Transforming Social Representations


Book Description

Common sense, by definition, is familiar to us all. Science, for some of us, is more remote, yet it is not always clear what the connections are between these two ways of seeing the world. In this title, originally published in 1993, the author explores several related themes in social psychology to elucidate the way we understand the social construction of knowledge and the means by which we change social reality. From the perspective of a critique of social representations theory, the author argues that this necessitates a change of viewpoint from the individualistic and mechanistic assumptions of Cartesian science to the social and evolutionary perspective of a Hegelian framework. This not only emphasizes the cultural and historical dimensions of social phenomena but also illuminates the social and dynamic nature of individuals. As a consequence, the discipline of social psychology must itself be transformed, recognizing the active participation of scientists in the social construction of scientific knowledge. This title will be of interest to those working in social psychology, history and philosophy of science, and sociology.




Transforming Social Representations


Book Description

Common sense, by definition, is familiar to us all. Science, for some of us, is more remote, yet it is not always clear what the connections are between these two ways of seeing the world. In this title, originally published in 1993, the author explores several related themes in social psychology to elucidate the way we understand the social construction of knowledge and the means by which we change social reality. From the perspective of a critique of social representations theory, the author argues that this necessitates a change of viewpoint from the individualistic and mechanistic assumptions of Cartesian science to the social and evolutionary perspective of a Hegelian framework. This not only emphasizes the cultural and historical dimensions of social phenomena but also illuminates the social and dynamic nature of individuals. As a consequence, the discipline of social psychology must itself be transformed, recognizing the active participation of scientists in the social construction of scientific knowledge. This title will be of interest to those working in social psychology, history and philosophy of science, and sociology.




Social Representations


Book Description

Serge Moscovici first introduced the concept of social representations into contemporary social psychology nearly forty years ago. Since then the theory has become one of the predominant approaches in social psychology, not only in Europe, but increasingly in the United States as well. While Moscovici's work has spread broadly across the discipline, notably through his contributions to the study of minority influences and the psychology of crowds, the study of social representations has continued to provide the central focus for one of the most distinctive and original voices in social psychology today.




Education, Professionalization and Social Representations


Book Description

This book presents a broad range of research related to how social knowledge is shared, transmitted and transformed in the context of education and professional formation. The chapters of this edited collection reflect different theoretical and empirical approaches to that form of common-sense knowledge called social representations, the theory of which was developed almost a half-century ago by Serge Moscovici. Scholars from various research institutions in Brazil, France and Sweden, spanning a wide variety of disciplines within the social sciences, have contributed chapters that are grouped into three main categories related to education, professionalization and transformation of knowledge. Part I covers theoretical approaches to understanding the transformation of social knowledge from the perspective of social representations. Part II analyzes the impact of the theory of social representations on the transformation of knowledge in the field of education and professional formation. Finally, Part III presents several empirical studies focused on the social and cultural frames that condition the transformation of knowledge. While the book is devoted to education and the emerging field of research on professionalization, it will also appeal to anyone with a general interest in how people acquire their worldviews and how these views influence their actions.




The Cambridge Handbook of Social Representations


Book Description

This Handbook provides the requisite theoretical and methodological guidelines for undertaking social research addressing relevant contemporary social issues.




Social Representations in the Social Arena


Book Description

This comprehensive text presents key theoretical issues and extensive empirical research using different theoretical and methodological approaches to consider the value of social representation theory when social representations are examined not only in isolation, but also in context.




Social Representations and the Development of Knowledge


Book Description

This book raises for the first time developmental issues in relation to the theory of social representations, which Duveen and Lloyd introduced to account for the influence of social life on psychological processes. He describes a society's values, ideas, beliefs and practices as social representations which function both as rule systems structuring social life and as codes facilitating communication. The editors' introduction identifies the need to expand the theory of social representations to consider developmental changes in social beliefs, in individual understanding, and in the process of communication. Individual chapters examine aspects of such processes in the domains of nursery-school life, of gender, of social divisions in society, of images of childhood, of emotion, of intelligence and of psychology. In the final chapter Moscovici considers the contribution which these developmental perspectives make to the theory. The book will interest specialists and students in the human and social sciences, including developmental and social psychology, sociology, and communication studies.




Education, Professionalization and Social Representations


Book Description

This book scrutinizes how social – common sense – knowledge is shared, transmitted and transformed in different social and psychological contexts, particularly in research related to education, social work and communication.




Social Representations for the Anthropocene: Latin American Perspectives


Book Description

The Anthropocene has become a field of studies in which the influence of human activity on the Earth System and nature is both the main threat and the potential solution. Social Representations Theory has been evolving since the 1960s.It links knowledge and practice in everyday life and is an effective way to deal with systemic crises based on common sense. This book assembles key contributions by Latin American scholars working with social representations in the social sciences that are of conceptual relevance to the study of the Anthropocene and that investigate the societal consequences of complex interrelations between common sense and topics of global relevance, such asthe contradictions of sustainable development, the construction of risks beyond risk-perception, health, negotiation and governance in the field of education, gender equality, the usefulness of longitudinal and systemic ethnography and case studies, and agency and the link between inequality, crises and risk society in the context of COVID-19, presenting theoretical and methodological innovations fromSpanish, Portuguese and Frenchresearchthat have rarely been available in English. • This is the first book to address the relevance of Social Representations Theory for the Anthropocene as a societal era• It presents the multidisciplinary scope of Social Representations• This book covers emerging research contributions in Social Representations Theory from Latin America• This book presents innovative research and commentaries by established researchers in the field• This multidisciplinary book should be in the libraries of many disciplines in the social sciences and humanities




Social Representations in the 'Social Arena'


Book Description

Social Representations in the 'Social Arena' presents key theoretical issues and extensive empirical research using different theoretical and methodological approaches to consider the value of social representation theory when social representations are examined in real world contexts. This comprehensive text brings together international experts to explore the relevance of a variety of applications of social representation theory in both institutional and organizational settings, and discusses how social representation theory compares with other constructs of social psychology. Areas covered include: justice leadership health and mental illness intergroup relations identity politics environment and tourism economics. This book will appeal to a range of academic researchers and practitioners from a variety of fields who are concerned with the application of social representation theory to various contexts as a heuristic tool for addressing and understanding relevant societal issues faced with 'social demand'.