Constructing Difference

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss the construction of social differences from the vantage points of multiple sub-disciplines. We begin with examining why people construct and perpetuate social differences. After exploring the construction of social differences in societies, we articulate the processes through which people construct differences at the individual and interpersonal levels. Finally, we examine some of the ways people attempt to transcend difference. In our analysis of each transcendence mechanism, we pay particular attention to the conditions and cultural resources associated with efforts to transcend difference. The social psychology of inequality is, by definition, concerned with the mechanisms that underlie persistent inequality, and with spaces, people, and strategies that might undermine or at least chip away at inequality.