As mentioned in the present chapter, symbolic interactionism is an important theory in sociology that examines “how we [as humans] construct meanings, how we use symbols to communicate with one another and how symbols are the foundation of our world” (Henslin, 2012). In the field of sociology this theory consists of three fundamental themes –“humans have a self,” “people construct meanings, and act on the basis of those meanings” and “people take into account the possible reactions of others” (Henslin, 2012). Such themes aid in piecing together how we as a shared society and group of individuals find meaning in our lives as well as in the world around us through the incorporation of symbols. Thus, the overarching aim for the theory of “symbolic
…show more content…
Vera Lopez highlights upon the sociological theory of symbolism interactionism as cultural approach in the occurrence of delinquent criminal events. In this study, “how adolescents define, interpret and justify their actions within criminal offending situations and how cognitions and emotions influence decisions to commit property crimes” were focused upon (Lopez, 2008). Each of the twenty-four young male participants in this study were asked to speak about all of their committed crimes and recount one particular day a crime was committed from the beginning of that day, duration of the crime and ending of the day after the crime had been committed. The participants were then asked to describe their feelings at each moment of that specific day. It was observed that the “narratives [of the delinquents] represented idealized accounts, which in turn were shaped and influenced by larger cultural idealizations centered on youth, offenders, gender, and in some cases, race and ethnicity” (Lopez, 2008). From the study, it was clear that “the adolescent offender constructs meaning in relation to higher culture” and that a “deeper understanding of how adolescents interpret and construct meaning in relation to the delinquent event” was obtained by gaining insight on adolescent motives and strategies (Lopez,
Vera Lopez highlights upon the sociological theory of symbolism interactionism as cultural approach in the occurrence of delinquent criminal events. In this study, “how adolescents define, interpret and justify their actions within criminal offending situations and how cognitions and emotions influence decisions to commit property crimes” were focused upon (Lopez, 2008). Each of the twenty-four young male participants in this study were asked to speak about all of their committed crimes and recount one particular day a crime was committed from the beginning of that day, duration of the crime and ending of the day after the crime had been committed. The participants were then asked to describe their feelings at each moment of that specific day. It was observed that the “narratives [of the delinquents] represented idealized accounts, which in turn were shaped and influenced by larger cultural idealizations centered on youth, offenders, gender, and in some cases, race and ethnicity” (Lopez, 2008). From the study, it was clear that “the adolescent offender constructs meaning in relation to higher culture” and that a “deeper understanding of how adolescents interpret and construct meaning in relation to the delinquent event” was obtained by gaining insight on adolescent motives and strategies (Lopez,