The following theory may not sound very familiar to you, however, I have to tell you that it is one of those that has had the most influence on the development of psychology current as we know it.
It is nothing more nor less than constructivism. Does it sound familiar to you? If so, you can be happy, because not many people know of its existence. But if you don’t know her, don’t worry, we are here from Psychology-Online to tell you. What is constructivism in psychology, the origin of this current and its characteristics.
What is constructivism in psychology
According to constructivism, it is considered that there is no reality independent of the individual, that is, can reality be considered real? So, the same reality is in two ways:
- reality itselfwhich according to Piaget cannot be known.
- The reality in me: what I want from the world and turn into my own reality.
That is, what really exists and what I actually perceive.
Origin of constructivism in psychology
If we have to attribute the creation of this current to any author, it must be Jean Piagetwho, based on his studies on the evolution of children’s knowledge, tried to explain developmental psychology and formulated .
Constructivism aims to create a theory to achieve a correct explanation of the formation of knowledge. This manages, through this theory, to overcome the antagonism between rationalist and empiricist authors. To achieve this, it is based on the fact that knowledge of reality is constructed by the subject himself based on the mechanisms available to them and, therefore, experience is of great importance at the individual level of each person.
Characteristics of constructivism in psychology
Constructivism is considered a meta-concept, that is, it is a different way of thinking about knowing and learning. As Araya (2007) points out, a series of principles can be named which try to explain constructivism:
- Principle of interaction of man with the environment.
- Principle of previous experience conditioning the knowledge to be built.
- Principle of elaboration of “meaning” in the world of experience.
- Principle of active organization.
- Principle of functional adaptation between knowledge and reality.
It is also worth noting the role of people in constructivism and how they are considered within this perspective. Aznar (1992) describes it like this:
- Being constitutionally unfinished, which it has to be done, built.
- It is constitutionally open, so it has the possibility of planning its life and building itself according to its purposes.
- It needs to be built and this need can only be satisfied through its actions and activity.
- He has language, which multiplies and enriches his possibilities of action.
- It requires a medium with which to interact.
History of constructivism in psychology
Piaget decides to confront the innatist and empiricist positions that dominated at that time, so that it proposes the idea that knowledge is simply the result of the interaction between a subject and the reality in which he lives. Here you will find details.
At no time is there any question of denying the existence of a series of innate capacities and knowledge, since these are what allow children to initiate interaction with the world and thus guarantee their survival.
Within the same current of constructivism, we find a series of criteria that allow it to be organized into different expressions.
Before proceeding to explain the different currents, I find it necessary to highlight that constructivism is still present in current psychology, so cannot be considered to have disappeared in its entirety, as is the case with other approaches. Although it is true that it has received a multitude of criticisms, it has helped and continues to help the understanding of the development of knowledge.
Types of constructivism
Constructivism has different branches and perspectives:
Psychological constructivism
This is intended to explain how the world works based on the nature of change and causality. Within it, four different hypotheses are distinguished to explain this.
- The formism: It is based on the processes of classification and identification, so that, for this theory, the establishment of distinctions is the fundamental cognitive activity.
- The mechanism: is based on the assumption that phenomena that occur daily can be understood in terms of their cause-effect relationships.
- Contextualism: starts from the basic idea that the world is a collection of events interconnected by a series of changing patterns.
- organicism: all phenomena are confronted through oppositions and contradictions which give rise to changes of greater complexity.
Material constructivism
This theory is closely related to the formalist hypothesis previously mentioned, since it raises the material causality that the stable properties of the phenomena account for their own functioning.
Within it, a perspective known as the radical constructivism. This is concerned with the construction of personal meanings through experiences, denying the existence of metaphysical truth.
Efficient constructivism
This posture identifies knowledge as an active process where environmental inputs (stimuli) are interpreted and stored as meaningful information. You could say that it shows a connection with a mechanistic hypothesis.
Formal constructivism
It is conceived knowledge from those contradictions created as a result of the continuous interactions between individuals and their environment. It uses the concept of final causality as the result of dynamic and changing knowledge that evolves to obtain greater complexity and abstraction capacity.
Educational constructivism
Humans are conceived as individuals motivated towards learning to be able to develop all of their abilities and thereby achieve a complete understanding of the world in which they live. It starts from the idea of an active individual who is guided by a series of teachers who will stimulate him so that he can overcome a series of stages.
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Bibliography
- Araya, V., Alfaro, M., & Andonegui, M. (2007). Constructivism: origins and perspectives. Laurus, 13(24), 76-92.
- Aznar, P. (1992) Constructivism and education. Valencia: Tirant lo blanch.
- Clemente, R. Evolutionary psychology II. Jaume I University (2015).
- Hernández, C. Evolutionary psychology. Jaume I University (2015).