Retreatism refers to rejection of both the goals and the means, and rebellion occurs when individuals reject both and then create new goals and means to pursue. According to Merton's theory, ritualism occurs when a person rejects the normative goals of their society but nonetheless continues to participate in the means of attaining them.
Ritualism involves the rejection of cultural goals but the routinized acceptance of the means for achieving the goals. Retreatism involves the rejection of both the cultural goals and the traditional means of achieving those goals.
