ABSTRACT
This introductory chapter explains that what kinds of writing and research included within the term 'social constructionism' and why. It serves to orientate the reader, giving some indication of what it means to take a social constructionist approach. The chapter outlines something of the history of the social constructionist movement, especially as it has been taken up by social psychology. Social constructionism draws its influences from a number of disciplines, including philosophy, sociology and linguistics, making it multidisciplinary in nature. Social constructionism argues that our ways of understanding the world do not come from objective reality but from other people, both past and present. people are born into a world where the conceptual frameworks and categories used by the people in the culture already exist. The author uses the terms macro and micro social constructionism to refer to the two broad approaches to theory and research, but also uses specific terms such as 'discursive psychology' and 'Foucauldian discourse analysis' where these are more appropriate in particular contexts.
