Constructionist Theories

Relativity, Subjectivity, and Voluntarism

Theories based in the constructionist perspective view deviance as a relative phenomenon. That is, behavior in and of itself is not deviant, instead deviance is socially constructed (i.e., a product of social interaction). Deviance exists only when there is an audience to judge one's behavior, and these judgments vary across cultures, time, and space. What is considered deviant in one setting and one period may be acceptable in another social setting or another time. Constructionists would argue that instead of being a value intrinsic in a condition of behavior itself, conceptions of deviance are a product of human construction, a result of the labeling and the judgment process. Because deviance is seen as a product of social interactions, the constructionist relies heavily on subjective methods of investigation. Seeing meaning as socially constructed and to understand the impact and construction of socially defined meaning, the constructionist argues that the researcher must adopt an internal, subjective view. The need for an insider's perspective lends itself nicely to qualitative methodologies such as ethnography, participant observation, and open-ended and in-depth interviewing techniques.

Seeing deviance as a social product, constructionists are very much interested in the creation and enforcement of rules and norms. For the constructionist, the basic question is not why do people engage in deviance, rather constructionists seek to understand how norms and sanctions are constructed to begin with. The constructionist is interested in understanding how categories of good and bad, right and wrong, and deviant and normative develop, and how they are enforced. The concern about the development of social norms and the application of social categories leads the constructionist to study both formal and informal social control and social control agents—those who create and enforce social norms (e.g., police and medical professionals). In examining the application of social sanctions, constructionists note that social control agents, faced with similar circumstances, will define and punish some people as deviant and not others, indicating that sanctions are not carried out equally across all contexts. The application of deviant labels, and the social sanctions that accompany these labels, varies by time, place, race, gender, or socioeconomic status of the so-called deviant or those of the persons harmed (if any). Constructionists argue that such arbitrary application of labels and sanctions are indicative of the voluntary application of social control mechanisms by powerful social control agents.

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