SOC 201 Chapter 11: Chapter 11.12
Document Summary
This disjuncture, for merton, represented a form of structural strain which he called anomie. He noted that when there is anomie, or a disjuncture between goals and means, people may respond (or adapt) in different ways. These modes of adaptation are summarized in table 11. 1 . Some people in society may not experience any disjuncture between goals and means. For example, for some people hard work may indeed lead to success. In other cases, even when they keep running into obstacles (as when, for example, someone can"t afford to pay the costs of a college education), people may ignore the disjuncture and keep on trying. In other words, they may continue to accept the goals of success and achievement and the means of hard work even when it isn"t getting them anywhere. Other people respond to anomie in a variety of ways. Merton called the first mode of adaptation that is obviously deviant innovation.
