Identifying Theories

Need some assistance in identifying the key words in creating the correct response.

Robert listens closely as the television news story segues into a discussion about how the high cost of attending college often results in significant student loan debt for many students.
Sometimes social structures or patterns of social behavior can create an unintended, negative consequence, or __________.

A second explanation for the increasing number of nontraditional students enrolling in colleges and universities across the country focuses on society as as being characterized by inequality between different groups of people that are in continuous competition for power and resources. Groups can be based on age, race, social class, and many other characteristics.

Robert watches as one sociologist being interviewed in the news story shares his belief that the education system perpetuates inequality by dividing students into university or vocational tracks at a relatively young age. To explain the increasing number of nontraditional students enrolling in American colleges, this sociologist suggests that growing unemployment and competition and instability within the job market have encouraged people to pursue degrees.
This type of sociological theory is known as __________ theory.

Question:

The news story moves onto a third explanation for the increasing number of nontraditional students enrolling in American colleges, which focuses on society as a result of everyday interactions between individuals and groups. Carson watches as a reporter interviews several adults who are now pursuing degrees after losing their jobs.

The idea that a person interprets the meaning of his or her world and acts accordingly is known as __________ theory.