Environmental Changes and Dynamics of a Network of Social Representations

Carine Pianelli; Farida Saad

Carine Pianelli PsyAction – Consulting firm on psychosocial risk assessment and management
Farida Saad French institute of science and technology for transport, development and networks (IFSTTAR); Laboratory of Social Psychology, University of Aix-Marseille

Keywords: social representations, anchoring, representational dynamics, acceptability, speed, intelligent speed adaptation, automatic speed controls

Abstract

This research aims to study the transformation of a network of social representations

(representations of Speed, Speed Limit and the emerging representation of a driving aid:

the LAVIA system) following the occurrence of an irreversible event: the introduction of

Automatic Speed Controls (ASCs) in France. Two surveys were carried out, before and

after the introduction of ASCs, on a representative sample of drivers living in the LAVIA

experimental area. The questionnaire included free and hierarchical associations (Study

1: N=1005; Study 2: N=281). The findings indicate that the structuring of the emerging

representation of LAVIA and its acceptability by drivers depend on pre-existing

representations within the social environment: the representations of Speed and Speed

Limit. The introduction of ASCs results in the adoption of new driving practices that lead

to the transformation of each representation belonging to the same network of social

representations.

Author Biographies

Carine Pianelli, PsyAction – Consulting firm on psychosocial risk assessment and management

CARINE PIANELLI obtained her PhD at the University of Aix-Marseille and the European PhD

on Social Representations and Communication under the supervision of Pr. Jean-Claude Abric

and Farida Saad. Her thesis was financed by the French institute of science and technology for

transport, development and networks (IFSTTAR). Afterwards, she was a researcher in

IFSTTAR. Her main research interests focus on anchoring process and dynamics of the social

representations. She founded PsyAction, consulting firm on psychosocial risk assessment and

management in 2012.

Farida Saad, French institute of science and technology for transport, development and networks (IFSTTAR); Laboratory of Social Psychology, University of Aix-Marseille

FARIDA SAAD is associate researcher at the Laboratory of Social Psychology of the University

of Aix-Marseille. She was Research Director in the French institute of science and technology

for transport, development and networks (IFSTTAR) until 2013. Her main research interests

focus on behavioural adaptations to advanced driver support systems, analysis of road situations

and drivers’activities from the cognitive psychology and ergonomics viewpoint, studies on

mobility and safety in urban areas. She was involved in many national and international research

projects, such as LAVIA (national project) and AID (european project).