Kenneth Gergen's social constructionism

This thesis traces the development of Kenneth Gergen's social constructionist metatheory and discusses its relevance for psychology and more broadly the social sciences. Chapter one describes Gergen's participation in the "crisis in social psychology" drawing attention to the role that his 1973 paper "Social Psychology as History" played in this debate. Following on arguments presented throughout the 1970's, Gergen answers in the 1980's with a proposed Social Constructionist metatheory. Chapter two describes the important influences in the development of this metatheory with particular attention to the hermeneutic interpretive movement and the writings of the ordinary language philosophers. Chapter three is a discussion of Gergen's theoretical corrolary to social constructionism--relational theory. The implications of relational theory for understanding persons and political action is discussed. The thesis concludes with a critical discussion of Gergen's social constructionism and relational theory.