L7 - Social Representations Theory

Question 1

What does Serge Moscovici’s Social Representations Theory (SRT) focus on?

Answer 1

The importance of collective concepts such as culture, ideology and communication

Question 2

What is the individual primarily according to Social Representations Theory (SRT)?

Answer 2

Primarily and foremost a social being

A product of society and an active participant who can affect change.

Question 3

Which levels of Doise levels of analysis does social representations theory operate?

Answer 3

Operates at levels 1, 2, 3, 4

Intra-individual

Inter-individual

Intergroup

Ideological

Question 4

What does ‘Social Representations’ (SR) refer to?

Answer 4

The ideas, images, thoughts and knowledge which members of a collectivity share.

Question 5

What is ‘common sense’ according to SRT?

Answer 5

A social representation

Question 6

Social representations theory is concerned with how societies _____ about things.

Answer 6

Think

Question 7

SRs are commonly referred to as _____ sense knowledge

Answer 7

common

i.e. what we take for granted

Question 8

How do ‘abstract’ concepts (SRs) become easier to understand so that they can be proliferated through society according to Moscovici?

Answer 8

They get transformed into physical entities

(i.e. the use of a iceberg metaphor in order to visualise)

Question 9

Laypeople are seen as ‘amateur ______’ according the SRT

Answer 9

scientists

Question 10

What is meant by a ‘figurative nucleus’ in SRT?

Answer 10

Figurative nucleus = reducing complex and abstract ideas to their core and visualised through images to represent the knowledge in a culturally accessible form

Question 11

SRT states:

Complicated knowledge transforms from ‘reified’ knowledge to ‘consensual’ knowledge.

What does reified and consensual knowledge mean?

Answer 11

Reified = Scientific (expert) Knowledge

Consensual = Common Sense knowledge (everybody can agree on)

Question 12

How is complex knowledge transformed by lay people to make it more intelligible / accessible

Answer 12

Reducing the ideas to a ‘figurative nucleus’ of images and concepts to represent the knowledge in a culturally accessible form.

Question 13

When we are forming new complex ideas and attempting to bring them into ‘consensual’ knowledge, what type of categories do we tend to draw on when generating the ‘figurative nucleus’?

Answer 13

familiar categories

(things we already know, our commonsense knowledge)

Question 14

Name the 4 principles that constitute the core theory of SRT

Answer 14

1. Core and peripheral elements (of SRs)
2. Normative and functional elements (to SRs)
3. Contradictions (within SRs)
4. Themata (origination of SRs

Question 15

Name the two processes that generate social representations (SRs)

Answer 15

Anchoring

Objectification

Question 16

Explain what is meant by core and peripheral elements of social representations.

Answer 16

Core elements: Stable, essentially defining features of the representation

Peripheral elements: Flexible, malleable, variable and open to change

Question 17

If the core elements of a representation has changed, is the representation still the same?

Answer 17

No, if the core elements of a representation changes then the representation is seen to be different.

Question 18

What does themata refer to as a principle in SRT?

Answer 18

Considered the sources ideas of a representation that are embedded in our social thinking.

Question 19

What is meant that themata are seen as ‘inconsistent elements’?

Answer 19

Themata are generally ideas that conflict with one another to form a dialectical relationship.

(e.g. tension between life and death - explains why people like the idea of organ donations but won’t actually donate organs)

Question 20

What is the difference between normative elements and functional elements as a principle of SRT?

Answer 20

Normative elements: Values, norms and beliefs

(historical and ideological beliefs that we bring with us)

Functional elements: Social practices and relations the group maintains

(how do we engage with ‘this thing’)

Question 21

Describe the anchoring process that generates social representation.

Answer 21

The classification and naming of unfamiliar objects or stimuli by comparing them to the stock of culturally accessible categories.

Question 22

Why do people need to anchor social representations to something already known?

Answer 22

1) Allows us to understand the object
2) Allows us to evaluate it (positively or negatively)

Question 23

Describe the objectification process that is used to generate social representations (SRs)

Answer 23

The process by which unfamiliar and abstract notions and ideas are transformed into concrete and reified things/objects.

(visualising them to make them familiar)

Question 24

What are the two elements of the ‘figurative nucleus’ in terms of objectification?

Answer 24

Figurative nucleus contains both pictoral (iconic/visual) and cognitive elements.

Question 25

Why is consensus important to understanding and why does it lead to debate?

Answer 25

People might be aware that the social object is understood in a certain way (consensus) but they themselves might disagree.

It allows for disagreement and what makes issues socially contentious.

(e.g. climate change, some people know that some people don’t believe it and that leads to debate)

Question 26

Despite the general public acceptance of recycled water being clean, why were people unwilling to use recycled water for bodily contact use but willing to use it for watering the garden and firefighting etc.?

Answer 26

The contradictory themes (themata)

There was a purity/impurity themata

There was a contradiction between normative (understood the benefits) and functional (they still didn’t want to use it) elements

(resulted in recognition of the need to recycle water but low support for use involving bodily contact)