social construction

Examples of social construction in the following topics:

• Social Constructionism

  • Social constructionism is a school of thought introduced into sociology by Peter L.
  • Berger and Thomas Luckmann with their 1966 book The Social Construction of Reality.
  • Socially constructed reality is seen as an on-going dynamic process; reality is re-produced by people acting on their interpretations of what they perceive to be the world external to them.
  • Berger and Luckmann argue that social construction describes both subjective and objective reality - that is that no reality exists outside what is produced and reproduced in social interactions.
  • Religion is seen as a socially constructed concept, the basis for which is rooted in either our psyche (Freud) or man's need to see some purpose in life or worship a higher presence.

• Social Definition of Race

  • Most social scientists and biologists believe race is a social construct affecting sociopolitical, legal, and economic contexts.
  • Most social scientists and biologists believe race is a social construct, meaning it does not have a basis in the natural world but is simply an artificial distinction created by humans.
  • Many academics and researchers across disciplines, therefore, came to the conclusion that race itself is a social construct.
  • As anthropologists and other evolutionary scientists have shifted away from the language of race to the term "population" to talk about genetic differences, historians, cultural anthropologists and other social scientists have accordingly re-conceptualized the term "race" as exclusively a cultural category or social construct.
  • The social construction of race has developed within various legal, economic, and sociopolitical contexts, and may be the effect, rather than the cause of major race-related issues.

• Additional Reading

  • " - This is an article that discusses some recent attempts to illustrate how gender is at least partially socially constructed.

• The Social Construction of Gender

  • Social constructivists propose that there is no inherent truth to gender; it is constructed by social expectations and gender performance.
  • The social construction of gender comes out of the general school of thought entitled social constructionism.
  • Money is a socially constructed reality.
  • Is gender an essential category or a social construct?
  • If it is a social construct, how does it function?

• The Social Construction of Aging

  • The social construction of aging entails the creation of social norms and symbols that encapsulates the aging process.
  • Representations of aging in the social life are determined by different social interactions like getting senior discounts.
  • While aging itself is a biological process, what it means to be "young" or "old" is socially constructed.
  • Aging is perceived differently around the world, demonstrating its social construction.
  • Significantly, these social interactions occur in a social milieu that values youth.

• Mental Health

  • Mental health is a socially constructed and socially defined concept; different societies, groups, cultures, institutions, and professions have very different ways of conceptualizing its nature and causes, determining what is mentally healthy, and deciding what interventions are appropriate.
  • Members of different social classes often hold different views on mental health.
  • Thus, the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders varies widely by social class.
  • To say that mental health is socially constructed means that its definition and criteria can change across time and culture.
  • Define mental health and explain why it is regarded as a socially constructed concept

• Assumptions of Social Constructivism

  • Reality: Social constructivists believe that reality is constructed through human activity.
  • For the social constructivist, reality cannot be discovered: it does not exist prior to its social invention.
  • Knowledge: To social constructivists, knowledge is also a human product, and is socially and culturally constructed (Ernest, 1999; Gredler, 1997; Prat & Floden, 1994).
  • Learning: Social constructivists view learning as a social process.
  • Meaningful learning occurs when individuals are engaged in social activities.

• General Perspectives of Social Constructivism on Learning

  • Social constructivists see as crucial both the context in which learning occurs and the social contexts that learners bring to their learning environment.
  • Together they produce a product and, as a group, impose meaning on it through the social learning process.
  • These "big ideas" expand learner vision and become important foundations for learners' thinking and on construction of social meaning (Gredler, 1997).
  • Pragmatic or emergent approach: Social constructivists with this perspective assert that the implementation of social constructivism in class should be emergent as the need arises (Gredler, 1997).
  • Humans are a part of the constructed environment (including social relationships); the environment is in turn one of the characteristics that constitutes the individual (Bredo, 1994; Gredler, 1997).

• What is Social Constructivism?

  • Social constructivism emphasizes the importance of culture and context in understanding what occurs in society and constructing knowledge based on this understanding (Derry, 1999; McMahon, 1997).
  • This perspective is closely associated with many contemporary theories, most notably the developmental theories of Vygotsky and Bruner, and Bandura's social cognitive theory (Shunk, 2000).

• Introduction to Social Psychology and Social Perception

  • Social psychology includes the subfields of cognitive social psychology and social neuroscience.
  • This field is specifically concerned with the way feelings, thoughts, beliefs, intentions, and goals are constructed, and how such psychological factors, in turn, influence interactions with others.
  • This includes areas like social perception, social interaction, and social influence (including trust, power, and persuasion).
  • It involves questions about the nature of social behavior: for example, does social behavior ultimately stem from the individual, or is it largely a product of socialization, interaction, and greater social structures?
  • On the other hand, other theorists stress the capacity of individual agents to construct and reconstruct their environments.