A systematic method for studying social representations: Argumentation analysis

The aim in this paper is to emphasise the potential contributions of argumentation analysis to the study of social representations. To achieve this goal, first some theoretical propositions and principles of the theory of social representations are summarized. This summary involves a typology of social representations (hegemonic, polemical, emancipated representations), as well as the three approaches to the study of representations (structural, genetic and dia-logical). After setting forth some points of convergence between the dialogical approach and argumentation theory, a framework which pragma-dialectical argumentation analysis can contribute to the identification of social representations is presented. The concluding section describes some of the basic assumptions of an argumentative method through which different types of representations can be systematically, accountably, repeatably and reliably identified.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Managing disagreement through yes, but… constructions: an argumentative analysis

The goal of this study is to examine the argumentative functions of concessive yes, but… constructions. Based on (N?=?22) interview transcripts, we examine the ways environmental activists negotiate their agreements and disagreements over climate change through yes, but… constructions. Starting from conversational analyses of such concessive sequences, we develop an account grounded in argumentative discourse analysis, notably pragma-dialectics. The analysis focuses on how in conceding arguments speakers re-present others’ discourse, what types of criticism they exercise through particular sequential patterns and which argumentative techniques they saliently use. We show in particular that, in disputing the standpoints supported by the complex argumentation they encounter, speakers raise different types of criticism (sufficiency, relevance, acceptability). We discuss how examining not only the sequencing of agreements and disagreements, but also the argumentative relations that generate these, may extend our understanding of such concessive constructions.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Climate change in the mainstream Turkish press: coverage trends and meaning dimensions in the first attention cycle

This article examines how climate change is represented by the mainstream press in a developing country context characterized by long-term avoidance of the issue. Study 1 establishes the issue coverage trends in two mainstream Turkish newspapers (1997-2013). Study 2 focuses on the news sections of these papers that were used for reporting about the issue in the first attention cycle (1997-2009) to summarize the knowledge and meaning dimensions presented to the Turkish public sphere. The findings show that the issue became part of the press agenda only after the mid-2000s, with a peak in 2007 (Study 1), and that climate change is represented as anthropogenic and alarming/uncontroversial, by drawing on dramatic consequences. These are constructed simultaneously as already out there in the country, and as to be dealt with globally, that is, from outside (Study 2). We discuss the findings by linking them to findings from other developing countries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Favorite battlegrounds of climate action: arguing about scientific consensus, representing science-society relations

This article examines how two conflicting views regarding science-society relations—science as the arbiter of truth and as a social endeavor—perpetuate a tension in the way scientific consensus and evidence are called upon in climate change debate. In our analysis of interviews with climate change campaigners, we employ argumentation theory and social representations theory to identify and account for three discursive strategies of responding to climate contrarian arguments: direct confrontation by dichotomous arguments, de-dichotomization by addressing background assumptions, and concession to minor scientific uncertainties. We discuss these strategies emphasizing the science-society relations evident in each.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The social and political psychology of globalisation and global identities

info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Theory and Method for the Analysis of Social Representations

none5Since its early conceptualization, the Social Representations Theory (SRT) has illuminated the mechanisms through which the media communication contributes in shaping the social thinking and transforming the varied objects of knowledge that characterize the flowing of everyday life into familiar ideas and concepts. The present chapter intends to enlarge the comprehension of the role of the media in the genesis, diffusion, and transformation of the social representations of compound issues that are relevant in the social arena. Precisely, it aims to shed light on the dynamic structures that connect the representational forms produced by the media discourses so as generating coherent and meaningful patterns of thoughts and cognitions. This main aim is pursued at a twofold level, both theories and methods. With concern to the former level, a theoretical bridge connects the notion of social representations and the concept of symbolic universes. Precisely, social representations are described as concrete “instantiations” of the abstract and generalized symbolic universes while the media discourses are presented as (one of) the communicative contexts into which important issues are represented in recursive patterns of meaning-making, e.g. social representations. At the same time, we contribute to the literature on the methodology to study social representations applying a combination of text mining techniques and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) to bridge textual and survey data.noneRochira, Alessia; Salvatore, Sergio; Veltri, Giuseppe A.; Redd, Rozlyn R.; Lancia, FrancoRochira, Alessia; Salvatore, Sergio; Veltri, Giuseppe A.; Redd, Rozlyn R.; Lancia, Franc