Free Association Analysis as a Practical Tool for Understanding the Image of the Psychotherapist

Représentations sociales de la maladie : comparaison entre savoirs « experts » et savoirs « profanes »

This study tests a new integration of central core theory with subjective group dynamics theory. Specifically, we hypothesized that the type of opinions shared within a group (central vs. peripheral; i.e. central core theory) can moderate the typical processes of the black sheep effect (i.e. subjective group dynamics theory). Our study focused on students expressing opinions with regard to their social representation ofstudying. We predicted that an in‐group member expressing an opinion against central opinions of the group (but not against peripheral ones) would be judged more negatively than an out‐group member expressing the same opinion. In line with central core theory, the results showed that central opinions, but not peripheral opinions, lead to the typical processes of the black sheep effect. Our findings show that the central elements of a social representation are key to defining the social identity of a group. Future research should thus focus on understanding the socio‐representational nature of cognitions involved in intra‐group and inter‐group relations.

ABSTRACTObjective:to compare the social representations of professional nurse autonomy produced by first and last-period undergraduate nursing students. Method:qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study, based on the structural approach of social representations, the Central Core Theory, carried out with 171 students from three federal public universities, using the free association technique on the object “professional nurse autonomy”. The data were submitted to EVOC 2005 software and to similarity analysis. Results:care was the central core of the representational structure identified among the students of the first period. Among last-period students, knowledge stood out as a core element. The term responsibility was identified as common to both central cores. Conclusion:regarding professional autonomy, the results point to an overlapping process of the reified and consensual universes during the undergraduate course. However, responsibility, inherent in the profession, remains cross-sectional. For the first period students, autonomy is resignified in a practical and attitudinal way, whereas for the last period students, the knowledge acquired stimulates them to assign meaning to professional autonomy with a cognitive and attitudinal representation. The data can support the use of innovative teaching practices in nursing undergraduate courses.

Research on social representations (SRs) has often focused more on categorical than narrative-based representations. However, narratives are considered to play a key role in the organization of social representations. This paper describes an empirical study of some 2,000 creative narratives about HIV written by young Africans from five countries between 1997 and 2014 and examines the theoretical, methodological and applied relevance of SRT for this study and the implications of the study for the intersection between narrative and SRT. The study is unusual within the SR paradigm: it is temporal and cross-national; addresses a subject whose science has evolved over time; and uses creative narratives as its data source. A narrative perspective foregrounds holistic understandings of SRs as systems of thought. Creative narratives fit well within an SR framework. Our triangulating methodologies foreground categorical or narrative dimensions depending on the objectives of specific sub-studies. Central Core Theory provides a framework to articulate stability and change within narrative representations. In creative narrative, objectification also happens at the level of plot and characters, such that dominant cultural narratives can be viewed as a form of hegemonic SR. We link with health communication and embrace more critical streams within SR research.

Introduction: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a social and public health problem that profoundly impacts women's lives. Nursing professionals, as the first point of contact within the health system, play a key role in detecting and addressing this phenomenon. However, their social representations (SR) of IPV and the care provided can influence the quality of interventions. Objective: To understand the SR of nursing professionals regarding the care of women victims of IPV in the city of Medellín. Method: A qualitative study conducted between 2021 and 2022, based on the SR Theory with a procedural approach. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with nursing professionals with over five years of experience, selected through convenience and snowball sampling. Data were analyzed using the constructivist approach of Charmaz's Grounded Theory. Results: The SR of nursing professionals reflect broad but stigmatizing perceptions of women victims, who are seen as fragile and dependent. The care provided is perceived as insufficient due to institutional barriers and a lack of specific training, although active listening and emotional support are recognized as central strategies. Conclusions: Transforming these SR through formative and reflective processes is essential to promote comprehensive and humanized care. Furthermore, it is necessary to strengthen policies and protocols that expand the role of nursing professionals in the integral care and long-term follow-up of women victims.

