Individuals who accept societys approved goals but not societys approved means to achieve them

Ritualism is a concept developed by American sociologist Robert K. Merton as a part of his structural strain theory. It refers to the common practice of going through the motions of daily life even though one does not accept the goals or values that align with those practices.

Ritualism as a Response to Structural Strain

Merton, an important figure in early American sociology, created what is considered to be one of the most important theories of deviance within the discipline. Merton's structural strain theory states that people experience tension when a society does not provide adequate and approved means for achieving culturally valued goals. In Merton's view, people either accept these conditions and go along with them, or they challenge them in some way, which means they think or act in ways that appear deviant from cultural norms.

Structural strain theory accounts for five responses to such strain, of which ritualism is one. Other responses include conformity, which involves continual acceptance of the goals of the society and continued participation in the approved means through which one is supposed to achieve them. Innovation involves accepting the goals but rejecting the means and creating new means. 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. This response involves deviance in the form of rejecting the normative goals of society but is not deviant in practice because the person continues to act in a way that is in line with pursuing those goals.

One common example of ritualism is when people do not embrace the goal of getting ahead in society by doing well in one's career and earning as much money as possible. Many have often thought of this as the American Dream, as did Merton when he created his theory of structural strain. In contemporary American society, many have become aware that stark economic inequality is the norm, that most people do not actually experience social mobility in their lives, and that most money is made and controlled by a very tiny minority of wealthy individuals.

Those who see and understand this economic aspect of reality, and those who simply do not value economic success but frame success in other ways, will reject the goal of climbing the economic ladder. Yet, most will still engage in the behaviors that are meant to achieve this goal. Most will spend most of their time at work, away from their families and friends, and may even still attempt to gain status and increased salary within their professions, despite the fact that they reject the end goal. They "go through the motions" of what is expected perhaps because they know that it is normal and expected, because they do not know what else to do with themselves, or because they have no hope or expectation of change within society.

Ultimately, though ritualism stems from discontent with the values and goals of society, it works to maintain the status quo by keeping normal, everyday practices and behaviors in place. If you think about it for a moment, there are probably at least a few ways in which you engage in ritualism in your life.

Other Forms of Ritualism

The form of ritualism that Merton described in his structural strain theory describes behavior among individuals, but sociologists have identified other forms of ritualism too. For example, sociologists also recognize political ritualism, which occurs when people participate in a political system by voting despite the fact that they believe that the system is broken and cannot actually achieve its goals.

Ritualism is common within bureaucracies, wherein rigid rules and practices are observed by members of the organization, even though doing so is often counter to their goals. Sociologists call this "bureaucratic ritualism."

1. Criminology
2. Strain Theory

Deviance and Strain Theory in Sociology

By Charlotte Nickerson, published Oct 01, 2021

Summary

• Social inequality can create situations in which people experience tension (or strain) between the goals society says they should be working toward (like financial success) and the legitimate means they have available to meet those goals.
• According to Merton's strain theory, societal structures can pressure individuals into committing crimes. Classic Strain Theory predicts that deviance is likely to happen when there is a misalignment between the “cultural goals” of a society (such as monetary wealth) and the opportunities people have to obtain them.
• Responding to heavy criticism of Classic Strain Theory, sociologists Robert Agnew, Steven Messner, and Richard Rosenfeld developed General Strain Theory. This predicts that various strains (such as violence and discrimination) create negative feelings which, when there are no other viable options for coping, leads to deviance.
• Modern strain theories evolved from studies of “anomie,” or normlessness. The French sociologist Emile Durkheim was the first to write about anomie. In his works The Division of Labor in Society (1893) and Suicide (1897), Durkheim hypothesized that groups and social organizations are primary drivers of misconduct.
• Principally, Durkheim claimed that a breakdown in societal norms — a result of rapid social change — made it so that societal institutions could no longer regulate individuals well.
• For example, in a society where economic norms become unclear — there are weak or non-existent authorities to tell workers what they can or cannot do — aspirations become limitless and anomie and deviant behavior (such as crime) results.

Overview of Robert Merton's Theory of Deviance

Building off of Durkheim’s work on anomie, Merton (1957), was the first person to write about what sociologists call strain theory. To Merton, anomie was a condition that existed in the discrepancy between societal goals and the means that individuals have in achieving them.

