Context Variations and Pluri-methodological Issues concerning the Expression of a Social Representation: the Example of the Gypsy Community

Abstract

Within the social representations' field of research, the "mute zone" hypothesis considers that some objects are characterized by counternormative content that people usually do not express in standard conditions of production. Within the framework of this approach, this study aims to explore the variations in the expression about the Gypsy community following the manipulation of different contexts and the issues associated with a pluri-methodological approach of data analysis. Indeed, two methodologies have been combined. The participants were asked to express themselves in public or in private. In addition, the identity of the experimenter was also manipulated as she presented herself as a Gypsy or not. Then, through a set of analyses based on a methodological triangulation approach, we were able to observe a recurrent modulation of the participants' answers. These analyses highlighted a greater incidence of the expression of counternormative elements when the context of expression was private and especially when the experimenter did not present herself as a Gypsy (p < .01, η p ² = .06). These results will be discussed in terms of the contribution of the methodologies employed and their comparison within the framework of the study of counternormative content.

The different representations of sparkling wine, convergences and divergences between designation in Brazil and France

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The Structure and Mute one of Social Representations Made by Members of the Municipal Council for the Rihts of the l

“…Lastly, in order to analyze the potential mute zone of the social representations, we employed the Substitution Technique (Abric, 2003), aiming at reducing normative pressure and decreasing the participant's level of personal involvement in relation to the representation of the object. In this phase, the participants were asked to explain their notions in relation to the inductive term "municipal council for the rights of the elderly" and, subsequently, to explain what society in general thinks (Chokier & Moliner, 2006;Oliveira & Costa, 2007;Piermattéo, Monaco, Moreau, Girandola, & Tavani, 2014).…”

Self‐affirmation, political value congruence, and support for refugees

“…Participants listed five behavioral intentions that they had toward refugees and five behavioral intentions that they believed that French people in general had toward refugees. The second, group-level measure of behaviors intentions (i.e., French people in general) was intended to reduce social desirability biases in people's responses (Piermatt eo, Lo Monaco, Moreau, Girandola, & Tavani, 2014). It is important to note that, under some conditions, individuals may not express negative attitudes toward social groups due to concerns about social desirability and/or political correctness (Crandall & Eshleman, 2003;Guimelli & Deschamps, 2000).…”