Social Constructionist

We “build worlds” through communication in many ways. One way to go about answering this question is analyzing the different types of communication the social constructionist perspective is referring to. The first is through cultural traditions. These include not only traditions through American culture, but possibly from our own ethnic backgrounds. These traditions can range between religion, family lifestyle, and so forth.

Another way we build our worlds is through sets of roles and rules that guide our action (p. 30). This can be through the way we were taught in our families, schools, or by society.
Some ideas that we talk about in our culture that may not exists in other cultures include the baby shower tradition that is pretty an American based tradition set up for a couple to “Get ready” for the birth of their child. However, while planning a baby shower for my sister’s first child, I found out that her fiancé who is from Uzbekistan believes that buying gifts for a baby is bad luck. Also in some Asian cultures, instead of a baby shower, they have a baby “debut” one month after he/she is born.

Another idea that we talk about in my culture that doesn’t exist in other cultures is as a sign of respect for older siblings, we refer to them as “Ate” and “Kuya” which means older sister/older brother.

Concepts similar to this can contribute to our happiness or success in several ways. Some of which include the way in which we put importance to them. Being a first-generation Filipino, I place different forms of communication (such as cultural traditions) above other American cultural traditions and vice versa, this way, I feel more at home.