TITLE:
Social Representations and Public Policy: Influence of the Distance from the Object on Representational Valence
AUTHORS:
Jimmy Bordarie, Sandrine Gaymard
KEYWORDS:
Social Representations, Distance from the Object, Valence, 30 kph, Acceptability
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.3 No.9,
September
30,
2015
ABSTRACT: Theory: Our research is based on the social
representations theory (Moscovici, 1961) [1] as an interpretation grid to
understand reality. These representations constitute a way to defend social
positions towards a social object. We are interested in the concept of distance
from the object (Abric, 2001) [2] to study individuals’ feelings towards a
social object. People can feel concerned and close to it, or not concerned and
distant from it. We assume this link impacts the representational elements’
valence. By applying it to the urban mobility public policy of 30 kph, we
inscribe it into an applied approach with the aim of helping urban planners,
politicians and associations to understand social acceptability of this
measure. Method: 129 young French drivers (mean age: 22.4; SD: 3.8; 78% are
women and 22% are men) replied to a questionnaire to determine the individuals’
distance from the object and the social representation of 30 kph. Results: A T
test highlights the significant influence of the distance from the object on
the representational elements’ valence. Depending on individuals’ feelings,
social representation is focused upon pro-social or negative aspects. Gender
seems to have a minor impact, whereas the regular mode of transport seems to
influence the representation. Applications: Our results clearly give
information to build efficient awareness campaigns (Bordarie & Gaymard,
2015) [3]. They can also provide indications for urban planners to implement 30
kph zones, highlighting the flexibility of practices (Bordarie & Gaymard,
2015) [4].