The Chiampo River 30 Years Later: Long‐Term Effects of Environmental Regulations on Social Representations

Abstract

With the aim of addressing environmental concerns from an applied social psychological perspective, this study explores how regulations aimed at reducing industrial pollution contribute to short-term and long-term changes in social representations. The local river in a Valley characterised by strong interactions between industries and communities was the focus of concern. Three features of the representations were examined: images, emotional experiences and practices. The research followed a multi-method approach, using reports completed by 11-to 14-year-old school pupils and collected in three periods: 19741977; 19781980; 20072009. In the third time period, interviews and surveys were also collected. Textual data underwent lexicometric analyses and qualitative content analyses; quantitative data underwent descriptive and inferential analyses. Results show that effective regulations contributed to positive change in social representations of the river. After 30 years, however, tensions between elements of the representation are present. Images and emotional experiences of the river considerably improved, so much so that the river almost disappears from the focus of attention. Practices however are consistent with old representations of the water as noxious, indicating persistent concerns about potential pollution. Results suggest the desirability of continuing participatory engagement between citizens and local/environmental authorities, not only as new regulations are introduced but also after they have been enacted. Copyright (c) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Self–Other Relations in Biodiversity Conservation in the Community: Representational Processes and Adjustment to New Actions

“…This is to be evaluated in phase II of the study. This alternative explanation highlights once more the need to take into account the temporal dimension when examining change (Bellelli et al, ), as ideas and actions may not be aligned in the same way in all stages of change (Brondi et al, ; Castro, ; Devine‐Wright, ; Jodelet, ).…”

“…injunctive normative beliefs) and meta‐representations of what she does (i.e. descriptive normative beliefs), showing these may play different roles in the elaboration of representations and actions (Cialdini et al, ; see also Brondi et al, ; Castro, Garrido, Reis, & Menezes, ).…”

“…This multiplicity, in turn, can generate ambivalence, a delayer in adopting new actions (Castro, ). And it may also generate different velocities in the adjustment of new ideas to new actions, as old habits enacting a past collective memory may remain active for a long period of time, one of the central findings of TSR (Brondi, Sarrica, Cibin, Neresini, & Contarello, ; Jodelet, ; also Bellelli, Curci, & Leone, ; Doise, Spini, & Clémence, ).…”

Are e-bikes changing the social representation of cycling? An exploration of articles on cycling in Italian online publications

“…To visualize this dynamic, Gaskell (1999, 2008) suggested adding a time dimension to the self-other-object semiotic triangle. Brondi et al (2012) went a step further, arguing that normative and technological transformations may intervene at a given moment in time and prompt a change of trajectory, transforming the objects of SRs and their relationship with the actors involved (see Figure 1).…”

What can Social Psychologists Learn from Architecture? The Asylum as Example

“…There are, of course, many excellent examples of the use of different sources to further our understanding of representation and understandings in the past: De Rosa's () classic study of representations of mental illness compared modern drawings with those dating back to medieval times, showing a number of enduring themes; Glăveanu () examines folk art; others still draw on historical documents or newspaper/other media sources from the past (Brondi et al., ; Jodelet, ; Sammut et al., ). In this paper, I would like to examine the potential utility of examining architecture, and argue that social psychologists of knowledge might find it helpful to explore architectural history in more depth.…”