A second polar type is found in groups where activities originally conceived as instrumental are transmuted into self-contained practices, lacking further objectives.  The original purposes are forgotten and close adherence to institutionally prescribed conduct becomes a matter of ritual.  Sheer conformity becomes a central value.  For a time, social stability is ensured—at the expense of flexibility.  Since the range of alternative behaviors permitted by the culture is severely limited, there is little basis for adapting to new conditions.  There develops a tradition-bound, ‘sacred’ society marked by neophobia (1968, pp. 187-188).