Sociology / Unit 5 Soc 0661 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Merton's Modes of Adaptation
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The idea
Merton named five responses to strain: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion, defined by whether a person accepts the goals and the means.
In practice
Rejecting the goal but keeping the means is ritualism; rejecting both without substitutes is retreatism.
Where people slip
Only conformity is non-deviant; the other four are Merton's deviant adaptations, and conformity is by far the most common.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
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