Social Representations and the Genesis of Social Knowledge

Abstract

Two approaches to the origins and development of social knowledge are identified in the current research literature, one derived from theories of social cognition and the other, which reflects an emerging trend in European developmental psyhology, from the perspective of social representations. While both share a constructivist orientation, the former is limited by its theoretical individualism, whereas the latter considers the construction of social knowledge withtin a social and interactive framework. In particular, the theory of social representations considers social knowledge as knowledge of the symbolic order of society. Two research areas are examinated as examples of these contrasting perspectives. The first, economic socialisation, focusses on some of the theoretical issues which distinguish the perspectives, while the second, the development of representations of mental illness, considers methodological issues. Finally, the conducting section examines limitations in current work associated with social representations, as well as outlining some of the perspectives which this approach has opened up.