User:Nateiac7/Social constructionism

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Javad and Zafar came up with the idea that individuals actively construct meaning by interpreting and illustrating their experiences, rather than observing what is going on around them. They create a reality through the experiences they have been through and create their own meaning. Social realities are not only created through intangible ideas, but are also woven, in a detailed way, into people's physical and sensory interactions with their surroundings. When people see things or experience things, they don't just see them; they feel deeply. According to Berger and Luckmann, people internalize cultural norms and values and create a "manufactured world" that only makes sense to those who are involved in that reality.

González discussed the term homophily, which says that people tend to connect with others who are similar to them or share their interests. In a group, these individuals can share their own behaviors on how they act in certain situations and learn from each other. They enhance their knowledge, create a new shared meaning, and better understand the topic and how to act in different contexts. Homophily can also be seen as contributing new knowledge with those who share common interests.

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Gender and Roles

When it comes to gender and societal roles, there are many different beliefs about what the norms are. There are multiple perceptions and societal views of what men should be and what women should be, specifically, how they act or what roles they should play. Martin talks about intersectionality and how the term was created to gender is a social construction that is influenced by social factors and experiences. She goes on to say that gender is linked with experiences that shape someone's life, such as harmful experiences that women endure. She is saying that each gender experiences different things, and the diversity in experiences and life situations is what makes the genders separate and different. In another article, Pereira and Chahini go on to say that society determines the rules of what a man and woman should be, and they assign certain values and roles to each gender. Society dictates how a man and woman should act and the norms associated with them.

On the topic of gender roles in the workplace, Bannò, D’Allura, Coller, and Varum found that society seems to think of women as having less status and not having the ability to achieve goals or tasks that are important to the workplace, when compared to men. In this article, they talked about the role of being a manager in a business or firm, and how there are stereotypes of men's and women's roles in the workplace. This stereotype is fueled by the inherent characteristics of men and women and how those characteristics would be received by their fellow employees. It doesn't help that Bannò, D’Allura, Coller, and Varum talk about self-fulfilling prophecies for women, and how, because people assume that women will act a certain way, it will usually come to fruition because mostly everyone, including both men and women, will think it is true, and therefore create a constructed reality. Additionally, they said that the way men and women think and behave comes from the experiences involving gender and sex roles that they had as children. If an individual is raised and told that they can only participate in and do certain things because there are specific roles for genders, they will become conditioned and only do the roles they think are a societal norm.

In today's day and age, the perception of masculinity has changed. Different generations have different beliefs and perceptions of what masculinity is and should be. Masculinity includes how men act, communicate, interact with others, and the tasks they are assigned. This has trickled into the advertising industry, as different companies advertise and show off what they think masculinity is. According to a study done by Kreicbergs and Sceulovs, consumers appreciate it when business advertisements display a version of masculinity that fits their own personal beliefs and values. Consumers typically won't associate or buy from a company that has different beliefs from them, specifically if they launch advertisements that convey messages that go against consumer beliefs of identity or masculinity. Kreicbergs and Sceulovs claimed that masculinity is socially constructed due to the interactions that we have with one another, as a society. In today's society, masculinity has changed due to new encounters and interactions with each gender, which changes perceptions and norms of how each gender should act.

Emotion

The social construction of emotions is an interesting topic. Emotions are developed and discovered through interactions, especially at a young age. When people are in the early stages of their childhood, they are taught what emotions are and the positives and negatives of each emotion. Depending on the social environment and the people you are around, you will come to find which emotions are good or bad to have, specifically the social norms associated with each emotion. According to the research done by Collardeau, Dupuis, and Woodin, based on an individual's relationships with others, as a child, they can see how people will respond to different emotional situations. They studied how early childhood relationships lead them to internalize cultural norms and values, the meanings of emotions, and the norms associated with each emotion. How people interpret the meanings of emotions and norms is based on how they were taught through relationship interactions. Collardeau, Dupuis, and Woodin were able to study how a person becomes good and the acts associated with that, through social norms that they developed.

