cial groups constitute the generalized other and become incorporated into the "me." This does not mean, however, that the attitudes of the larger community always prevail. When the attitudes of a given community or social group fail to resolve a problematic situation and create a discontinuity in interaction, an individual will sometimes form an attitude that is at odds with those of the larger group (Mead 1934; Miller 1973). In this situation, however, the individual must fit the new attitude together with the old attitude so that the new one is acceptable from the perspective of the generalized other. In the case of delinquency, we might expect individuals to attempt to make delinquent behavior acceptable to law-abiding social groups by justifying, disclaiming, or neutralizing the behavior (Hewitt and Stokes 1975). Or individuals may change perspectives and take the role (perspective) of a different generalized other, like a law-violating youth group, that would be more likely to favor delinquency. When attitudes favoring delinquency are incorporated over time into the "me," they become stable and can be called up in the future. Consequently, the stronger and more stable the attitudes, motives, and justifications favoring delinquency, the greater the likelihood that delinquent resolutions to problematic situations will occur.A third process affecting delinquency involves anticipating the reactions of significant others to delinquent behavior. Specifically, through role-taking individuals also become aware of the likely reactions of others to certain behaviors; thus they can consider the consequences of such reactions for self-image, extrinsic rewards, and group membership (McCall and Simmons 1978). This is at the heart of reflective thought for Matsueda, since the ability to anticipate the responses of others is imperative for viewing oneself as an object and for incorporating the future into a present problem in light of the...
