Abstract

AIM, Marie-Anastasie; GOUSSE, Véronique; APOSTOLIDIS, Thémistoklis  and  DANY, Lionel. The study of social representations in children and adolescents: Lessons from a review of the literature. Estud. psicol. (Natal) [online]. 2017, vol.22, n.1, pp. 28-38. ISSN 1413-294X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.22491/1678-4669.20170004.

An ad hoc review of the existing literature concerning the study of social representations (SRs; Moscovici, 1961/1976) in children and adolescents was conducted in order to put forward theoretical and methodological proposals on the study and development of SRs, and to highlight future directions. The review was performed using the PsycINFO database (up to September 2016), and included 60 eligible works. While the main part of the work sample does not mention theoretical and/or methodological implications (41.7%), other contributions highlight the necessity to take into account: (a) the active role of children/adolescents as well as their social interactions in the creation of SRs, (b) the relevance of studying SRs in these populations for developing the theory of SRs, (c) the expression of SRs in children's everyday actions, (d) the use of suitable methods for children/adolescents, and (e) the link between the psychology of development and the theory of SRs.

Keywords : children; adolescents; social representations; review of the literature.

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