Revisiting Akers’ Social Structure and Social Learning from a Problem-Solving Approach: Symbolic Interactionism, Humans as Acting, and Social Structure

ABSTRACT

In line with a long tradition of theorizing, this paper draws on critiques of Akers’ Social Structure and Social Learning (SSSL) to argue for a stronger grounding of the theory in symbolic interactionism. Drawing on the work of Mead, Blumer, and Maines, the argument is that to do so means grounding SSSL in a view of humans as acting and action as problem-solving. It also means incorporating an expanded understanding of the situation into the theory. Grounding SSSL more strongly in symbolic interactionism leads to a revision and extension of the theory that opens it up to new directions in both theory and research.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ruth Triplett

Ruth Triplett is Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Her research interests include testing and development of Social Disorganization theory and Social Learning Theory, policing and community satisfaction, and the history of criminology. Her articles have appeared in various journals including Deviant Behavior, Justice Quarterly, Journal of Criminal Justice, and Policing.

Justin Turner

Justin Turner is a lecturer at Spalding University and Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. His work lies at the intersections of theory, crime, and the media, and has been published in Critical Criminology, Social Justice, Crime, Media, and Culture, and Theoretical Criminology, as well as the newly released Ghost Criminology edited volume from NYU Press.