Social Representation of the Universe- A Study with Doctors in Human and Natural Sciences

Abstract

The present study brings together social psychology and physics in an attempt to contribute to the debate on social representations in science. The socio-psychological approach - equiped with social representation theory (Moscovici,1976,1981) - aims at further understanding of how scientific theories are received by audiences with different levels of knowledge on the subject, when such theories bring new informational elements which put in check previously established knowledge. The descriptions of macro and micro universe phenomena by the theories of physics are inspiring objects to the study of the genesis of social representations, particularly when we take into account the compatibility existing between Newtonian theory and lays perceptions of reality one an hand and the incompatibility between our daily perceptions and the reality as revealed by quantum theory on the other.