Read the case study or situation. Look for words that give clues as to which theory might work to explain this situation.
Examples:
Functionalism: institutions, stability, roles, well-being
Conflict Theory: wealth, money, power, chaos, control
Feminist Theory: gender inequalities, gender stereotypes
Symbolic Interactionism: differences between people, meaning, how people behave
Using the keywords from Step 1, pick the theory you think might work best. Record the name of the theory and list two key points of the theory. Use the chart from the beginning of this lesson for help with this step.
Find examples from the case study or situation that you are analysing that will provide proof or evidence that supports your theory choice. The evidence you select should match up with the two key points of the theory. To help with this part, think about the keywords you looked for in Step 1. Your examples will probably include these terms, or phrases of similar meaning.
Write up your analysis of the case study or situation. To do so you will need to:
state the name of the theory;
state a key point of the theory and a specific proof from the case study;
explain how the key point and example are linked or connected;
state a second key point of the same theory and provide another proof from the case study; and
explain how the key point and example are linked or connected.
Read the following example of a case study and its theory application.
alt text: female toddler sitting alone with stuffed animal
Krysta is a 19-year-old drug-addict. She uses heroin on a regular basis. Krysta has a 3-year-old daughter named Lexie. Krysta stopped using drugs when she was pregnant so that the baby would be healthy. She cleaned up her act for a while and had a job earning minimum wage. She had a tough time making ends meet and was never allowed any sick time to take care of Lexie when she got sick. This created a lot of stress and worry for Krysta and she turned to drugs to help her cope. CAS stepped in and removed Lexie from Krysta’s care. The baby’s father, Osman, was in prison at the time of Lexie’s birth. Krysta’s mom, Maureen, now has custody and power of attorney over Lexie.
Kysta and Maureen are constantly fighting about the “right way” to raise Lexie. Krysta thinks that Maureen is a screw-up, because when she was growing up, Maureen never noticed that Krysta was being abused by her stepfather. Krysta says she turned to drugs as a way to escape her horrible life as a child. She knows drugs are ruining her life, but she likes to numb her pain. Maureen thinks Krysta is a loser and that Lexie is much better off living with her. Maureen looks at this as a second chance at being a mother. Krysta realizes that she is unfit to raise Lexie, but doesn’t think Maureen should be allowed to screw up another life.
Krysta is constantly battling this in court. She can barely afford the court fees, but she continues to fight because she thinks the benefits to Lexie are important. To complicate matters more, Lexie’s father, Osman, has just come back into the picture as he was released from jail and got a good job. Krysta doesn’t think a man can raise a child as well as a woman no matter how much money he makes. She wants to have all his parental rights revoked. Krysta would like Lexie to be adopted by another family so she can have a good life, one that all children deserve.
Functionalism: CAS, adoption, family, prison
Conflict Theory: minimum wage, custody, power
Feminist Theory: no sick time, women care for children
Symbolic Interactionism: difference of opinion, how people act
Theory
Symbolic Interactionism
Key Points
Human mind is impacted by life experiences and personal events
Behaviour is based on people’s thoughts of themselves and of others
Krysta and Maureen fight about the right way to raise Lexie
Krysta doesn't think Osman can raise Lexie properly because he’s a man and men have hurt Krysta
Krysta doesn't think Maureen can raise Lexie well because she didn't protect her from her stepfather growing up
Krysta thinks that adoption is the best for Lexie
Maureen and Osman both think they make good parents
Symbolic Interactionism accurately explains the “Who Should Take Care of Lexie” case study.
According to this theory, the human mind is impacted by life experiences and personal events. In this case study, Krysta’s mind was impacted by her experiences with abuse from her stepfather. This made her feel like men were not worthy to raise children and that her mother, Maureen, was unfit to raise Lexie since she did not protect her when she was a child.
This theory also states that behaviour is based on people’s thoughts of themselves and of others. In this case study, we see that Krysta’s own drug use was behaviour influenced by her poor coping strategies and inability to handle her own life well. We see evidence of Krysta basing her thoughts on what she thinks of others. Krysta thinks that adoption will provide the best parenting option based on her thoughts about herself, her mother, and Osman.