Studying the Transformation of a Social Representation: The Case of Physicians in Televised Media

Abstract

This thesis presents a methodology for, and a case study of, the transformation of a social representation. The basis of the thesis is derived from an understanding of representations as a complex, dynamic, pluralistic phenomena that both exist in time and draw their form and meaning from past and present knowledge(s). We are guided by an interest in understanding how one might study a social representation that is already an entrenched social phenomena and how one might go about studying such an entity in a systematic fashion over time. We devised a method through which data can be aggregated over a bound, measurable unit of time and analyzed systematically into core and peripheral systems, allowing for the study of transformation of representation of long duration. Our methodology thus embeds social representations in particular historical, temporal moments in order to assess the structural formation of the representation. To assess the applicability of our methodology, we undertook a study of the social representation of physicians in televised medical dramas. The case of the physician was selected because of their existence as a known social phenomenon of long-duration with a prominent, continuous social presence. In our exploration of this case, we sought to answer two questions. The first asks, ‘what is the social representation of the physician as presented in televised medical dramas’, while the second queries is ‘if and how this social representation has changed over time’. We present thus not only the identification and transformation of a representation, that of the physician, but we also offer a methodology with which to do so. Our methodology demonstrates that exploring representations in the past as a way to study the transformation of social representation has potential to generate new knowledge about old things. While the study of newly emerging phenomena presents an ideal time to study social representations, the study of older representations offers the opportunity to better understand how knowledge is created, changed, and re-created.