Semiotic Methodology For The Analysis Of The Cultural And Individual Dynamics Of Social Representations: A View From Cultural Psychology

Keywords: cultural psychology, methodology, semiotics, social representations

This paper presents a view of semiotics that provides some theoretical elements for bridging

some of the gaps between post-Vygotskian cultural psychology and social representation

theory. This is done, firstly, through an exploration into the concept of ‘representation’ and,

then, by exploring how semiotic action (semiosis) is able to produce signs of increased

complexity which ultimately result in representations capable of supporting and

communicating shared views of the world within a cultural community. A semiotic model of

the shaping of social representations and some methodological procedures borrowed from

semiotics are suggested as tools for the formal description and explanation of both personal

experiences and social representations.

Alberto Rosa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain

ALBERTO ROSA is Professor of Psychology at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain),

where he lectures on History of Psychology and Cultural Psychology. He has also carried out

research on developmental psychology of the physically challenged and on the influence of

culture in the shaping identity and citizenship. He is currently interested in the semiotic analysis

of experience as mediated by cultural artifacts.

Nestor Pievi, Universidad Nacional San Martin, Argentina

NESTOR PIEVI is Associate Professor of Education Psychology at the Universidad Nacional

San Martín in Buenos Aires (Argentina). His teaching and research focuses on the resignification

of social representation in teaching-learning processes.