Robert Merton believed that social structures and cultural values put pressure on a person to conform to society's values. For example young people are encouraged to strive for material success by getting a good education, working hard, and playing by the rules. But Merton also saw that social structures created contradictions that at times made deviance necessary. For example, for many young people schools do not give the necessary education to succeed, decent jobs are not available, and they are effectively shut out of the chances for material success no matter how hard they work or how closely they follow the rules. Merton referred to this state of affairs as: a. anomie b. exploitation c. social equilibrium d. alienation