Casey could not believe that her friends were going to college after high school. She found it much more important to try to overthrow the current government, and she planned to chain herself to the capitol building and stage a hunger strike until her demands were met. Merton would argue that Casey was coping with strain through ______.
A) innovation
B) ritualism
C) rebellion
D) retreatism

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Casey is rejecting both the cultural goals of going to college and the means of achieving those goals (getting a degree) and is instead pursuing her own means of addressing the strain she feels (overthrowing the government). This fits the definition of rebellion according to Merton's strain theory.

Casey Could Not Believe That Her Friends Were Going to College