Week 2 Question 1

The Social Constructionist Model says that "communication is a process whereby people in groups, using the tools provided by their culture, create collective representations of reality"(Trenholm). We build our worlds based on what we have grown around from concepts, to what is right and wrong. We take pieces of our experiences that our culture sees as significant, and respond to them that our culture would see as significant.

An example of this would be if a man proposed to a woman, it is seen here in American culture as a significant event in both people's lives because it is a symbol of a future marriage. Reactions would include possible tears of joy, hugs or kisses; that is the typical response to this significant event in American culture. If the same were to occur in another country where marriages are arranged, the reactions would include confusion because that is not how heir culture views marriage. It may be seen in this culture that if a man proposed to a woman, this is strange and disrespectful. The views of an engagement vary per culture and country based on what their culture has constructed through stories and examples about what it means to be married and the significance of it.

The event of an engagement is seen as one of the happiest moments in people's lives here in our country, but sometimes in other cultures, it may be seen as a sad time. This proves that certain events that have been communicated by culture will translate on how people should react in these situations.