Objective:to analyze social representations from the perspective of the structural aspect about the nurses’ approach to children and adolescents who are victims of violence, comparing primary, secondary and tertiary health care services.Method:an analytical research study with a qualitative approach under the methodological theoretical framework of the Theory of Social Representations from the Central Core Theory. A total of 76 nurses participated in the study: 30 from primary care, 16 from secondary care and 30 from tertiary care. A semi-structured interview was applied using a pre-defined script and similarity analysis using the Interface of R pour les Analyses Multidimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaires software.Results:structurally, the maximum tree revealed the central core in the upper right quadrant, the first peripheral zone in the upper left quadrant; the second peripheral zone in the lower left quadrant; and the silent zone in the lower right quadrant. The ten branches of the maximum tree emerged from the following terms: hit, leave, approach (n), receive, approach (v), remember, tell, spend, pass, caution, mom.Conclusion:the social representations on the nurses’ approach in primary, secondary and tertiary care health services evidenced common points as for the lack of notification, transfer of responsibilities, weakness in identifying situations of violence and the need for training.

The present paper is a review of the theoretical advances and empirical findings related to social representations according to the structural approach, a research stream that aims at studying the influence of social factors in thinking processes through the identification and characterization of relationship structures. The presentation of the approach begins with the baseline definitions of social representations according to a structural approach, moving on to an overview on the nature of representation elements, the relationships between representations and practices, cognitive scheme dimensions, central core theory, representation transformations and interaction context effects. In addition to positioning ourselves concerning polemic topics during the review, in the final section we evaluate briefly the current state and future perspectives of structural research on social representations, mostly addressing the problem of defining consensus, the difficulty of characterizing a collective construct from individual data, and the secondary importance of content in structural laws.

Daily, teachers are faced with situations of violence and demands in the school environment, in addition to the devaluation of the teaching work. These issues seem to produce more and more psychic suffering and, consequently, lead to the use of medication by some teachers. The objective of our research was to identify the social representations (SR) of the use of medication for the work of teachers according to elementary school teachers from the municipal network of Petrópolis - RJ. The study was carried out based on the theory of social representations (SRT), developed by Serge Moscovici, and on the central core theory (TNC), proposed by Jean-Claude Abric. 200 elementary school teachers who work in the municipal education network of that city participated in the research. As an instrument, we used a questionnaire that included a free association test, whose inducing term was 'use of medication for the teacher's work', in addition to exploratory questions on the theme and characterization of the participants. The data from this research were submitted to prototypical analysis, through the use of the EVOC 2005 software, in addition to descriptive analysis of the other data. The probable central core (NC) of the use of medications for the teacher's work included cognitions related to considering their use necessary (necessary) and to mental disorders and physical/mental symptoms (sadness, tiredness, anxiety and stress). The difficulties of the teaching work seem to be producing psychic suffering, and this is being increasingly medicalized.

Starting from the idea that social reality, including the educational reality, is the result of a permanent process of construction and reconstruction of meanings and practices, the study aims to explore the relationship between the teacher`s social representations of the child and socio-emotional development in the second childhood. Investigating these social representations, we can better understand teacher`s professional practice and perhaps even anticipate the course of child development on whom teacher actions are reflected. The study general hypothesis was: the content and structure of educator`s social representations of a child (CSR), influence the development of socio-emotional skills of preschool children by supporting the occurrence of teacher-child interaction of "emotional support" type. The research methodology was a mixed one, combining qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and processing (free association method, essay method, observation method, prototypical analysis, thematic coding). Research findings were: the CSR content and structure outlines a "picture" of the pre-school child with an active functional dimension of the core, with predominantly positive elements, supporting a teacher-child interaction of "emotional support" and, implicitly, socio-emotional development in preschool children. Also, preschoolers have shown higher levels of emotional abilities, especially emotional consciousness, emotional expression, and prosocial behavior in the groups identified with higher level of two dimensions of teacher-child interaction: socio-affective climate dimension and teachers sensitivity dimension. The research pointed out that there is a positive correlation between the level of socio-emotional development of preschoolers, the "emotional support" behavior of the teaching staff, and the structure and content of CSR.