Merton noticed that American society had high rates of crime and proposed that this was because the achievement of the American Dream — wealth attainment — was deeply ingrained by Americans, even those for whom factors such as race and class had made it highly improbable that they would ever achieve large monetary success.

Holding this cultural value in high regard, they turn to illegitimate means of obtaining wealth, becoming criminals in the process. The discrepancy or strain between the aspirations and the means of achieving them became known as “strain theory.”

Implicit in Merton’s approach is that the factors that lead to order and disorder in a society (such as crime versus the order of social norms) are not mutually exclusive, and that cultural values that have desirable functions often contain or produce undesirable consequences (Hagen & Daigle, 2018).

Five Responses to Strain

“The extreme emphasis on the accumulation of wealth as a symbol of success in our own society militates against the completely effective control of institutionally regulated modes of acquiring a fortune. Fraud, corruption, vice, crime, in short the entire catalogue of proscribed behavior becomes increasingly common…” (Merton, 1938, p.59).

Society’s emphasis on financial success and materialism through the mythology of the “American Dream” can be stressful for those whose chances of realizing that dream are limited (Messner & Rosenfeld, 2012). The rewards of conformity are available only to those who can pursue approved goals through approved means. Any other combination of means and goals is deviant in one way or another.

Merton argued that individuals at the bottom of society could respond to this strain in a number of ways. Different orientations toward society’s goals and differential access to the means to achieve those goals combine to create different categories of deviance.

Conformity: individuals are following a societal goal through legitimate means. Although a conformist may not necessarily achieve the societal goal, he has enough faith in society to follow legitimate means. For example, a student who is going to school in order to advance a professional career is conforming, as he is following the American cultural value of success through an approved means (Inderbitzen, Bates, & Gainey 2016).

Innovation: the individual shares the cultural goal of the society but reaches this goal through illegitimate means. Thieves - who share the cultural goal of wealth obtainment, but do so through breaking the law (such as drug dealing or embezzlement), are innovators.

Ritualists: individuals who have given up hope of achieving society’s approved goals but still operate according to society’s approved means. A member of middle management, for example, who accepts that they will never progress but nonetheless stays in their position is a ritualist.

Retreatists (like dropouts or hermits): individuals who have rejected both a society’s goals and the legitimate means of obtaining them, and live outside conventional norms altogether. Drug addicts and figures such as Chris McCandleless — an Emory University graduate found dead in Alaska after attempting to reject capitalism, hitchhike north, and live off the land — retreat from both societal rule and societally-approved means (Krakauer 2018).

Rebellion exists outside of Merton’s system altogether. Rebels aim to replace societal goals with those of their own and devise their own means of achieving them. The most obvious examples of rebellion are terrorist organizations, which attempt to advance a goal, typically political, through means such as violence (Inderbitzen, Bates, & Gainey 2016)

Criticism of Merton's Strain Theory

Merton’s strain theory became the basis of much of criminal sociology in the 1950s and 1960s, but received substantial and damaging criticism. Writers such as Hirschi (1969), Johnson (1979), and Kornhauser (1978) have argued that Merton’s theory is not supported empirically; however, others (such as Farnworth and Lieber, 1989) argue that it does.

• Direct evidence for Merton’s strain theory, though sparse, is conflicting. Some research finds that there are not particularly high delinquency rates between those with the greatest gap between aspirations and expectations — those with low aspirations and low expectations had the highest offense rates. However, others have shown support for this hypothesis (Agnew et. al 1996; Cullen & Agnew 2003).
• Outside of empirical measurement, criticisms of Merton’s strain theory emphasize Merton’s assumption that the U.S. uniformly commits to materialistic goals when in reality the U.S. has highly pluralistic and heterogeneous cultural values (people tend to set themselves a variety of goals). For example, people might prioritize helping others less fortunate than themselves (such as teachers or nurses) or striving for a healthy work-life balance over material success (Valier, 2001).
• Sociologists have also criticized Merton’s emphasis on criminality in lower classes, failing to examine why elites break laws, such as corporate and white-collar criminals (Taylor et al., 1973). And lastly, the theory emphasizes monetary, and not violent crimes and brings up the question: If Merton is correct, why does the U.S. have lower property crime rates than many other developed countries? (Hagen & Daigle, 2018).
• Some have attempted to revise Merton’s strain theory. One such revision introduces the concept of “relative deprivation” — those who have less in comparison to those around them have higher rates of criminality.
• Others have argued that adolescents pursue a variety of non-monetary goals, such as popularity, grades, athletic prowess, and positive relationships with parents (Agnew et al., 1996; Cullen & Agnew, 2003, Hagen & Daigle, 2018).

