A Social Representations Approach To The Communication Between Different Spheres: An Analysis Of The Impacts Of Two Discursive Formats

Abstract

This paper discusses the potential of the notions of reification and consensualization as developed by the theory of social representations as analytical tools for addressing the communication between the lay and scientific spheres. Social Representations Theory started by offering an over-sharp distinction between the reified and the consensual universes of which science and common sense, respectively, were presented as paradigmatic. This paper, however, suggests that the notions of consensual and reified can be considered as describing two distinct communicative formats: reification implying the use of arguments which establish prescriptions for representations and action, and consensualization relying on arguments which recognize the heterogeneity of representation and action. We illustrate this proposal through the analysis of a case in which the expert and the lay spheres of a Lisbon neighborhood opposed each other regarding the new laws of public participation in community matters. This analysis showed how reification and consensualization can be used as discursive strategies by both spheres. The implications of the use of reification and consensualization as communicative formats and how they may depend on several power resources and have different impacts on change are discussed.Keywords: communicative formats; consensualization; power relations; reification; social representation About the authors SUSANA BATEL is a Ph.D. student at the Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e da Empresa (ISCTE), in Lisbon, Portugal. She is currently looking at how the relationships between expert and lay systems impact on public participation and on the preservation and rehabilitation of urban environments. She is interested in both social psychology and environmental psychology, and in the relations between identity, social representations and discourse and their impact on social change. PAULA CASTRO is Associate Professor at Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e da Empresa (ISCTE), Lisbon, Portugal. She is a social psychologist interested in examining the socio-psychological processes involved in the reception of techno-scientific and legal innovation by individuals and communities. She has published in international journals such as "Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology", "Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour" and "Environment and Behaviour". Kronberger & Seifert, 2002;Moscovici, 1993). However, it has also been remarked that the theory needs to more extensively examine the consequences of unequal power relations for the communication between the two spheres (Voelklein & Howarth, 2005;Campbell & Jovchelovitch, 2000). This would namely imply looking more closely at how power differentials shape the concrete transformations suffered by the innovative ideas, analyzing the direction of these transformations and whether they accelerate social change or slow it down (Castro & Batel, 2008;Voelklein & Howarth, 2005).In this paper we shall argue that although the TSR already has some es...

Scientific and non-scientific information in the uptake of health information: The case of Ebola

“…These arguments also show that nonscientific discourse is not devoid of scientific arguments and that the reified and consensual universes are not sharply differentiated. 13 Thus, our conceptual approach, premised on behaviour being informed by a host of social psychological factors in addition to scientific information, has provided a platform to examine public debate about the spread and containment of Ebola in Africa. From our findings, our recommendations for the planning and execution of future health intervention projects are as follows.…”

“…Moscovici's study shows that the three versions were framed and empowered by different representations 8 ( Table 1). Social representations theory proposes that communication between science and common sense or the 'reified' and 'consensual' universes, 13,14 can lead to pluralisation. The two formats, also referred to in risk perception literature as the analytical and the experiential 7 , are very distinct communicative formats which use different arguments and originate and enable different types of debates between spheres 14 .…”

Towards a better understanding of people’s responses to renewable energy technologies: Insights from Social Representations Theory

“…In other words, to better understand people's responses to RET it is crucial not only to examine how people re-present RET but also how this process is shaped by specific identities. However, more than that and as already suggested before, current research on publics' responses to RET would benefit from further integrating two particular tenets of SRT regarding the relation between social representations and identities and its impact on change and resistance to change: first, that social representations do not exist only within the lay sphere (Andreouli & Howarth, 2012) -developers, policymakers, experts, the media, also construct those and are usually more powerful in making their representations prevalent over those circulating within the lay sphere; which in turn, and, second, makes it crucial to consider that not all social representations are equally valued or have the same legitimacy in society (Batel & Castro, 2009). In turn, this adds a new layer to the analysis of social representations:…”

“…Namely, research should further analyse the communication between expert and lay spheres regarding RET targets and related public engagement laws, and the impact that the communication between these groups may have on each other (Andreouli & Howarth, 2012;Batel & Castro, 2009) and on specific public understandings of and responses to RET. Particularly, because the inter-group relations between those groups are still shaped by "institutionalized relations of knowledge and power" (Bickerstaff, Lorenzoni, Jones & Pidgeon, 2011, p.493) that can impact on public responses to RET, as will be further developed below.…”

“…They fail to connect the analyses of the macro processes involved in social change with the micro processes shaping, materializing and contesting it, in communication and discourse (Castro & Batel, 2008) (Giddens, 1979), that is, as an innovation process in contemporary societies (Bauer, 1995;Castro, 2012). Second, to give an account of the socio-psychological processes entangled in social change, specifically, the role played by the relation between representation, identities and communication in change and resistance to change (Batel & Castro, 2009;Howarth, 2006;Jovchelovitch, 2007).…”