The Structural Approach to Social Representations: Bridges between Theory and Methods

Abstract

Since the publication of the works of Jean-Claude Abric and Celso Sá, the structural approach to social representation has become widely diffused. There is often a lack of congruency between theoretical aspects of the structural approach and technical characteristics of the different methods used. This paper aims at making explicit the structural characteristics that are studied by the different structural approach techniques. These characteristics are: associative power of the elements, consensual aspects of thought and object essence. With these characteristics it is possible to elaborate a classification of the different techniques of the structural approach to social representations. The conclusion focuses on the absence of the social representation dynamics on a technical level despite being a central theoretical point for a better understanding of the socio representational phenomenon.

The middle-aged adult and their own old age: a structural approach to social representation

“…This study is of qualitative descriptive nature. It makes use of the structural approach based on the Social Representation Theory 14 . Two hundred people were participants in this study and they were selected under the following criteria: middle-aged adults (40 to 59 year old) and residents in the Departamento Lambayeque.…”

“…It receives data and then distributes the recalls in quadrants, taking into consideration the average frequency while presenting the ranges of more or less frequent words. It also figures out the amount of average order of recall, building on a four-quadrant table 14 .…”

“…Those words characterize the representation persistent part, which is more consensual and less sensitive to change due to external contexts or subjects' daily practices. Such words are directly related to collective memory and the group's history, thus, defining homogeneity 14 . The central nucleus functions are: generating, organizing and stabilizing.…”

Development of an Innovative Education System Mathematical Model

“…The cogneme is a part of the knowledge that is in a constant dynamic process of five parameters: meaningwayword (sign)areafunction [15]. The brains perceive the information (word or sign) in the easiest wayby listening, touching, fragrances and the other means of feeling perception, find out the meaning and the area of its usage and produce the functioning of a body [16][17][18][19].…”

Representações Sociais de Família para Não Feministas

“…Para Wolter (2018) o núcleo central (NC) determina a significação da RS e sua organização interna, sendo formado pelos valores e normas estabelecidos pelos grupos e que constituem o contexto ideológico da representação -ou seja, são as crenças e concepções rígidas que mantém a estabilidade, coesão e o funcionamento do grupo. Já os elementos periféricos das RS orbitam e coexistem (por exemplo, nas contradições e conflitos sobre objetos) com o NC, todavia, podendo ser alterados mais facilmente devido às mudanças sociais (Wolter, 2018). Assim, retomando o exposto, se é importante compreender as RS de família para feministas (que questionam o status quo ante, ou seja, os tradicionalismos e conservadorismos de gênero e de família) (Costa & De Tilio, 2019), é igualmente significativo conhecer as RS de família para não feministas para melhor compreender quais e como esses tradicionalismos sustentam práticas ainda frequentes.…”