This introductory chapter explains that what kinds of writing and research are included within the term ’social constructionism’ and why. It explains what it means to take a social constructionist approach, and outlines something of the history and influences of the social constructionist movement, especially as it has been taken up by social psychology. Social constructionism argues that our ways of understanding the world do not come from objective reality but from other people, both past and present, and in particular from our use of language; people are born into a world where the conceptual frameworks and categories used by people in their culture already exist. The author uses the terms micro and macro social constructionism to refer to two broad approaches to theory and research, but specific bodies of theory and research such as ’discursive psychology’ and ’Foucauldian discourse analysis’ are also briefly explained.
Here are some of the ways in which people and things have commonly been divided into different categories:
Classical music and pop music
Healthy food and unhealthy food
Native people and immigrants
Men and women
Fruit and vegetables
Natural things and human-made things
Social constructionism argues that all categories are social constructions- but why do some categories seem more problematic than others? Why do you think some of the divisions above are questioned or even hotly debated and others are not?
This chapter makes the case that social constructionist ideas deserve serious consideration. It argues that psychology has often based its theories upon the taken-for-granted assumptions of the societies and culture in which it arose and these, translated into popular psychology, have in turn infiltrated the everyday thinking of people. The chapter presents a case in support of social constructionism by discussing the ways in which mainstream psychology and these taken-for-granted assumptions may be seen as inadequate and by indicating how social constructionism may sometimes offer a better fit with our experience and observations of the world. It uses the examples of personality, health, illness and disability, and sexuality to illustrate this argument.
Think of a person you know reasonably well- well enough to describe what kind of person they are. Now write down a list of a few key words or phrases that you feel describes them. Then do this ‘thought experiment’. Imagine that the person lives alone on a desert island; perhaps they have always lived alone there, or perhaps they have been shipwrecked- the circumstances don’t really matter. Now consult you list of words and phrases and ask yourself to what extent they could meaningfully describe the person who lives without contact with others. I would predict that at least some of the descriptions on your list will become questionable at the very least. The personality-type words that are commonly used to describe people, for example ‘friendly’, ‘caring’, ‘shy’, ‘self-conscious’,’ charming’, ‘bad-tempered’ and ‘thoughtless’, would completely lose their meaning if the person described were living alone on a desert island. Without the presence of other people, i.e. a social environment, can a person be said to be friendly, shy or caring? Can a person be ‘shy’ without the presence of others to ‘shy away’ from? Is it possible to be ‘friendly’ without the presence of another person to be friendly towards?
Which of the above illnesses do you think would still be recognisable in medieval times and why?
This chapter presents the view that language is at the heart of the process of social constructionism. It argues that language and the use of it, far from simply describing the world, both constructs the world as people perceive it and has real consequences. The chapter outlines the major differences between mainstream psychology and social constructionism with respect to language. Rather than seeing language as a vehicle for carrying our ideas, social constructionism sees language as the prime site of the construction of the person. At the micro end of the social constructionist spectrum, discursive psychologists have emphasised the performative and action-oriented nature of language. They have investigated the way that accounts are built in interactions to suit particular purposes, such as fashioning identities and, justifying our actions, and argue that people draw upon shared cultural, linguistic resources for these purposes. At the macro end of the spectrum, language is conceived as the origin of the way we think, is embedded in relations of power and brings important consequences for how we treat others.
Consider the words “I’d like that done by 5pm today, please”. How might these words be received? What might the person spoken to feel about them? What difference might the power relations between them make and why? Think about how their meaning might subtly change depending on the relationship between the speaker and the person to whom they are speaking, their age and gender, for example if the speaker is:
This chapter outlines what is meant by a ’discourse’ within the macro social constructionist approach, and shows how it is intimately connected to social structure and social practices. If discourses regulate our knowledge of the world, our common understanding of things and events, and if these shared understandings inform social practices then it becomes clear that there is an intimate relationship between discourse, knowledge and power. The chapter outlines the influential contribution of the French historian and philosopher Michel Foucault, who argues that in relatively recent history there has been a shift from sovereign power to disciplinary power, in which the population is effectively controlled through people’s self-monitoring processes. Psychology itself is implicated here, to the extent that disciplinary power has provided various ways of assessing and categorising people that can then be used to create norms for what people consider to be a well-balanced, healthy person.
Social constructionism maintains that all groups and categories are socially constructed. But in the case of some groups/categories there are powerful discourses shaping these constructions. Consider members of the following groups:
Cars
Farmers
Students
Extraverts
Adults
Insects
Teachers
Fridge magnets
Native British people
Adults
In which cases do you think the person/thing is likely to be constructed through influential discourses?
