired for lack of effort. An additional response is retreatism, which is rejecting both cultural goals and the ways of attaining them. They avoid goals and the resources used to reach them without substituting those norms. “The retreatists reject both the societal goal and the means to achieve it. (Henslin 157)”. An example of someone sociology would call a retreatist is a hermit, or someone who is homeless by choice who choose to retreat. The last response is rebellion, which is not only rejecting both cultural and societal goals and the accepted methods of attaining them but also replacing new goals and ways of attaining them. “The rebels are convinced that society is corrupt and reject bot societal goals, and the means to achieve them. (Henslin 157)”. An example of rebellion are groups that formed like the Nazi party and ISIS.
to cultural goals, the first being conformity. It involves chasing society’s goals through approved resources, they have recognized the goals of their culture and understand the approved methods to achieve them. The conformists do not believe that the strain will lead to anomie, a lack of moral and social standards. “These people the conformists, have approved resources, and they strive for success. The others feel strain between society’s goals and the approved means to reach them. (Henslin 157)”. The conformist by accepting these standards choose legal resources to obtain their goals, an example would be going to college to earn a degree to work a more lucrative career and earning money honestly without deviance. The next response is innovation, which is accepting social and cultural goals but choosing to reach them through other alternative paths. The innovators are chasing the same goals, especially the “American dream” they just usually choose to achieve it through a deviant path. An example of an innovator is someone trying to pursue wealth but rejecting traditional means of attaining it, such as a mobster involved in organized crime. Another response is ritualism, which involves rejecting cultural goals, but accepting the methods of attaining them. “The ritualist have given up on achieving success, but they still work in culturally approved ways (Henslin 157)”. An example of ritualism is a worker who goes to work every day just to get by, not to advance up the corporate ladder more to avoid being fired for lack of effort. An additional response is retreatism, which is rejecting both cultural goals and the ways of attaining them. They avoid goals and the resources used to reach them without substituting those norms. “The retreatists reject both the societal goal and the means to achieve it. (Henslin 157)”. An example of someone sociology would call a retreatist is a hermit, or someone who is homeless by choice who choose to retreat. The last response is rebellion, which is not only rejecting both cultural and societal goals and the accepted methods of attaining them but also replacing new goals and ways of attaining them. “The rebels are convinced that society is corrupt and reject bot societal goals, and the means to achieve them. (Henslin 157)”. An example of rebellion are groups that formed like the Nazi party and ISIS.