Agnew’s General Strain Theory

General Strain Theory’s core is that individuals who experience stress or stressors often become upset and sometimes cope with crime (Agnew & Brezina, 2019).

According to General Strain Theory, strain increases crime because it leads to negative emotions such as anger, frustration, depression, and fear.

Individuals want to do something to correct these emotions, and their circumstances may make it so that committing a crime is an individual’s most accessible option for coping (Agnew & Brezina, 2019).

These negative emotions may also lower the barriers to crime. For example, angry people often have a strong desire for revenge (Agnew 2006).

Agnew (1985) argues that delinquency is most common among those experiencing negative life events, such as divorce or financial problems (Hagen & Daigle, 2018).

He also argues that delinquency comes from an inability to avoid painful environments – such as a school environment where there are interaction problems with teachers.

This creates negative affect and delinquency becomes a means of obtaining what one has been prevented from obtaining (instrumental), retaliation, or escapism (Hagen & Daigle 2018).

Consequently, there are three types of strain, according to Agnew (Agnew & Brezina, 2019):

• Strain from people losing something they value. For example, their money could be stolen, a friend may die, or a romantic partner may leave them.
• Strain from being treated in an adverse or negative way, such as being verbally or physically abused.
• Strain from people being unable to achieve their goals: for example, being unable to obtain the money or respect that they want.

General Strain Theory differentiates between strain on two different axes: objective vs. subjective strain and experienced, vicarious, and anticipated strains.

Objective strain happens because of events and conditions that most people in a given group dislike, while subjective strain results from events and conditions disliked by one particular person or the particular persons being studied. This is an important distinction because the negativity of an experience can differ radically between individuals.

For example, one person may call divorce the worst experience of their life while another may consider it a cause for celebration (Agnew & Brezina, 2019; Agnew, 2006).

Most researchers ask about objective levels of strain — whether or not individuals have experienced events that researchers assume are negative — however, it is important to consider that some so-called negative events can be positive to certain individuals and vice-versa (Agnew &</p><p>Agnew (2002) also differentiates between experienced, vicarious, and anticipated strain. Experienced strains are strains directly experienced by someone, vicarious strains are strains experienced by others, often those that the individual feels protective toward.</p><p>And finally, anticipated strains are strains that individuals expect to experience, especially in the near future.</p><p></p><div class="panel panel-default"><div class="panel-body"><p></p><h2>Examples of Strain</h2><p></p><p>However, General Strain Theory does not consider negative emotions to be the only factor that increases crime in trained individuals. Strain can reduce levels of social control, such as how much someone values conformity and the belief that crime is wrong.</p><span class="ezoic-autoinsert-ad ezoic-incontent_5"></span><span style="clear:both;display:block" id="ez-clearholder-leader-2"></span><span class="ezoic-ad ezoic-at-0 leader-2 leader-2700 adtester-container adtester-container-700" data-ez-name="simplypsychology_org-leader-2"><span id="div-gpt-ad-simplypsychology_org-leader-2-0" ezaw="300" ezah="250" style="position:relative;z-index:0;display:inline-block;padding:0;min-height:250px;min-width:300px" class="ezoic-ad"><script data-ezscrex="false" data-cfasync="false" style="display:none">if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'simplypsychology_org-leader-2','ezslot_22',700,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-simplypsychology_org-leader-2-0');

When strain comes from negative treatment from those in authority — such as parents, teachers, employers, and the police — this can decrease the individual’s stake in conformity and conventional society.

Rather than conforming to traditional ideas of social controls, strained individuals tend to adopt a values system that minimizes concern for others and prioritizes self-interest (Agnew & Brezina 2019; Brezina & Agnew 2017; Konty, 2005).

Strain can also encourage the social learning of crime. A student who is bullied can be regularly exposed to models of aggression, and chronically employed individuals living in communities where there is little room for economic opportunity may belong to groups that believe theft and drug dealing are acceptable.

The strains most likely to result in crime are those that are high in magnitude, that are seen as unjust, strains associated with low social control — such as parental rejection — and strains that create a pressure or incentive to cope criminally — such as a desperate need for money (Agnew & Brezina, 2019).