Representations from the Past: Social Relations and the Devolution of Social Representations

Abstract

Psychological life is subject to the influence of a constructed and potentially reconstituted past, as well as to future anticipated outcomes and expectations. Human behaviour occurs along a temporal trajectory that marks the projects individuals adopt in their quests of human action. Explanations of social behaviour are limited insofar as they exclude a historical concern with human purpose. In this paper, we draw on Bartlett's notion of collective remembering to argue that manifest social relations are rooted in past events that give present behaviours meaning and justification. We further propose an epidemiological time-series framework for social representations, that are conceptualised as evolving over time and that are subject to a 'ratchet effect' that perpetuates meaning in a collective. We argue that understanding forms of social behaviour that draw on lay explanations of social relations requires a deconstructive effort that maps the evolutionary trajectory of a representational project in terms of its adaptation over time. We go on to illustrate our proposal visiting data that emerged in an inquiry investigating Maltese immigrants' perspectives towards their countries of settlement and origin. This data reveals an assimilationist acculturation preference amongst the Maltese in Britain that seems incongruous with the current climate of European integration and Maltese communities in other countries around the world. We demonstrate that a historical concern with regard to this apparent behaviour helps explain how Maltese immigrants to Britain opt for certain forms of intercultural relations than others that are normally preferable. We demonstrate that these preferences rely on an evolved justification of the Maltese getting by with foreign rulers that other scholars have traced back to the medieval practice of chivalry.

Groups in contact: Meta‐representations, interobjectivity, and cultural incompatibilities

“…Such constellations also reflect a power differential where in most cases the majority is the more powerful sector of society. This may lead to the minority appropriating the majority's worldview to a degree over the years (Moghaddam, 2003, p. 226; Sammut, Tsirogianni, & Wagoner, 2012). While this may be true in many cases, there are exceptions to this rule when sections of the minority engage in boundary making (cf.…”

A Contingent Perspective on Pluralistic Ignorance: When the Attitudinal Object Matters

“…Thus, these results show the dynamic nature of representations. Some representations, especially when they are shared, serve as a framework for the interpretation of new objects (Sammut, Tsirogianni, & Wagoner, 2012). Within the SR approach, stable and uniform representations are defined as hegemonic.…”

What can Social Psychologists Learn from Architecture? The Asylum as Example

“…Although this is not without some theoretical and methodological tensions, many theorists on both sides see the commonalities between the two disciplines (see, for example, Knights, and Marková, ), and some interesting papers have considered this more empirically (e.g. Sammut, Tsirogianni and Wagoner, on Maltese immigrants to the UK).…”

“…example, Knights, 2012 andMarková, 2012), and some interesting papers have considered this more empirically (e.g. Sammut, Tsirogianni and Wagoner, 2012 on Maltese immigrants to the UK).…”

“…Other ways, then, are also needed if we are to try to access representations in the past, and to consider how they relate to our current understandings. 2 There are, of course, many excellent examples of the use of different sources to further our understanding of representation and understandings in the past: De Rosa's (1987) classic study of representations of mental illness compared modern drawings with those dating back to medieval times, showing a number of enduring themes; Glȃveanu (2012) examines folk art; others still draw on historical documents or newspaper/other media sources from the past (Brondi et al, 2012;Jodelet, 1991;Sammut et al, 2012). In this paper, I would like to examine the potential utility of examining architecture, and argue that social psychologists of knowledge might find it helpful to explore architectural history in more depth.…”