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The social construction and subjective reality of activity settings: Implications for community psychology
Author(s) -
Gallimore Ronald,
Goldenberg Claude N.,
Weisner Thomas S.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1007/bf00942159
Subject(s) - health psychology , community psychology , psychology , public health , social psychology , applied psychology , sociology , medicine , nursing
A major focus of the article is the idea that activity settings are in part social constructions of the participants. The socially constructed “meaning” of an activity setting is a complex mix of ecological, cultural, interactional, and psychological features. These features may be observed and assessed, directly and indirectly, in terms of personnel, cultural values, tasks, scripts for conduct, and motives and purposes of actors. Empirical illustrations and extensions to community psychology are drawn from research with different populations: Native Hawaiian children and families, Spanish‐speaking children and Mexican and Central American immigrant parents, Euro‐American families with a developmentally delayed child, and Euro‐American families who intentionally adopted nonconventional child‐rearing values and practices.