ABSTRACT
In comparison to objectivist approaches that examine social problems as objective conditions in the environment, constructionist approaches explore how meaning is created by people who say things and do things to convince others that a problem is at hand and that something must be done. Objectivist approaches are concerned with how the world is, constructionist approaches focus on what people think the world is. Constructionist analysis examines how public perceptions of social problems—what people worry about—are influenced by racial and social class biases. It also examines how specific conditions can receive considerable attention because they are symbolic of other conditions. Constructionist analysis demonstrates how audience members can be persuaded to evaluate claims as important by appealing to emotion rather than to logic. Constructionist examinations can lead people to ask questions about sources of the appeal of claims, they can alert people to how audience members might be emotionally manipulated.
