Chapter 10 - Social Representations as Unique Phenomena:

Summary

10. Although many researchers acknowledge that the theory of social representations and communications is concerned with unique, dynamic, and complex phenomena, the study of these phenomena poses exacting theoretical and methodological questions. Theoretically, the uniqueness of the triadic model Ego–Alter–Object affirms that social representations can be grasped only in their unrepeatable movements and transformations. Methodologically, social representations cannot be studied by decomposing the unique whole into elements and analysing it using traditional statistical techniques. Instead, they must be examined as single cases using a comprehensive approach, that is, studying them as the bounded wholes in real-life events, treating them as open-ended, and analysing them through multiple techniques.

Although the concepts of dynamics and complexity figured very early in Moscovici’s thoughts, they are only now becoming incorporated into theoretical and empirical studies of social representations. Since the concepts of uniqueness, dynamics, and complexity are indispensable in the study of complex life events, advancements in the theory of social representations and communication may impact on human activities in many spheres of life, such as sciences, arts, professions, and daily experiences.