Abstract
The present study examines current social representations associated with the origins of the Great War, a major event that has profoundly affected Europe. A survey conducted in 20 European countries (N = 1906 students in social sciences) shows a high consensus: The outbreak of the war is attributed to the warring nations’ leaders while the responsibility of the populations is minimized. Building on the concept of social representation of history (Liu & Hilton, 2005), we suggest that the social representations of the Great War fulfill social psychological functions in contemporary Europe. We suggest that WWI may function as a charter for European integration. Their content also suggests a desire to distinguish a positively valued ingroup ("the people") from powerful elites, construed as an outgroup.
Highlights
The present study examines current social representations associated with the origins of the Great War, a major event that has profoundly affected Europe
What is the nature of this war that we are commemorating widely and that we consider so important? Or more precisely, what are the representations of WWI shared by contemporary young Europeans? To our knowledge, the question has never been addressed in social psychology
Using a social representational perspective, we showed that young Europeans represent the outbreak of the war in a similar way
Summary
The present study examines current social representations associated with the origins of the Great War, a major event that has profoundly affected Europe. We suggest that WWI may function as a charter for European integration Their content suggests a desire to distinguish a positively valued ingroup ("the people") from powerful elites, construed as an outgroup. A survey by Liu et al (2005) on the representations of World history showed that WWI was regarded as the second most important event in World history after World War II (see Bobowik et al, 2014; Hilton & Liu, 2008). Parallel to this perceived importance, numerous commemorations took place on the occasion of the Centenary of the war. History seems to be the only scientific discipline that addressed the social representations of WWI in a systematic way
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
