Question

Robert Merton’s typology of deviance outlines the strain that people experience as they attempt to access cultural goals through legitimate, institutionalized means. In which of the following categories would gangsters and con artists be found

Answer 1

Innovation is the correct answer.

Robert Merton was an American sociologist who believed in the disjuntion between socially approved means to achieve cultural goals. So, he created five modes of combinations of goals and means, such as conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreating, and rebellion. He suggested that innovation was the one that could be associated with crime the most since it used unapproved (or unconventional) means to achieve goals or financial security. For instance, we find gangsters, drug dealers, thieves, and con artists in this category.