Langdon Winner (1993): Opening the black box and discovering it empty: social constructivism and the philosophy of technology Social construction of technology, or social constructivism, is a theory introduced by Wiebe Bijker and Trevor Pinch. The theory proposes that technology development is an interactive sociotechnical process within relevant social groups (e.g. users, producers). As a methodology, social constructivism analyzes artifacts in the context of society and explores the dynamics of technological change. According to Pinch and Bijker (1987), social constructivism is “fundamentally a sociological approach to technology”. This school of research attempts to understand the mechanisms behind the interpretations of technological artifacts by different social groups. In his article entitled “Upon Opening the Black Box and Finding It Empty: Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Technology,” Langdon Winner (1993) presented a critique of social constructivism; noting that while there are certainly positive facets of social constructivism, the methodology also presents significant complications. Aspects of social constructivism that he finds valuable include its conceptual rigor, attention to detail, and attempts to provide empirical models of technological change that better reveal the actual course of events (Winner, 1993). Despite this, Winner remains adamant about the narrow limits of the social constructivist perspective. In his article, Winner (1993, p. 368) explores four specific limitations of social constructivism: Disregard for social consequences: Social constructivism writings explain how technologies come into existence, but they ignore the consequences of technologies and their impact. .. middle of paper ......, N. (2002). SCOT: Does that answer? Technology and Culture, 43 (2), pp. 351-360. Kallinikos, J. (2002). Reopening the black box of technological artifacts and human action. Mackenzie, D.A. & Wajcman, J. (1985). The social shaping of technology. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Pinch, T. & Bijker, W. (1987). The social construction of facts and artifacts: or how the sociology of science and the sociology of technology could mutually benefit. Cambridge: MIT Press. Williams, R. and Edge, D. (1996). The social shaping of technology. Research Policy, 25 (6), pp. 865--899. Winner, L. (1993). Opening the black box and finding it empty: social constructivism and the philosophy of technology. Science, technology and human values, 18 pages 362-378. Woolgar, S. (1991). The turn to technology in the social studies of science. Science, technology and human values, 16 pages. 20-50.