We know that you can develop social norms and emotions from interactions with other individuals, but you can also develop emotions and changes in ideas. Mesa-Pedrazas, Torrado, and Duque-Calvache claim that shared ideas and experiences can influence where people will live. Being in the same spaces repeatedly can cause individuals to develop emotions and memories of that place. Based on where someone lives, they can develop changes in ideas and habits, such as fashion changes and ways of doing things. Living spaces can help shape a person's life and how they perceive society.

Effects on Childhood Development and Direction

Childhood is an important stage of human development. Most of the beliefs, standards, and norms are developed when people are in the early stages of development. Wu Zhaofan says that childhood isn't a developmental stage, at least it's not an established or permanent stage of development. He views childhood as a form of social construction. Zhaofan states that if we were to view childhood as the main focus of this topic, the experiences of each generation's childhood can become an important part of society's social structure and help form new norms or perceptions. Children can form and define their own social lives through their experiences and interactions with others.

Along with childhood development, there is childhood direction, or the factors that influence children's actions and social direction. Most kids are dependent on their parents or other role models for direction in life. They are young and new to the world, and they don't know how society works or what their place is in it. Carol Nash says that a child's reality is constructed from the moment they are born. It is formed and influenced by their parents or guardians through actions and other forms of communication. She says that when parents restrict the use of technology, it takes away from the self-direction that children would have. Nash says that the main issue is that when children are restricted, it prevents them from creating or developing their own ideas and solutions to issues that may arise. It is important for children to think for themselves because they are new to society and they are curious beings. They are creative, and allowing them to construct their own ideas is a sense of freedom that every child should have.

Digital Technology and Human-Machine Communication

Technologies' influence on individuals' ideas and beliefs is huge. Especially in today's day and age, the influence of technology on individuals is getting more and more significant every day. Schools are using technology to help educate students, and the younger generation is constantly using social media. Kids are being raised on technology, and that is having a major impact on their learning habits and norm development. They aren't getting the chance to think for themselves because they are constantly looking at information online. Chown and Nascimento claimed that technology and society are in a two-way relationship that is constantly in sync with one another. We interpret different meanings of technology and what we read online, and that changes the way people live. Digital technologies are a form of artifacts that consume meanings from social cultures and, in some ways, come up with their own interpretation of it. Technology creates and uses metaphors to describe different situations and norms. In turn, this can affect an individual's personal relationships, how they communicate, what they believe in, and their knowledge.

Another aspect of technological influence on individuals and the social construction of beliefs and norms is the relationship between humans and machines or AI. Hepp, Bolin, Guzman, and Loosen did a study, and they found that media and technology give character to cultural environments. Devices that are the main sources of technology and media influence individuals to develop and assign social meanings to AI when they interact with it. Many individuals in the younger generations, who are curious, often have conversations with AI to see what it thinks about different topics and beliefs. This especially happens when people are lonely because AI instantly responds and gives them an immediate, lengthy answer. They have to interpret the meanings of what the AI robot is saying because it isn't always clear due to the non-human factors. Digital technology and media are woven into almost every aspect of society and that makes it hard for it not to influence your beliefs, norms, or values.

Constructing Knowledge and Learning

Gaining knowledge and furthering learning are key aspects involved in social constructionism. Individuals gain new knowledge when they interact with others, such as peers. According to Matuk and Linn, reading ideas from peers can encourage individuals to compare and contrast multiple points of view and help them notice inconsistencies and holes in their own understanding. Using websites to view ideas from peers can help improve people's own ideas as they build a better understanding of various topics. Reading new ideas from peers allows individuals to create new interests, which would create learning. Collaborating with peers helps people to gain a new perspective and think about ideas that they have never thought about before.

When it comes to scientific knowledge, especially new knowledge, it is often debated whether or not the facts are truthful or bogus. Scientists try and challenge other scientists' claims in order to be right and be seen as responsible for the next big scientific discovery. The SSK (the sociology of scientific knowledge) states that the production of scientific knowledge is a "social process". Scientists come up with claims that they claim are facts, and they try to prove them to their colleagues and the public. Social constructionism affects how scientists create claims because they are influenced by many factors, such as government groups, schools, and the competition of other scientists. These factors pressure them to come up with claims quickly, so they can please others and say that they have an answer. In the article, Yuichiro Amekawa says that scientific claims are "social artifacts" that are created through the influence of groups. This is shown in Amekawa's article, which discusses Japan's radioactive disposal policy. Scientists in Japan are trying to convince the public that the radioactive waste isn't harmful and that it is nothing to worry about. The scientists are under government control, and they are socially constructing knowledge in order not to make a big deal about having a proper disposal site.

