Introduction

This book is based on a simple idea. Authors of works on social representations (SRs) are often criticized for adhering to a consensual view of social reality. A simple inspection of the literature shows that many researchers use automatic data-analysis methods to study SRs. These methods, such as traditional factor analysis or correspondence factor analysis, all aim to elucidate organizing principles of differences between individual responses. We will recall this point throughout this book while showing how these analytic techniques enable us to illustrate and clarify various dynamics of SRs empirically.