THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION
OF REALITY
Module V:
Definition of A Situation
When we observe something (a photograph, a
person, an interaction) what we see and how we
define it is shaped by past experiences.
Before people respond or take action there is a
fleeting moment during which people consciously or
unconsciously deliberate about the meaning of the
situation.
Thomas Theorem
The idea that if situations are defined as
real “they
are real in their consequences
.”
People’s behavior can be determined by their
subjective construction of reality, rather than by
objective reality.
If someone receives a social “label” such as athlete, class clown
or something else, they may feel they have to live up to that
role set even if it is not within their original character.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
A false definition of a situation assumed to be
accurate.
Occurs when people assign false definitions to a
situation.
People behave as if the false definition is true, which
can cause the false definition to become true.
Merton’s bank parable.
Dispositional and Situational Factors
Attribution Theory:
Examines the process by which people explain their behavior
and the behavior of others according to two types of factors.
Dispositional factors: things people are believed to
control.
Effort
Motivation
Situational factors: things believed to be outside a
person’s control.
Weather
Bad luck
Attributing Cause to Behavior
People tend to attribute their own failures to
situational factors, while the failures of others are
attributed to dispositional factors.
Attribution Theory & A.I.D.S.
Many theories about the spread of HIV/AIDS rely
solely on dispositional factors.
Cultural practices leading to the consumption of diseased meat
A more complete theory takes situational factors into
account.
European colonization and brutalization
Dramaturgical Sociology: “Life as Theater”
Emphasizes the ways in which individuals within social
interactions work to create, maintain, dismantle, and
present a shared understanding of reality.
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- Spring '17
- McAninch
- Sociology, situational factors, People’s behavior
