Social Construction (Continued)

1995 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C. Lieberman ◽  
Helen Ingram ◽  
Anne L. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Constructions ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group Identities ◽  
Citizen Perceptions

In this Review in June 1993 Anne Schneider and Helen Ingram argued that the social construction of target populations is an important political and policy phenomenon. Robert Lieberman criticizes Schneider and Ingram's “circular” conceptualization of public policy and social construction. He proposes a “historical-institutional” framework for understanding the role of group identities in political change. Lieberman analyzes the dual experience of African-Americans in the American welfare state as an example of political institutions and policy changes' affecting changing group constructions. Ingram and Schneider respond that their purpose is to understand how social constructions shape policy designs, which in turn affect citizen perceptions and participation, and argue that Lieberman's ideas of institutions and history yield no analytic improvement. They provide their own analysis of the case of welfare to illustrate the advantages for future research of their conception of policy targets.

Social Construction of Target Populations: Implications for Politics and Policy

1993 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Schneider ◽  
Helen Ingram
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
Social Constructions ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
The Social ◽  
Selection Of

We argue that the social construction of target populations is an important, albeit overlooked, political phenomenon that should take its place in the study of public policy by political scientists. The theory contends that social constructions influence the policy agenda and the selection of policy tools, as well as the rationales that legitimate policy choices. Constructions become embedded in policy as messages that are absorbed by citizens and affect their orientations and participation. The theory is important because it helps explain why some groups are advantaged more than others independently of traditional notions of political power and how policy designs reinforce or alter such advantages. An understanding of social constructions of target populations augments conventional hypotheses about the dynamics of policy change, the determination of beneficiaries and losers, the reasons for differing levels and types of participation among target groups, and the role of policy in democracy.

Reproducible and Replicable: An Empirical Assessment of the Social Construction of Politically Relevant Target Groups

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 768-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Kreitzer ◽  
Candis Watts Smith
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
American Political Science Review ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Constructions ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
Empirical Assessment ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
The Social ◽  
American Political Science

ABSTRACTSchneider and Ingram introduced the pivotal theory of social construction of target populations in the American Political Science Review nearly 25 years ago. There, they developed four ideal type groups: advantaged, contenders, dependents, and deviants. They noted that there may be contention around the construction of the groups but implied an expectation of consensus. There has not been, however, a systematic categorization of politically salient target groups based on these categories, nor has there been an empirical assessment of whether or the extent to which consensus around the social constructions of salient target groups exists. We revisit this theory to offer a novel perspective and do so by leveraging advances in technology and methodological strategies. By crowdsourcing the task of evaluating the social construction of various target populations, we are able to assess underlying assumptions of theory as well as outline avenues for future research on policy design.

scholarly journals Where Does Competition Come From? The role of organization

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 263178771988997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Arora-Jonsson ◽  
Nils Brunsson ◽  
Raimund Hasse
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Organization Theory ◽  
Unintended Consequence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Normative Implications

Although an ever-increasing number and types of organizations are expected to compete, the origins of competition have been a neglected topic. By assuming that competition simply emerges, organization theory currently lacks an understanding of when and why organizations compete. In this article we critically review and extend existing literatures on competition to offer an organizational theorization of the origins of competition. We argue that competition is the social construction of its four constitutive elements: actors, relationships, scarcity and desire. Furthermore, we show that three types of actors – those who compete, those who adjudicate the competition, and those who have an interest in creating competition – can construct competition independently or in concert. We also discuss different types of organized competition; the role of rankers, prize givers and other actors interested in creating competition; and competition as an unintended consequence of organization. Finally, we outline future research on competition and organization that follows from our conceptualization, along with some normative implications.

Social Constructions of Children and Youth: Beyond Dependents and Deviants

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
MARY ELIZABETH COLLINS ◽  
MICHELLE MEAD
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Social Constructions ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Outcomes For Children ◽  
Scholarly Attention

Abstract Schneider and Ingram’s (1993) theory of social construction of target populations has received extensive scholarly attention. It has rarely been applied to populations of children and youth, however. In this article we: (1) describe the original framework; (2) apply each of Schneider and Ingram’s four categories to examples relevant to children and youth; (3) identify adjustments to the model to guide further understanding of young people’s policy treatment; and, (4) discuss how these observations might inform policies targeted toward children and youth. By providing a more focused analysis of this theory’s application to the social construction of children and youth, we aim to contribute to the scholarly understanding of policymaking and inform potential policy design strategies that may result in positive outcomes for children and youth.

scholarly journals Selective Expressions of Portugueseness: Notions of Portugueseness among Second Generation Portuguese-Canadian Youth in Toronto

