Phobias How Constructivism Relates to Understandings of Phobias By Lisa Fritscher Lisa Fritscher is a freelance writer and editor with a deep interest in phobias and other mental health topics. Learn about our editorial process Lisa Fritscher Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on February 22, 2020 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on March 06, 2020 Print Sigrid Gombert/Getty Images Constructivism is a type of learning theory that explains human learning as an active attempt to construct meaning in the world around us. Constructivists believe that learning is more active and self-directed than either behaviorism or cognitive theory would postulate. Constructivism divides learning into two types: accommodation and assimilation. The focus is on the individual’s desire and ability to learn, and the teacher or therapist is merely there to help guide self-directed learning. The idea of constructivism has been applied to many academic disciplines. Most related to the understanding of phobia are the concepts of cognitive and social constructivism. Cognitive Constructivism Psychologist Jean Piaget gets credit for creating cognitive constructivist theory. It consists of two major parts called: ages and stages. The ages component predicts children's ability to understand or not understand certain things. The stages component posits that humans cannot immediately understand and use information, instead, they must build their knowledge through experience. What Are Piaget's Four Stages of Development? This theory directly contradicts the educational model most U.S. public schools use to transfer knowledge. Where teachers expect students to memorize given information after briefly practicing it, rather than discovering their own interest in something and then experiencing it. In a Piagetian classroom setting the teacher is seen more as a facilitator of the student's learning experience. Social Constructivism Social constructivism is a variety of cognitive constructivism put forth by psychologist Lev Vygotsky. He believed in the cognitive model but asserted that it's not just the process of learning that's important, it's "the process by which learners were integrated into a knowledge community." He saw that learning requires a social interaction between people. Thus, social constructivism was born. Both cognitive and social constructivism see knowledge as actively constructed. The Social Construction of Anxiety Disorders Experiencing bouts of anxiety including phobias is just part of being human. However, reported anxiety levels have risen at an alarming rate since the end of WWII. Now, in the 21st century, anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health problems worldwide. Phobias are an anxiety disorder and some clinicians believe the social construct of our modern society, with its fast pace and high demands, contributed, and continues to contribute, to this uptick in anxiety disorders. Even more evidence suggests, according to an article published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, the rise is due to the prevailing belief in our society "that anxiety-related symptoms are a socially and medically legitimate response to life in the modern age," Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Ever wonder what your personality type means? Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Berkeley Graduate Division: Social Constructivism. http://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/social-constructivism/ . Dowbiggin. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry: High Anxieties - the Social Construction of Anxiety Disorders (2009). Hays and Singh. Qualitative Inquiry in Clinical and Educational Settings. (2012). University of Houston: Overview of Cognitive Constructionism.