Research Handbook on Social Representations

This forward-thinking Research Handbook highlights cutting-edge theoretical and methodological advances in social representations research. It outlines how we interpret and make sense of the various aspects of our physical and social environment, and the consequences of these phenomena.Drawing on social representation theory, the Research Handbook examines the emergence, stability and dynamics of social representations over time, as well as the way controversies are structured around objects that social groups perceive. Expert scholars from Europe, North America and South America investigate contemporary approaches, highlighting the role of otherness and how it is incorporated into the individual formation and expression of representations. They also discuss modern research procedures, such as the automatic scanning of texts and images, discourse and network analyses and sophisticated questionnaire and data processing techniques.The Research Handbook’s up-to-date overview of social representations, along with its directions for future research, makes it a vital resource for scholars and students of social psychology and sociology. Researchers in the social sciences will also benefit from its valuable insights.