Why/why not?
What are the implications of those discourses for what we might say and do? (think about things like moral accountability, the law and access to resources).
Is membership of that group likely to be contested in some circumstances (ie, what the person/thing is or ought to be), and if so why?
Are people and non-human animals subject to different kinds of discourses? Why/why not?
The claim that ’discourse is all there is’ can appear a logical conclusion of the argument that language does not label discrete entities in the real world that exist independently of it. This chapter teases out some of the theoretical issues that might help us to understand the nature of the claims that are being made by social constructionists, the criticisms of them and the disagreements between them. The concept of ideology has raised questions about truth and reality, and it therefore may also help to illuminate the issue of the relationship between discourse and power. The chapter talks about four ways of thinking about ideology, noting the issues that each of these raise for social constructionism. It outlines the questions about reality and truth that are thrown up by this brief discussion of ideology and why they are problematic ones for social constructionism. It then goes on to discuss various positions on relativism and realism, as well as some that attempt to transcend the terms of this debate.
Here are some things that we usually think of as natural categories- categories that would exist without the presence of humans, and which have been ‘discovered’ by us:
Gases, liquids and solids
Living and non-living things
Plants and animals
Natural things and manufactured things
Chemical elements and chemical compounds
Now, imagine that humans had never existed and that you are one of the following creatures (take each one in turn):
An insect
A reptile
A fish
A dolphin
A single-cell organism (such as an amoeba)
Ask yourself whether the natural categories above would still exist, or make sense to you. Why/why not?
Social constructionism makes us radically question the nature of the person as described by mainstream psychology. This chapter focuses on understanding identity and subjectivity from a macro social constructionist perspective. In particular, it focusses on the concept of positioning, illustrating how identities are derived from both subject positions in broad societal discourses and from positions claimed or resisted within social interactions. Illustrative examples are drawn from areas such as sexuality, gender, health and education. The notions of ‘subject positions’ and ‘positioning’ acknowledge the active mode in which people endeavour to locate themselves within particular discourses during social interaction. The implications for human agency and personal change are briefly discussed.
This chapter examines identity and subjectivity within micro social constructionism and focusses upon the implications of those forms of social constructionism that emphasise the importance of dialogue and social interaction. The model of the person within discursive psychology is first examined, beginning with a close examination of the fundamental assumptions of this approach, in particular the idea of ‘perforrmance’. The concept of positioning is again explored, this time from the perspective of discursive psychology, discussing what implications for our subjectivity taking up or resisting subject positions may have. The chapter then goes on to look at other conceptualisations of the person that may be broadly conceptualised as ‘micro’ approaches. These include the self as moral actor, the relational self and the self in narrative.
This chapter overviews some of the theoretical and methodological issues raised for research by social constructionism. It outlines some of the relevant theoretical assumptions, and the major methodological issues that social constructionist research raises. The chapter also provides illustrative examples of six different kinds of research approaches typically used by social constructionists: conversation analysis, discursive psychology, Foucauldian discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis, critical discursive psychology and narrative analysis. Conversation analysis and discursive psychology are located at the ‘micro’ end of the micro/macro spectrum and focus on the analysis of interaction, with a concern to identify what interactants are ‘doing’ with their talk. Foucauldian discourse analysis and critical discourse analysis, by contrast, are concerned to identify the discursive constructions and ideologies manifested in texts. Critical discursive psychology aims to incorporate both of these concerns within its analysis, and the focus of narrative analysis is the production of personal identity.
Of the six approaches to research described in this chapter, which of them might be appropriate for addressing the following research questions and why? It is quite possible that more than one approach would be appropriate in each case.
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the ideas covered in this book. The primary aim of the book is to provide the reader with enough understanding of social constructionism to enable them to tackle more difficult sources. The chapter also includes a discussion of the areas that are problematic for both micro and macro social constructionism: agency and the relationship between the individual and society; the self; subjectivity, embodiment and affect; and the possibilities for developing a social constructionist psychology. Promising theoretical work from both contemporary and older contributors to understanding the person in their social world are discussed.
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Discourse Analysis Part 1: Discursive Psychology
Discourse Analysis Part 2: Foucauldian Approaches
Personal Constructs. Part 1 of 2 on Personal Construct Psychology
The Repertory Grid. Part 2 of 2 on Personal Construct Psychology