Social constructionism Flashcards
1
Q
What is social construct
A
Knowledge and reality are constructed by us through social processes
2
Q
Positivism (Augste Comte, 1798-1857)
A
- suggested following scientific method in order to understand reality
- free from subjectivity
- the term comes from the idea that knowledge can only come from positive affirmation of theories through strict scientific methods
- free from values, beliefs, objectivity
3
Q
Social constructionism: anti-positivism
A
- critical of all knowledge
- social construct opposes positivism and empiricism
- e.g. only have two genders
4
Q
Empiricism
A
- knowledge comes sensory experiences (sight, touch, hearing)
- knowledge relies on observable evidence
- tentative (the way we describe scientific findings) and subject to falsification
- underpins the scientific method
5
Q
anti-essentialism
A
- suggests that each entity has a set of attributes necessary for function/identity (steamed from Plato)
- there is no ‘essence’ of human beings
- trap people inside pathologies (schizophrenia)
- taking this approach with mental health could be harmful to society, therefore social construct would argue that social phenomenon is complex
6
Q
Realism
A
- objects exist independently of out conceptual schemas/minds
- send information from the real object and our mind connect directly to the object (approximations of object through sensory)
- what we have in our mind approximates reality
7
Q
Idealism
A
- universe is a collection of ideas that humans can grasp opposed to objects that the can perceive
- strong view would suggest that there are no physical objects- all made up from our mind
- weaker view would argue our beliefs and knowledge influence out perceptions
8
Q
Social construct in child development (Jean Piaget, 1936)
A
- stage theory development
- construct meaning through schemas
- event, future, present (schemas)
- process of adapting to the world
- learning behaviour meaning
9
Q
assimilation
A
using existing schemas (knowledge) to deal with new objects/situations
10
Q
accomidation
A
changing schemas to deal with news objects/situations
11
Q
equilibration
A
development is not steady
12
Q
historical and cultural development
A
- social construct argues that we must understand historical/cultural context
- e.g. you can understand race/ethnicity unless you understand the context in which concepts of race was developed
- wasi-sabi= accepting that life will take a toll on us
- world is in constant change/imperfections
- beauty is asymmetrical/nothing lasts but nothing is finished
13
Q
critical psychology
A
- an indictment of mainstream psychology (Parker, 2015)
- individual is located in society (Prilleltensky & Stead, 2013)
- politically orientated
- seeking positive change
- social bias influences how we carry out studies, could been findings could be invalid
14
Q
brute fact
A
- cannot be explained by something else
- strong constructionist would argue that nothing exists, everything is reality is made form our minds
- observer independent
14
Q
brute fact
A
- cannot be explained by something else
- strong constructionist would argue that nothing exists, everything is reality is made form our minds
- observer independent
