Social Constructionism
Social Constructionism and its Influence on the Practice of Psychology
Patricia Houghton
University of the Sunshine Coast
Abstract
Social constructionism functions as a meta-theory of knowledge that crosses many disciplinary boundaries. It focuses on human meaning making as the primary focus of psychological enquiry. Furthermore, social constructionism rejects essentialism and demonstrates that objective knowledge is historically and culturally contingent, thus allowing an understanding of multiple and alternative ways of thinking. Constructionist psychologies have different theoretical and historical ancestries. Accordingly, they have had a lesser impact on psychology than other movements such as radical behaviourism and cognitive and humanistic psychologies. Today however, social constructionism has become extremely relevant, and many fields of psychological enquiry are being influenced and enriched by the social constructionist perspective. This has opened the door to interchange and collaboration in numerous domains, has reconfigured discourse in non-reductionist ways, and provided alternative ways of thinking about the practice of psychology.
Social Constructionism and its Influence on the Practice of Psychology
Social constructionism endeavours to elucidate the dialogical nature of the social world (Misra & Prakash, 2012). Gergen has described social constructionism as a metatheory of knowledge, and a theory in practice similar to cognitive or psychoanalytic theories (Yang & Gergen, 2012). Constructionism became prominent with Berger and Luckmann’s (1966) book, The Social Construction of Reality, which connected the notion of social constructionism to the field of mental health. This seminal work redefined the sociology of knowledge, and has inspired a generation of philosophers and thinkers. Berger and Luckmann (1966) argue that all knowledge, including the most basic, taken-for-granted common sense knowledge (proverbs, morals,
Patricia Houghton
University of the Sunshine Coast
Abstract
Social constructionism functions as a meta-theory of knowledge that crosses many disciplinary boundaries. It focuses on human meaning making as the primary focus of psychological enquiry. Furthermore, social constructionism rejects essentialism and demonstrates that objective knowledge is historically and culturally contingent, thus allowing an understanding of multiple and alternative ways of thinking. Constructionist psychologies have different theoretical and historical ancestries. Accordingly, they have had a lesser impact on psychology than other movements such as radical behaviourism and cognitive and humanistic psychologies. Today however, social constructionism has become extremely relevant, and many fields of psychological enquiry are being influenced and enriched by the social constructionist perspective. This has opened the door to interchange and collaboration in numerous domains, has reconfigured discourse in non-reductionist ways, and provided alternative ways of thinking about the practice of psychology.
Social Constructionism and its Influence on the Practice of Psychology
Social constructionism endeavours to elucidate the dialogical nature of the social world (Misra & Prakash, 2012). Gergen has described social constructionism as a metatheory of knowledge, and a theory in practice similar to cognitive or psychoanalytic theories (Yang & Gergen, 2012). Constructionism became prominent with Berger and Luckmann’s (1966) book, The Social Construction of Reality, which connected the notion of social constructionism to the field of mental health. This seminal work redefined the sociology of knowledge, and has inspired a generation of philosophers and thinkers. Berger and Luckmann (1966) argue that all knowledge, including the most basic, taken-for-granted common sense knowledge (proverbs, morals,
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