L8 - Social Representations of Scientific Knowledge

Question 1

According to SRT, what is the reified universe

Answer 1

Scientific Knowledge

Question 2

According to SRT, what is the consensual universe?

Answer 2

Common sense

Question 3

Why is the reified universe transformed into the consensual universe?

Answer 3

In order to be more intelligible or accessible to lay people.

Question 4

Does SRT see consensual knowledge as false?

Answer 4

No

They are the shared beliefs and values that hold society together.

Question 5

Where does the change of reified knowledge to consensual knowledge rapidly occur?

Answer 5

Mass Media

Question 6

What process is Moscovici referring to here:

“______ saturates the unfamiliar concept with reality, change it into a building block of reality itself”

Answer 6

Objectification

Question 7

Name the three sub-processes of objectification

Answer 7

1. Personification of knowledge
2. Figuration
3. Ontologising

Question 8

What is the personification of knowledge sub-process of objectification?

Answer 8

Links the idea/theory to a person or group

(e.g. Freud, Darwin, Einstein theories. Their faces are easily identifiable. We objectify the theories through the scientists themselves)

Question 9

What is the figuration sub-process of objectification?

Answer 9

The embodiment of an abstract notion by a metaphorical image.

(e.g. Human Genome described as the ‘book of life’ or ‘hand of god’)

Question 10

What is the ontologising sub-process of objectification

Answer 10

Imbuing abstract notions with physical properties

(e.g. the mind is equated with the brain)

Question 11

How did the ‘hemispheric specialisation’ objectification show the problems with ‘ontological realism’?

Answer 11

Scientists were describing the left and right side of the brain metaphorically (rational left v irrational right) but the public took the ontology literally.

Split brain has become a social representation

Question 12

In the late 90s the public was struggling to grasp with ideas about genetically modified foods which were rapidly advancing.

What is this image and the term ‘Frankenstein foods’ that was used by the media during that time representative of in SRT?

Answer 12

Media anchoring genetically modified foods of being ‘unnatural’ by using culturally known imagery.

Question 13

Does increased scientific knowledge correlate with increased acceptance of scientific progress?

Answer 13

No

They have stronger opinions but can be positive or negative

Question 14

What was the themata that was related to genomics and biotechnology that led to great debate and fear of GM?

Answer 14

Nature and Life

People drew on religious beliefs about the sanctity of life

(i.e. playing god, interfering with nature, moral warnings)

Also drew on secular representations of nature

(i.e. evolution and adaptation, finely-tuned and balanced system which should not be tampered with)

Question 15

SRs of climate change

Which social representation of climate change do people rate as more important or more concerning?

‘Global Warming’ or ‘Climate Change’?

Answer 15

Global Warming

Question 16

Why is there differences in the responses between using the phrase ‘global warming’ and ‘climate change’ despite the two phrases being used interchangeably?

Answer 16

More familiarity with ‘global warming’

Media uses ‘global warming’ more, scientists use ‘climate change’

Global warming more emotive and directional (climate change more ambiguous)

Question 17

How could we engage the public more directly to get them to understand that ‘global warming’ and ‘climate change’ are the same thing and should be treated the same?

Answer 17

Get them to understand the underlying representations people have of specific categories and terms.

Question 18

What are the two different types of social representation in regards to ‘climate change’? (Jaspal, Nerlich and Koteyko, 2012)

Answer 18

Hegemonic - consensually shared representations of a group

(i.e. accepted view that climate change is real and caused by humans)

Polemic - generated in the course of social conflict and takes the opposing view

(i.e. climate change denial)

Question 19

What did Jasper et al. find with their discursive analysis of comments of climate sceptics regarding ‘climate gate’?

Answer 19

1. Denigration of climate scientists to contest hegemonic representation (e.g. dishonest scientists)
2. Delegitimization of pro-climate change individuals by disassociation from science
3. Outright denial: rejecting hegemonic representations of climate change

Question 20

What do climate denialists comments reveal about whether climate denialists ‘transform’ or ‘reject’ reified knowledge?

Answer 20

They reject scientific knowledge.

(becomes more about belief than knowledge. i.e. I don’t believe in climate change)

Question 21

How does climate change denial link to social identity?

Answer 21

By delegitimizing climate science it empowers laypeople by constructing ‘us’ and ‘them’ (in-group, out-group)

Group identification with climate denial (very political)