According to Robert Merton, an individual who has abandoned society's goals and only concentrates on the means would be using which mode of adaptation?

• A. Conformity
• B. Innovation
• C. Ritualism
• D. Retreatism

Answer: (C)

In this scenario, the key idea is how people cope with a gap between society’s goals and the means to achieve them. Abandoning society’s goals but still sticking to the familiar, conventional routines and methods describes ritualism. Ritualists maintain the daily practices and rules of the system, but they no longer strive for the culturally approved outcomes like wealth or status. They go through the motions without aiming for the traditional rewards.

This fits ritualism because it separates the means from the goals—the person still follows the accepted means, but the societal goal is no longer valued. Other patterns don’t fit as well: conformity would involve pursuing both goals and means; innovation would pursue goals through new or illegitimate means; retreatism would reject both goals and means altogether; rebellion would replace both with new goals and new means.