Social representations

Open Access

Abstract

Drawing on Durkheim's terms collective and individual representations, the concept of social representations (SR) was developed by Serge Moscovici in 1961 in his study of everyday understandings of psychoanalysis in France. In the last 50 years SR has become an established field within social and cultural psychology. As a whole, this research demonstrates that social representations are systems of communication and social influence that constitute the social realities of different groups in society. They serve as the principal means for establishing the shared knowledge, common practices and affiliations that bind social members together (Duveen, 2001) and thereby act to support systems of inclusion and exclusion. [excerpt from the Introduction] ; N/A