Social representations of justice as developing structures

BARREIRO, ALICIA

Social representations for the anthropocene: Latin American perspectives

Springer Nature

Año: 2021; p. 125 - 144

The research work presented in this chapter complements the methodological and theoretical approaches of social psychology and developmental psychology. Both disciplines study the same phenomena, but developmental psychology is focused on individuals whereas social psychology follows a collective approach. Although research would be enhanced by complementing both perspectives, this has been the exception rather than the rule. Hence, we will present a set of studies aimed at understanding the sociogenesis and ontogenesis of social representation (SR) of justice, as well as the relations between the two processes. According to previous studies, people tend to deny inequality and to justify unjust social systems. It is relevant to study how justice is represented in the by Argentinian society, because the positionings towards social order -acceptance or contestation- are usually organized along the SR of justice. Specifically, we analyzed the sociogenesis of SR considering the media’s diffusion, and the particularities of the objectification and anchorage process according to power relations in an unequal social context and individual’s ideological positionings. In the same vein, we analyze the appropriation process of such SR by individuals during childhood and adolescents, focusing on the cognitive mechanisms that may be involved, as well as in the possibilities set by the development of thought.