This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Iba'-nez, T. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Constructing a Representation or Representing a Construction?

Universitat Aut6Noma De Barcelona, ILPS4{at}CCUAB1.UAB.ES

While acknowledging that Serge Moscovici's theory of social representations has impinged positively upon contemporary social psychology, a critical analysis is developed using the basic assumptions of this theory to make salient its shortcomings. The ontological status of `social representations' is discussed and the conclusion is that there is nothing in our societies which can be described as being a social representation. From a social constructionist viewpoint, inspired by Kenneth Gergen, it is argued that we neither construct representations nor do we represent constructions. People do not live in a world of representations but in a world of discursive productions. After examining the implications of the `constructive loop' conveyed by the theory of social representations, a critical look is directed towards the `ideology of representation' as one of the most pervading ideologies of our time. Finally, it is alleged that the split between `person as a thinker' and `person as a doer' is deeply embedded in contemporary social psychology.

Theory & Psychology, Vol. 4, No. 3, 363-381 (1994)
DOI: 10.1177/0959354394043005


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. J. Gergen Emerging Challenges Redux Theory Psychology, February 1, 2000; 10(1): 23 - 30. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. Yardley Reconciling Discursive and Materialist Perspectives on Health and Illness: A Reconstruction of the Biopsychosocial Approach Theory Psychology, August 1, 1996; 6(3): 485 - 508. [Abstract]