The strain theory assumes that individuals are pushed toward committing crimes due to the social structures that are in place; the class system, for example. These strains take two forms – structural, which occur at the societal level and affect individual perceptions, or individual, which is the discomfort experienced when trying to satisfy one's own needs. Robert Merton is one of many sociologists to use the strain theory to explain deviance. He believed that societal norms placed too much pressure on individuals to fulfill goals such as 'the American dream', in which case they were either forced to conform, or become a 'deviant' member of society.
In many cases, however, these goals are unachievable. Using the example of the American dream, in order for every individual to achieve it, they must have access to many luxuries such as education, which is not always the case. When this occurs, the individual is faced with the Five Modes of Adaptation, which is explained in the following chart:.
Essentially, the individual can either accept or reject the norms of society. When members of society are unable to achieve the norms by acceptable means due to the opportunities necessary to attain them being unavailable, they feel pressured to engage in 'deviant behaviour.' For example, our society places a large amount of emphasis on wealth; and when individuals are not presented with the opportunities to gain wealth through schooling and hard work, they may feel pressured to steal things they cannot afford in order to fit in with the rest of society, or fit 'the norm'. Merton described this deviant behaviour as 'innovation'; in order to fulfill a culturally approved goal, one must use unconventional means to attain it. Although these individuals have accepted the norms, they are using 'innovation' to achieve them in ways that may not be socially acceptable.
