The idea that social situations and events are constructed by societies rather than existing in nature is known as what?

• A. Ethnicity
• B. Social construction
• C. Race
• D. Secondary socialisation

Answer: (B)

Social construction is the idea that social situations and events are created by societies through shared meanings, norms, and institutions rather than existing naturally. This means things we take as given—such as gender roles, money, or race categories—are produced through social interaction and cultural beliefs, not dictated by nature alone. For instance, race is often treated as a biological fact, but in sociology it’s understood as a category that societies have defined and given meaning to. The other terms don’t describe this process: ethnicity is about cultural identity, secondary socialisation is about learning norms after primary socialisation, and race is a category rather than the process of constructing social reality.