ABSTRACT." Social constructionism views discourse
about the world not as a reflection or map of the
world but as an artifact of communal interchange.
Both as an orientation toknowledge and to the
character of psychological constructs, constructionism
forms a significant challenge to conventional understandings.
Although the roots of constructionist
thought may be traced to long-standing debates
between empiricist and rationalist schools of thought,
constructionism attempts to move beyond the dualism
to which both of these traditions are committed and
to place knowledge within the process of social
interchange. Although the role of psychological explanation
is rendered problematic, a fully developed
constructionism could furnish a means for understanding
the process of science and invites the development
of alternative criteria for the evaluation of
psychological inquiry.