Social constructionism is a theoretical framework that examines how individuals develop their knowledge and understanding of the world through social interactions and negotiations. It suggests that various facets of social reality, such as gender, race, class, ability, and sexuality, are not solely biological but are products of human definition and interpretation shaped by cultural and historical contexts. Social constructionism highlights the ways in which cultural categories are concepts created, changed, and reproduced through historical processes within institutions and culture.

It is important to differentiate between the terms social constructionism and social constructivism. While social constructionism refers to the concepts and practices created and accepted via human interactions and negotiations, social constructivism is a theory focused on the processes by which these constructs are made and understood.

Social constructionism provides a framework for understanding the constructed worlds that people inhabit, which is useful for understanding social behavior. It emphasizes the collective generation of knowledge and how social phenomena are created, institutionalized, and made into tradition by humans. Social constructionism is a prominent theory in sociology and social psychology, with deep historical roots and has been shaped by key theorists over time.

In summary, social constructionism is a theory examining how social phenomena develop in social contexts. It views knowledge as a socially constructed product and sees truth as dependent on consensus within a given community or society, not on any universal or absolute definition.