Social Construction As Constructed By Sociologists Peter Berger And Thomas Luckmann

The theory of Social construction was originally composed by sociologists Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann in their *Social Construction of Reality *(1966), to explain individuals formation of reality by socially created entities and socialization. They proposed that social perceptions of the world are collective in nature as individually interpreted and are composed with a social foundation of knowledge (Ibid; Fox et al., 2007; Serge, 2016; Vazquez-Figueroa, 1968). This “knowledge of society” consists of personal experiences, and interaction with peers, social groups and socially constructed institutions, such as the media (Berger & Luckmann, 1967; Serge, 2016; Surette, 2011). Individuals organize knowledge as either “experienced reality” events that one has personally been exposed to or “symbolic reality” events not personally experienced, but believed to have occurred (Ibid.).

These two elements fabricate a “social construct” of what is perceived as “real” by individuals, formed by everyday life, socialization and the use of language and knowledge (Serge, 2016). Criminologists’ adaptation of social construction investigates the generation of “facts” regarding crime, crime control and the legal system with the media being a relevant source of social knowledge, as the majority of the public lacks experience with the judicial system (Hans & Dee, 1991; Pickett et al., 2014). The impact of media portrayals has become concerning as newly identified effects on viewers, such as the “CSI” effect, have emerged that have consequences on the jury system, the most expensive and essential part of the legal system (Ferguson,