People’s understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic: social representations of SARS-CoV-2 virus in Italy

Commitment to pro- versus counter-attitudinal behavior and the dynamics of social representations

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024//1421-0185.61.1.34 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 61 (1) ◽

pp. 34-44 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Eric Tafani ◽

Lionel Souchet

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Social Representations ◽

Cognitive Restructuring ◽

Social Representation ◽

Two Dimensional ◽

Dimensional Model ◽

Social Actions ◽

The Social ◽

Two Dimensional Model ◽

Students Attitudes

This research uses the counter-attitudinal essay paradigm ( Janis & King, 1954 ) to test the effects of social actions on social representations. Thus, students wrote either a pro- or a counter-attitudinal essay on Higher Education. Three forms of counter-attitudinal essays were manipulated countering respectively a) students’ attitudes towards higher education; b) peripheral beliefs or c) central beliefs associated with this representation object. After writing the essay, students expressed their attitudes towards higher education and evaluated different beliefs associated with it. The structural status of these beliefs was also assessed by a “calling into question” test ( Flament, 1994a ). Results show that behavior challenging either an attitude or peripheral beliefs induces a rationalization process, giving rise to minor modifications of the representational field. These modifications are only on the social evaluative dimension of the social representation. On the other hand, when the behavior challenges central beliefs, the same rationalization process induces a cognitive restructuring of the representational field, i.e., a structural change in the representation. These results and their implications for the experimental study of representational dynamics are discussed with regard to the two-dimensional model of social representations ( Moliner, 1994 ) and rationalization theory ( Beauvois & Joule, 1996 ).

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Social representations of human rights violations: Further evidence

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024//1421-0185.60.2.89 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 60 (2) ◽

pp. 89-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Alain Clémence ◽

Thierry Devos ◽

Willem Doise

Keyword(s):

Cluster Analysis ◽

Human Rights ◽

Costa Rica ◽

Young People ◽

Social Representations ◽

Social Reality ◽

Questionnaire Study ◽

Human Rights Violations ◽

High Tolerance ◽

Individual Actions

Social representations of human rights violations were investigated in a questionnaire study conducted in five countries (Costa Rica, France, Italy, Romania, and Switzerland) (N = 1239 young people). We were able to show that respondents organize their understanding of human rights violations in similar ways across nations. At the same time, systematic variations characterized opinions about human rights violations, and the structure of these variations was similar across national contexts. Differences in definitions of human rights violations were identified by a cluster analysis. A broader definition was related to critical attitudes toward governmental and institutional abuses of power, whereas a more restricted definition was rooted in a fatalistic conception of social reality, approval of social regulations, and greater tolerance for institutional infringements of privacy. An atypical definition was anchored either in a strong rejection of social regulations or in a strong condemnation of immoral individual actions linked with a high tolerance for governmental interference. These findings support the idea that contrasting definitions of human rights coexist and that these definitions are underpinned by a set of beliefs regarding the relationships between individuals and institutions.

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Liberté d'opinion et limite normative dans une représentation sociale: le développement de l'intelligence 1Ce texte reprend l'essentiel d'un exposé présenté en juin 1998 à la Faculté de Psychologie et des Sciences de l'Education de Genève, à l'occasion de la collation du Doctorat Honoris Causa de l'Université de Genève à l'auteur.

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024//1421-0185.58.3.201 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 58 (3) ◽

pp. 201-206 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Claude Flament

Keyword(s):

Social Representations ◽

The Social ◽

The Individual

This paper is concerned by a possible articulation between the diversity of individual opinions and the existence of consensus in social representations. It postulates the existence of consensual normative boundaries framing the individual opinions. A study by questionnaire about the social representations of the development of intelligence gives support to this notion.

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Social Representations and Commitment

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040/a000317 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 233-249 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Eric Bonetto ◽

Fabien Girandola ◽

Grégory Lo Monaco

Keyword(s):

Social Representations ◽

Social Representation ◽

Second Line ◽

Review Of The Literature ◽

First Line ◽

Research Perspectives ◽

The Social ◽

Bibliographic Search ◽

English Articles

Abstract. This contribution consists of a critical review of the literature about the articulation of two traditionally separated theoretical fields: social representations and commitment. Besides consulting various works and communications, a bibliographic search was carried out (between February and December, 2016) on various databases using the keywords “commitment” and “social representation,” in the singular and in the plural, in French and in English. Articles published in English or in French, that explicitly made reference to both terms, were included. The relations between commitment and social representations are approached according to two approaches or complementary lines. The first line follows the role of commitment in the representational dynamics: how can commitment transform the representations? This articulation gathers most of the work on the topic. The second line envisages the social representations as determinants of commitment procedures: how can these representations influence the effects of commitment procedures? This literature review will identify unexploited tracks, as well as research perspectives for both areas of research.

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