Commentary on Joffe (1996) AIDS research and prevention: A social representation approach

Fife‐Schaw, Chris

doi:10.1111/j.2044-8341.1997.tb01886.x

Cited by 19 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Research in developing countries, including South Africa, has been slower in making the leap from individual level sexual behaviour to a more holistic view of sexuality that encompasses social, economic and cultural contexts as explanatory factors in the risk behaviours of young people. Despite a continued reliance on the narrow variables of knowledge, attitudes and behaviours which place HIV firmly at the individual level (Fife-Shaw, 1997;Leclerc-Madlala, 2002), there has been the emergence of some literature considering sexuality as opposed to sexual behaviour.…”

Section: Macphailmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenging dominant norms of masculinity for HIV prevention

MacPhail

2003

African Journal of AIDS Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Within South Africa there is a growing HIV epidemic, particularly among young heterosexual people. A recent report (NMF/HSRC, 2002) indicates that levels of HIV infection among young people aged 15-24 years are 9.3% although other studies in more specific locations have shown levels to be higher than this. One of the best means of developing successful and innovative HIV prevention programmes for young people is to enhance our understandings of youth sexuality and the manner in which dominant norms contribute to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Social norms of masculinity are particularly important in this regard, as the manner in which 'normal' men are defined such as through acquisition of multiple partners, power over women and negative attitudes towards condoms, are often in conflict with the true emotional vulnerabilities of young men. Given the strong influence of peer groups on young people and the belief that one of the solutions to behaviour change lies in peer renegotiation of dominant norms, there is the need to begin to investigate young men who challenge dominant norms of masculinity. It is in investigating their points of view that a platform for the deconstruction of stereotypical masculinities and the reconstruction of new norms can be formed. The paper begins to consider these counter normative ideas through highlighting the discussions of young South African men aged 13-25 years in focus groups and in-depth individual interviews conducted in Gauteng Province. It is apparent that among this group there are young men challenging normative views of masculinity in a manner that could be harnessed within HIV prevention initiatives.

show abstract

Section: Macphailmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenging dominant norms of masculinity for HIV prevention

MacPhail

2003

African Journal of AIDS Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although Moscovici (, p. xiii) defines a social representation as a “system of values, ideas and practices”, the latter element of this tripartite structure has been under‐researched relative to the former two. This has provoked criticism of SRT from those who believe the essential function of social psychology is to predict behaviour (Fife‐Schaw, ). SRT theorists counter by arguing that linear causal models over simplify and distort the complexity of social life, and that validly describing and interpreting social phenomena should take priority over narrow behavioural prediction (Joffe, ).…”

Section: How Can Embodiment Concepts Enrich Social Representations Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

Embodiment and the Construction of Social Knowledge: Towards an Integration of Embodiment and Social Representations Theory

O’Connor

2016

J Theory Soc Behav

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent developments in the psychological and social sciences have seen a surge of attention to concepts of embodiment. The burgeoning field of embodied cognition, as well as the long‐standing tradition of phenomenological philosophy, offer valuable insights for theorising how people come to understand the world around them. However, the implications of human embodiment have been largely neglected by one of the key frameworks for conceptualising the development of social knowledge: Social Representations Theory. This article seeks to spark a dialogue between Social Representations Theory and embodiment research. It outlines the position the body occupies in the existing theoretical and empirical social representations literature, and argues that incorporating concepts gleaned from embodiment research may facilitate a more comprehensive account of the aetiology of social representations. The value of analytic attention to embodiment is illustrated with reference to a recent study of social representations of neuroscience, which suggested that embodied experience can shape the extent to which people engage with certain topics, the conditions under which they do so, and the conceptual and affective content of the ensuing representations. The article argues that expanding Social Representations Theory's methodological and conceptual toolkit, in order to illuminate the interplay between embodied experience and social communication in the development of common‐sense knowledge, promises productive directions for empirical and theoretical advancement.

show abstract

“…Most of the existing psychological research into HIV/AIDS has focused on cognitive explanations which link individual knowledge, attitudes and beliefs to sexual practices (Abrahams et al ., 1998;Campbell, 2001;Sheeran et al ., 1999). Although this work has been valuable in providing important insights into the individual-level factors underlying safer sexual behaviours (Albarracín et al ., 2001;Sheeran et al ., 1999), even those working from within this cognitive paradigm have called for a wider understanding of the social relations and social environment in which sexual activity takes place (Fife-Schaw, 1997;Sheeran et al ., 1999). What is needed is an understanding of the 'lay', 'common sense' perspectives taken by different individuals when they try to understand this complex epidemic */and the relationship between these perspectives and an individual's risk-taking behaviour (Campbell, 2001).…”

Section: Social Representations Of Hiv/aids In Five Central European mentioning

confidence: 99%

Social representations of HIV/AIDS in five central European and eastern European countries: a multidimensional analysis

et al. 2004

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cognitive processing models of risky sexual behaviour have proliferated in the two decades since the first reporting of HIV/AIDS, but far less attention has been paid to individual and group representations of the epidemic and the relationship between these representations and reported sexual behaviours. In this study, 494 business people and medics from Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Poland and Russia sorted free associations around HIV/AIDS in a matrix completion task. Exploratory factor and multidimensional scaling analyses revealed two main dimensions (labelled 'Sex' and 'Deadly disease'), with significant cultural and gender variations along both dimension scores. Possible explanations for these results are discussed in the light of growing concerns over the spread of the epidemic in this region.

show abstract

Commentary on Joffe (1996) AIDS research and prevention: A social representation approach

Cited by 19 publications

References 6 publications

Challenging dominant norms of masculinity for HIV prevention

Challenging dominant norms of masculinity for HIV prevention

Embodiment and the Construction of Social Knowledge: Towards an Integration of Embodiment and Social Representations Theory

Social representations of HIV/AIDS in five central European and eastern European countries: a multidimensional analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About