EPA-1316 - New insights on studying of social representations towards illness

Abstract: Introduction: In a scenario of a great information availability, the production of scientific knowledge in medicine has been increasingly accelerated. The way the medical professional perceives and directs their acquisition of knowledge still lacks national studies, particularly in times of easily accessible internet. Objective: To analyze the social representations of physicians working in Primary Health Care (PHC) teams about self-directed learning. Method: This is a qualitative-quantitative study based on Moscovici’s Social Representations Theory, with a structural approach to Abric’s Central Core Theory, conducted in three municipalities of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on the subject, which were recorded and transcribed. The freely evoked words that emerged from the inducing term “medical self-learning” were analyzed with the aid of EVOC® software through the four-quadrant chart and CHIC® software analyzed the similarity. Content analysis was performed for the participants’ speeches. Results: Fifty interviews were carried out and the freely evoked words that possibly constitute the core of the representations were “knowledge”, “dedication”, “study”, “reading”, “need”, contrasting “research” and “book”. Conclusion: The results showed that the learners’ characteristics, practice as a learning locus as opposed to theory, associated with the time barrier, define the core content of the social representation of the participating physicians. In this assessed context, PHC reinforces its importance as a scenario for medical self-learning.

Abstract: Introduction: In a scenario of a great information availability, the production of scientific knowledge in medicine has been increasingly accelerated. The way the medical professional perceives and directs their acquisition of knowledge still lacks national studies, particularly in times of easily accessible internet. Objective: To analyze the social representations of physicians working in Primary Health Care (PHC) teams about self-directed learning. Method: This is a qualitative-quantitative study based on Moscovici’s Social Representations Theory, with a structural approach to Abric’s Central Core Theory, conducted in three municipalities of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on the subject, which were recorded and transcribed. The freely evoked words that emerged from the inducing term “medical self-learning” were analyzed with the aid of EVOC® software through the four-quadrant chart and CHIC® software analyzed the similarity. Content analysis was performed for the participants’ speeches. Results: Fifty interviews were carried out and the freely evoked words that possibly constitute the core of the representations were “knowledge”, “dedication”, “study”, “reading”, “need”, contrasting “research” and “book”. Conclusion: The results showed that the learners’ characteristics, practice as a learning locus as opposed to theory, associated with the time barrier, define the core content of the social representation of the participating physicians. In this assessed context, PHC reinforces its importance as a scenario for medical self-learning.

Chapter 23 - GASTRONOMY: A novel social representation of foods through consumers’ language

This study examines the core and outlying representational elements of healthcare constructed by Family Healthcare Program teams in Natal, Brazil, using the theory of social representations and the central core theory. The sample consisted of ninety healthcare practitioners working with this Program, with data collected through free word association, a questionnaire and focus groups. The core representation consists of attention/love and comfort, disclosing different understandings and showing that accumulated knowledge is supported by a view that is close to care-giving. However, traditional values and trivial connotations are maintained, hindering the implementation of more effective interventions in by this Program. The core composition indicated that any capacity-building efforts that try to modify attitudes - and thus the daily practice of these practitioners - must assign high priority to discussions on redefining these elements of attention/love and comfort. They must consider the set of mental, emotional, and practical elaborations as well as explanations arising from daily life that are introduced into the constitution of the social representations under examination, influencing choices and shaping the strategies used by practitioners to provide care.

Free association is a technique frequently used for the collection of social representations, notably in the structural approach. Two methods are commonly used for analysing the associations produced. The rank-frequency method, which cross-tabulates the frequency of an item with its appearance ranking; the importance-frequency method (or ranked associations), which replaces the appearance ranking criterion with an importance ranking criterion which consists in ranking a posteriori the elements named. We carried out a comparative analysis of these two methods based on a collection of free association corpora concerning the representations of cancer ( $$N = 55$$ ), palliative care ( $$N = 259$$ ) and academic success ( $$N = 138$$ ). The results indicate that many subjects (82.96 %) make changes to the spontaneously produced representation during the ranking of elements. These modifications directly affect the representational fields and the organisation of the representation. The a posteriori ranking of the representational elements allows the available knowledge on the object of representation to be re-contextualised and the accent to be placed on the functional aspect of the social element which is specific to social representations and not to prototypes.