The concepts of culturally approved goals and the legitimate means of achieving these goals was devised by a. Émile Durkheim. c. Howard Becker. b. Robert K. Merton. d. Edwin Lemert. Please select the best answer from the choices provided A B C D

B). Robert K. Merton.

Explanation:

Robert K. Merton, the American sociologist, in his 'strain' theory asserts that social structures push individuals to carry out crimes. He calls such pressure as the 'strain'(however, it could be both social pressure or individual pressure to satisfy his or her needs/wants) that leads to 'deviance'(actions or behaviors that violate formal or informal social or cultural norms or customs) which makes them criminals.

In his typology of deviant behavior which exemplified the potential differences lying between the concept of 'culturally approved goals and legitimate sources of achieving these goals' i.e. conformity. However, he also states that the deviance is entirely based on an individual's motivation or belief to achieve the cultural goals as in the pursuit of one cultural goal, another is naturally violated. For Example, Innovation pursues the cultural goal of creating something new and unique but goes against the existing.