Life skills are a learned thing. Individuals develop life skills through experiences throughout their lives. Depending on the environment they are in, or the social environment, people can develop good or bad life skills. Skills are gained through experiences because individuals learn from and reflect on almost every experience they have. It is the meaning that is created from each experience that creates learning and life skills. This is a major problem in the Maldives. According to Nasheeda, Krauss, Abdullah, and Ahmad, the uneven population of the islands has caused massive amounts of unemployment, crime, violence, and a lack of a good education system for the younger population. People in the Maldives can't gain good life skills if they are constantly around violence and have no access to a good education or a job. Nasheeda, Krauss, Abdullah, and Ahmad stated that individuals gain life skills from interactions and imitations of others. They are socially constructing bad life skills due to the environment they are in.

Soft skills are created through social constructionism. These are the skills that are based on your personal characteristics, and they are used when communicating with others. These are mostly used in and around the workplace because they are needed when working with groups. According to Atilla-Bal and Okay-Somerville, soft skills are constructed through experiences in the workplace and the expectations that upper management has for its employees. The younger generation's perceptions of soft skills are developed from their experiences in family engagements and educational activities. Soft skills can be developed based on an individual's personality traits, but it is mainly how they were taught and the experiences they have worked through.

Cultural Differences

Senegal

Each culture has different ideas of social norms and its own way of constructing norms. In one culture, it may be normal to do one thing, but in another culture, it may be forbidden to do. Falcão has a great way of explaining this. He studies the socially constructed practice of silence in Senegal. Silence is seen as a "code" in Senegal, and it is expected to be followed so that social peace is maintained. Social peace is maintained by suppressing discussion that can lead to social conflicts. It is seen as a cultural norm for the people of Senegal to be silent on conflicting matters. They don't see it as oppression; instead, they see it as a collective norm that helps diffuse tension as it arises. If members of their society were to voice their grievances or complaints, it would be seen as disruptive, and they would be urged to be silent because that is considered "ethically superior" to them.

Caste Systems in the Indian Culture

Another cultural difference is found in the Indian culture, specifically the caste system in Indian cultures. Deshmukh, Sharma, Prasad, Dey, and Rai describe the caste system as a socially constructed event formed by interactions, norms, and cultural ideologies. It basically dictates an individual's place in a cultural society, and it is a way to maintain social hierarchy. This has a major effect on the social life and experiences of individuals, which in turn would cause them to socially construct norms that are different than those on different levels of the caste system.

Business and Ethics

It is known that there are many conflicts in the business world and that the way a business handles conflict and moral restoration is important to the outcome of socially constructed views and beliefs. Conflicts in business happen every day, but the important thing is how it is handled and how each party involved is affected. Vives-Gabriel, Wim, and Wettstein studied many cases of corporate conflicts, and they found that moral repair is important when dealing with these issues. During the evaluations of corporate conflicts and moral repair, it is discussed how much dignity or moral value each victim has or is worthy of. The parties involved communicate to find out the worthiness of each victim, and they collectively create a meaning of what each person is and the situation at hand.

Social behavior is influenced by how an individual is treated. If they are treated kindly and with respect, odds are they will treat others the exact same way. Li, Zhu, Liu, & Yuan studied the correlation between students who receive financial aid from colleges and universities and how many of them give back to the school in return, once they are older. This mostly included giving money to the school scholarship fund, so that future students can get financial aid and feel the same way that the donor did at one point in time. They said that an individual's social values would become clearer to them, and it would influence how they would act towards others. Students would interpret the financial aid as a sign that, as a society, everyone should help each other out and give to others when they can. It would feel like a social obligation to serve the community and help others so that they could develop good, socially constructed norms and values. This would make the individuals feel as if they are an important part of society, and that would help them believe that they have the power to influence others.