Social Constructionism and Social Representation Theory

Abstract

This chapter considers how the perspectives of social constructionism and social representations theory can overlap and cross-fertilize more than was once recognized, when the study of change is at stake. This applies particularly to the study of meaning-making through practices and relations via social artifacts. Focusing on those scholars considered to be the main initiators and developers of these two perspectives in social psychology—Serge Moscovici and Kenneth J. Gergen—the authors analyze their works on different levels: meta-theoretical, theoretical, and methodological. Grounding their reasoning on research that they themselves and others have conducted on the two frameworks, mainly on aging in an aging society, the authors call for a further erasure of distinctions between the two. They conclude by suggesting a fruitful future enrichment of the dialogue and a reciprocal cross-fertilization that might overcome nominalistic barriers in the study of social knowledge, particularly where change and continuity are concerned.