An example of a social construct is
money or the concept of currency
, as people in society have agreed to give it importance/value. … Strong social constructs rely on the human perspective and knowledge that does not just exist, but is rather constructed by society.
For example,
your school exists as a school
and not just as a building because you and others agree that it is a school. If your school is older than you are, it was created by the agreement of others before you. In a sense, it exists by consensus, both prior and current.
John Spacey, August 31, 2019. Social constructs are things that emerge with the shared experiences of a civilization or society. These include
shared knowledge and systems
that are the basis for communication, cooperation, productivity, peaceful coexistence and quality of life.
Social constructionism is the theory that
people develop knowledge of the world in a social context
, and that much of what we perceive as reality depends on shared assumptions.
Key Takeaways: Marriage
Marriage serves important social functions, and social norms often determine the role each spouse takes in a marriage. Because
marriage is a social construct
, cultural norms and expectations determine what a marriage is and who can marry.
- Government.
- Race. “Race is not biological…
- Gender.
- Femininity/Masculinity.
- Illness.
- Marriage.
- Family.
- Organized Religions.
Time is one of the most basic examples of something that is socially constructed.
We collectively create the meaning of time
—it has no predetermined meaning until we give it meaning. … Cultures often mark time based on important events relative to their belief system or major political events.
Think of
cocktail parties, football games, bar mitzvahs, political rallies, and even nations
. These are all social realities.
A social construct is
something that exists not in objective reality, but as a result of human interaction
. It exists because humans agree that it exists.
3 stages of construction.
Externalization, Objectification, & Internalization
. Through interaction, people create a meaning.
Personality may also be thought of as
a social creation based on behaviors and the social meanings attached to them
(Hampson, 1988).
While cultural definitions of family may be based on blood, marriage, or legal ties, “
families” are socially constructed
and can include cohabitation and other culturally recognized social bonds such as fostering, nurturing, or economic ties. … Sociology also studies how family relationships affect members and society.
Poverty is
a social construct based on social and economic factors
. To be poor means you have limited resources and opportunities. … Many Americans born into poverty have a lesser chance to mobilize upward than those born in middle-class families. About 7.8 million of the United States population lives in poverty.
As a social construct,
gender varies from society to society and can change over time
. Gender is hierarchical and produces inequalities that intersect with other social and economic inequalities. … Gender and sex are related to but different from gender identity.
Love is
a socially constructed entity
that has changed and developed its role in society over time (Coontz 2005; Beall and Sternberg 1995). … As love influenced marriage, changes and factors surrounding marriage may also influence love itself.
First, while acknowledging the historical contingency of the present conception of religion, he argues that religion is real (2014: 89). That is,
religion is both socially constructed and real
, much like sexism, colonialism, imperialism, molecules, and magnetic fields (p. 92).
