Constructivist theory
Each touched a different part of the elephant and so described the elephant in a different way. Their perceptions of the elephant were colored not only by their direct and limited contact with the elephant, but by their own life experiences and interaction, which gave them language and comparisons they used to understand what the elephant was like. (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p.231)
Basic Principles of Constructivist Theory
Constructivist theory rejects a linear cause-and-effect model of reality and Instead looks at the person in the context of his and her social and cultural environment. (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p.140)
5 Basic Themes of Constructivism:
Postmodern Constructivist Approaches:
There are three approaches within constructivist theory: narrative therapy, solution-focused brief therapy, and feminist therapy. These approaches are holistic and most importantly, attend to emotions.
Important Distinctions in Constructivist Thinking
(Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p 231-255)
5 Basic Themes of Constructivism:
- Active Agency: People are active participants in shaping their lives. Through choices, actions, and the focus of our attention, we continuously influence our experiences.
- Order: People seek order and organization and to make meaning of their experiences. Too much order can lead to emotional overcontrol, where too little order can lead to loss of balance and direction.
- Self and identity: When our sense of self becomes inflexible or fragmented, we are likely to experience both intrapersonal and interpersonal difficulties.
- Social-symbolic processes: Order, meaning, and identity stem large from social interaction and symbolic processes.
- Dynamic dialectical development: People experience constant cycles of experience that can lead to organization or disorganization. We seek balance and may resist healthy change. Disorganization if necessary for reorganization. (Mahoney, 2003, p. 4)
Postmodern Constructivist Approaches:
There are three approaches within constructivist theory: narrative therapy, solution-focused brief therapy, and feminist therapy. These approaches are holistic and most importantly, attend to emotions.
- Narrative therapy:
- People are interpretive beings who make meaning of themselves and their lives come from stories.
- People can become empowered by taking control of their lives by writing their own alternative script and shifting perceptions.
- Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT)
- Lacks treatment approach
- Does not address impacts of past experience of present difficulties
- SFBT helps a client understand “problems” are not always problems
- SFBT helps clients understand that change is constant and the solution is not really related to the problem.
- Feminist therapy:
- Seeks to help both men and women to overcome gender roles
- Empowers the different genders and helps them appreciate their different attributes (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p.262).
Important Distinctions in Constructivist Thinking
- Radical constructivists: believe that reality is different for everyone and is limited by the biological structure of the brain and its abilities.
- Social constructivists: believe that reality is created through social constructs such as language, culture, and the society in which a person is born and raised.
- Critical constructivists: are similar to social constructivists, but believe that both individual and social processes contribute to the creation of reality.
- Each of these schools of thought differs in the nature of the relationship between the person and the world
(Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p 231-255)