Socially situated thought and behaviour are pervasive and vitally important in human society. The social brain has become a focus of study for researchers in the neurosciences, psychology, biology and other areas of behavioural science, and it is becoming increasingly clear that social behaviour is heavily dependent on shared representations. Any social activity, from a simple conversation to a well-drilled military exercise to an exquisitely perfected dance routine, involves information sharing between the brains of those involved. This volume comprises a collection of cutting-edge essays centred on the idea of shared representations, broadly defined. Featuring contributions from established world leaders in their fields and written in a simultaneously accessible and detailed style, this is an invaluable resource for established researchers and those who are new to the field.

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A collection of cutting-edge contributions on the idea of shared representations - information sharing between the brains of those involved.

There are currently a large number of historical, philosophical, political and judicial studies on human rights. However, a thorough social psychological analysis of their intervention in social relations, extending across national and cultural boundaries, has not been available. This book fills that gap, providing a detailed examination of the foundations of human rights principles, the sources of their universality and their limitations. Using the tools of social representation theory, Willem Doise examines human rights as guiding ideas which can provide institutionalized standards. He then explores how these standards can be used to evaluate the relationship of individuals with authorities and with each other. Essential reading for scholars and students studying social representation theory and human rights, it will also be of great interest to those working more generally in the fields of psychology, sociology and anthropology.

Common sense, by definition, is familiar to us all. Science, for some of us, is more remote, yet it is not always clear what the connections are between these two ways of seeing the world. In this title, originally published in 1993, the author explores several related themes in social psychology to elucidate the way we understand the social construction of knowledge and the means by which we change social reality. From the perspective of a critique of social representations theory, the author argues that this necessitates a change of viewpoint from the individualistic and mechanistic assumptions of Cartesian science to the social and evolutionary perspective of a Hegelian framework. This not only emphasizes the cultural and historical dimensions of social phenomena but also illuminates the social and dynamic nature of individuals. As a consequence, the discipline of social psychology must itself be transformed, recognizing the active participation of scientists in the social construction of scientific knowledge. This title will be of interest to those working in social psychology, history and philosophy of science, and sociology.

Serge Moscovici first introduced the concept of social representations into contemporary social psychology nearly forty years ago. Since then the theory has become one of the predominant approaches in social psychology, not only in Europe, but increasingly in the United States as well. While Moscovici's work has spread broadly across the discipline, notably through his contributions to the study of minority influences and the psychology of crowds, the study of social representations has continued to provide the central focus for one of the most distinctive and original voices in social psychology today.

Disability and Social Representations Theory provides theoretical and methodological knowledge to uncover the public perception of disabilities. Over the last decade there has been a significant shift from body to environment, and the relation between the two, when understanding the phenomenon of disabilities. The current trend is to view disabilities as the outcome of this interaction; in short from a biopsychosocial perspective. This has called for research based on frameworks that incorporate both the body and the environment. There is a great corpus of knowledge of the functions of a body, and a growing corpus of environmental factors such as perceptions among specific groups of persons towards disabilities. However, there is a lack of knowledge of the perception of disabilities from a general population. This book offers an insight into how we can broaden our understanding of disability by using Social Representations Theory, with specific examples from studies on hearing loss. The authors highlight that attitudes and actions are outcomes of a more fundamental disposition (i.e., social representation) towards a phenomenon like disability. This book is written assuming the reader has no prior knowledge of Social Representations Theory. It will be of interest to all scholars, students and professionals working in the fields of disability studies, health and social care, and sociology.

The Anthropocene has become a field of studies in which the influence of human activity on the Earth System and nature is both the main threat and the potential solution. Social Representations Theory has been evolving since the 1960s.It links knowledge and practice in everyday life and is an effective way to deal with systemic crises based on common sense. This book assembles key contributions by Latin American scholars working with social representations in the social sciences that are of conceptual relevance to the study of the Anthropocene and that investigate the societal consequences of complex interrelations between common sense and topics of global relevance, such asthe contradictions of sustainable development, the construction of risks beyond risk-perception, health, negotiation and governance in the field of education, gender equality, the usefulness of longitudinal and systemic ethnography and case studies, and agency and the link between inequality, crises and risk society in the context of COVID-19, presenting theoretical and methodological innovations fromSpanish, Portuguese and Frenchresearchthat have rarely been available in English. • This is the first book to address the relevance of Social Representations Theory for the Anthropocene as a societal era• It presents the multidisciplinary scope of Social Representations• This book covers emerging research contributions in Social Representations Theory from Latin America• This book presents innovative research and commentaries by established researchers in the field• This multidisciplinary book should be in the libraries of many disciplines in the social sciences and humanities

A social representations approach offers an empirical utility for addressing myriad social concerns such as social order, ecological sustainability, national identity, racism, religious communities, the public understanding of science, health and social marketing. The core aspects of social representations theory have been debated over many years and some still remain widely misunderstood. This Handbook provides an overview of these core aspects and brings together theoretical strands and developments in the theory, some of which have become pillars in the social sciences in their own right. Academics and students in the social sciences working with concepts and methods such as social identity, discursive psychology, positioning theory, semiotics, attitudes, risk perception and social values will find this an invaluable resource.

Social Representations in the 'Social Arena' presents key theoretical issues and extensive empirical research using different theoretical and methodological approaches to consider the value of social representation theory when social representations are examined in real world contexts. This comprehensive text brings together international experts to explore the relevance of a variety of applications of social representation theory in both institutional and organizational settings, and discusses how social representation theory compares with other constructs of social psychology. Areas covered include: justice leadership health and mental illness intergroup relations identity politics environment and tourism economics. This book will appeal to a range of academic researchers and practitioners from a variety of fields who are concerned with the application of social representation theory to various contexts as a heuristic tool for addressing and understanding relevant societal issues faced with 'social demand'.