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Degree of Proximity in the Construction of Social Representations: The Case of Intelligence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Isabel Miguel ,
Joaquim Pires Valentim  and
Felice Carugati
Isabel Miguel*
Affiliation:
Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal)
Joaquim Pires Valentim
Affiliation:
Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal)
Felice Carugati
Affiliation:
Universitá di Bologna (Italy)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Isabel Miguel. Instituto de Psicologia Cognitiva, Desenvolvimento Vocacional e Social. Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal). E-mail: isabelmiguel@fpce.uc.pt
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Abstract

The present article is devoted to the empirical endeavor of studying the effect of the degree of proximity, defined by specific socio-educational insertions, on the organization of social representations of intelligence. A questionnaire was answered by a sample of 752 participants belonging to five different social categories with different degrees of proximity and knowledge about intelligence: mothers, fathers, mother-teachers and non-parent students (psychology and science students). The questionnaire included different topics, namely concerning the concept of intelligence, its development and the effectiveness of teaching procedures. Results show that the principles organizing the contents of representations are linked to the personal involvement in intelligence, on which subjects more or less implied take different positions. Results produced suggest, therefore, that the content of representations is directly linked to the activation of social roles and the salience of the object, reflecting the functional character that the organization of representations has to specific social dynamics.

El presente artículo está dedicado a la tarea empírica de estudiar el efecto del grado de proximidad, definido por las inserciones socio-educativas específicas, en la organización de las representaciones sociales de la inteligencia. Un cuestionario fue respondido por una muestra de 752 participantes pertenecientes a cinco categorías sociales diferentes, con diferentes grados de proximidad y conocimiento sobre inteligencia: madres, padres, madre-profesoras y estudiantes sin hijos (estudiantes de psicología y de ciencias). En el cuestionario se incluyeron temas diferentes, principalmente en lo que respecta al concepto de inteligencia, su desarrollo y la eficacia de los procedimientos de enseñanza. Los resultados muestran que los principios que organizan los contenidos de las representaciones están vinculados a la participación personal en relación con la inteligencia, en la cual individuos más o menos relacionados adquieren diferentes roles. Por lo tanto, los resultados obtenidos sugieren que el contenido de las representaciones está directamente conectado con la activación de los roles sociales y la relevancia del objeto, reflejando el carácter funcional que la organización de las representaciones tiene para las dinámicas sociales específicas.

Keywords

social representationsintelligencedegree of proximityrepresentaciones socialesinteligenciagrado de proximidad
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , November 2012 , pp. 1244 - 1258
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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