ABSTRACT
Initially used in an individualistic perspective, free association of words was adapted by social-psychologists as a means to identify shared conceptions of widely used notions such as intelligence, work, health and sickness. The way they proceed in treating such associations results in an objectification of a consensual apprehension of reality. Differences between individuals or between groups are rarely taken into consideration as evidenced in the examples we will present in this part of the book. Parts Two and Three will develop our views on the analysis of inter-individual and inter-group variations in the study of SRs.
