Which of the following is NOT a deviant adaptation?

Which of the following is NOT a deviant adaptation?

• A. Innovation
• B. Ritualism
• C. Social Control
• D. Rebellion

Answer: (C)

Strain theory describes how people adapt to the gap between culturally prescribed goals and the means to achieve them. The deviant ways of adapting include pursuing goals through unconventional or illegitimate means (innovation), sticking to the rules while abandoning the goals (ritualism), rejecting both and withdrawing from society (retreatism), or openly challenging and trying to replace the system (rebellion). Social control, on the other hand, is not a way people adapt; it refers to the tools, institutions, and practices that regulate behavior and enforce norms. Because it isn’t a mode of adapting to strain, it is not a deviant adaptation.

Strain theory describes how people adapt to the gap between culturally prescribed goals and the means to achieve them. The deviant ways of adapting include pursuing goals through unconventional or illegitimate means (innovation), sticking to the rules while abandoning the goals (ritualism), rejecting both and withdrawing from society (retreatism), or openly challenging and trying to replace the system (rebellion). Social control, on the other hand, is not a way people adapt; it refers to the tools, institutions, and practices that regulate behavior and enforce norms. Because it isn’t a mode of adapting to strain, it is not a deviant adaptation.