What is social construction of categories?

Example: A hospital classifies a patient as 'non-compliant.' A social worker classifies the same person as 'under-resourced.' A billing system classifies them as 'high-risk.' Same human being, three categories — each constructed to serve a different institution's purpose. None of these categories was discovered in the patient. Each was imposed by a system with its own goals, and each produces different downstream actions: discharge notes, support referrals, premium adjustments.

This concept is part of Classification and Typing in the How to Think curriculum, which builds the epistemic infrastructure for classification and typing.