Robert K. Merton’s most widely known theory is the Strain Theory, also called the Theory of Social Structure and Anomie.1
This theory, which builds on Émile Durkheim’s concept of anomie (normlessness), explains deviance as a result of the strain experienced by individuals when there’s a disconnect or gap between the cultural goals that society emphasizes (e.g., wealth, success—often referred to as the “American Dream”) and the legitimate, institutionalized means available to achieve those goals (e.g., education, good jobs).2
When access to the legitimate means is blocked or unequally distributed, people may experience strain and resort to deviant behaviors to achieve the cultural goals.3
Merton’s Five Modes of Adaptation
Merton outlined five ways individuals adapt or respond to this gap between goals and means, which provides a typology of deviance:4
| Mode of Adaptation | Cultural Goals | Institutionalized Means | Description | Example |
| 1. Conformity | Accepting both the societal goals and the legitimate means to achieve them. This is the most common adaptation. | Working hard, getting an education, and pursuing a conventional career. | ||
| 2. Innovation | Accepting the goals but rejecting the legitimate means. Individuals use illegitimate or criminal means to achieve success. | Drug trafficking, embezzlement, or organized crime to achieve financial wealth. | ||
| 3. Ritualism | Rejecting or abandoning the high value placed on the goals but rigidly adhering to the institutionalized means. | A person who stays in a dead-end job, following all rules, but has given up on the goal of success or promotion. | ||
| 4. Retreatism | Rejecting both the goals and the means. Individuals “drop out” of society. | Chronic drug addicts, severe alcoholics, or hermits. | ||
| 5. Rebellion | Rejecting both the current goals and means, and actively seeking to substitute them with new goals and new means, aiming for a restructured society. | Political revolutionaries, activists, or counter-cultural movements. |
Other Major Contributions
Merton’s work in sociology extends beyond Strain Theory and includes several other key concepts:
- Manifest and Latent Functions: He distinguished between the manifest functions (the recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern) and the latent functions (the unrecognized and unintended consequences).5
- Dysfunctions: He also introduced the concept of social dysfunctions, which are social patterns that may disrupt the operation of society.6
- Middle-Range Theory: He advocated for the use of “theories of the middle range”—theories that are specific enough to be tested empirically but general enough to cover different social phenomena.7
- Coined Terms: Merton coined several terms that have entered common parlance, including “self-fulfilling prophecy,” “role model,” and the idea of “unintended consequences” of social action.8