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederica Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Canadian Youth ◽  
The Social ◽  
Positive Images ◽  
Depth Interviews

It has been noted that very little literature on second generation Portuguese-Canadian youth exists (Nunes 1986, Noivo 1997, Oliveira and Teixeira 2004, Trindade 2007). This study aims to build upon this by focusing on the social construction of what it means to be Portuguese in Toronto for second generation Portuguese-Canadian youth. This is an exploratory, qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 8 Portuguese-Canadian (Torontonian) youth. This study found, among other things that these Portuguese-Canadians, while very aware of the stereotypes often associated with Portuguese youth in Toronto, distanced themselves from them and selectively constructed Portugueseness based on a medley of positive and symbolic elements. I attribute this ability to actively select positive images and distance themselves from negative ones to this (small and non-representative) sample’s above-average levels of education. This finding and hypothesis suggest the need for future research to further explore the role of changing/increasing levels of education among Portuguese-Canadian youth.

scholarly journals Selective Expressions of Portugueseness: Notions of Portugueseness among Second Generation Portuguese-Canadian Youth in Toronto

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederica Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Canadian Youth ◽  
The Social ◽  
Positive Images ◽  
Depth Interviews

It has been noted that very little literature on second generation Portuguese-Canadian youth exists (Nunes 1986, Noivo 1997, Oliveira and Teixeira 2004, Trindade 2007). This study aims to build upon this by focusing on the social construction of what it means to be Portuguese in Toronto for second generation Portuguese-Canadian youth. This is an exploratory, qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 8 Portuguese-Canadian (Torontonian) youth. This study found, among other things that these Portuguese-Canadians, while very aware of the stereotypes often associated with Portuguese youth in Toronto, distanced themselves from them and selectively constructed Portugueseness based on a medley of positive and symbolic elements. I attribute this ability to actively select positive images and distance themselves from negative ones to this (small and non-representative) sample’s above-average levels of education. This finding and hypothesis suggest the need for future research to further explore the role of changing/increasing levels of education among Portuguese-Canadian youth.

Race and the Epigenetics of Memory

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Soto Laveaga
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Dna Analysis ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Neural Function ◽  
Social Constructions ◽  
Race Science ◽  
The Social ◽  
Black Bodies ◽  
Dead Bodies ◽  
Lasting Change

In my brief response to Terence Keel’s essay “Race on Both Sides of the Razor,” I focus on something as pertinent as alleles and social construction: how we write history and how we memorialize the past. Current DNA analysis promises to remap our past and interrogate certainties that we have taken for granted. For the purposes of this commentary I call this displacing of known histories the epigenetics of memory. Just as environmental stimuli rouse epigenetic mechanisms to produce lasting change in behavior and neural function, the unearthing of forgotten bodies, forgotten lives, has a measurable effect on how we act and think and what we believe. The act of writing history, memorializing the lives of others, is a stimulus that reshapes who and what we are. We cannot disentangle the discussion about the social construction of race and biological determinism from the ways in which we have written—and must write going forward—about race. To the debate about social construction and biological variation we must add the heft of historical context, which allows us to place these two ideas in dialogue with each other. Consequently, before addressing the themes in Keel’s provocative opening essay and John Hartigan’s response, I speak about dead bodies—specifically, cemeteries for Black bodies. Three examples—one each from Atlanta, Georgia; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Mexico—illustrate how dead bodies must enter our current debates about race, science, and social constructions. 

scholarly journals A group processes approach to antiscience beliefs and endorsement of “alternative facts”

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-517
Author(s):  
Bastiaan T. Rutjens ◽  
Sander van der Linden ◽  
Romy van der Lee ◽  
Natalia Zarzeczna
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Group Processes ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Psychological Study ◽  
Alternative Facts ◽  
Intragroup Processes ◽  
Group Identities

The global spread of antiscience beliefs, misinformation, fake news, and conspiracy theories is posing a threat to the well-being of individuals and societies worldwide. Accordingly, research on why people increasingly doubt science and endorse “alternative facts” is flourishing. Much of this work has focused on identifying cognitive biases and individual differences. Importantly, however, the reasons that lead people to question mainstream scientific findings and share misinformation are also inherently tied to social processes that emerge out of divisive commitments to group identities and worldviews. In this special issue, we focus on the important and thus far neglected role of group processes in motivating science skepticism. The articles that feature in this special issue cover three core areas: the group-based roots of antiscience attitudes; the intergroup dynamics between science and conspiratorial thinking; and finally, insights about science denial related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Across all articles, we highlight the role of worldviews, identities, norms, religion, and other inter- and intragroup processes that shape antiscientific attitudes. We hope that this collection will inspire future research endeavors that take a group processes approach to the social psychological study of science skepticism.

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