Final answer:
An Innovator, according to Merton's theory, is someone who strives for societal goals like financial success without adhering to conventional means, sometimes engaging in deviant behaviors to achieve these goals.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Merton's theory, the type of individual who deals with strain by emphasizing the conventional goals of success without considering the conventional means of gaining such success is known as an Innovator. Innovators pursue goals they cannot reach through legitimate means by instead using criminal or deviant means. For example, an entrepreneur who can't afford to launch their own company might resort to embezzling funds from their employer to obtain the necessary start-up capital. This is one of the five modes of individual adaptation to cultural goals and institutionalized means outlined by Merton in his strain theory.
The other responses to strain include: Conformity, where individuals pursue their goals through accepted means; Ritualism, where individuals scale down their goals to match what they can achieve through accepted means; Retreatism, where individuals reject both societal goals and means; and Rebellion, where individuals replace societal goals and means with their own.