Social Representations of the Body: Theory, Facts and Commentary (Part 2)

The purpose of the study was to identify social representations of the body in two age groups. The sample consisted of the respondents from the two generations (N= 294 people: 191 women aged 18 to 62 years and 103 men aged 18 to 60 years). The respondents had different levels of education, occupation, family status, different social practices (sport activity/absence of sport activity, presence/absence of body modifications). The main method of the study was a survey. Based on the previous stages of the study, 28 bipolar scales were formulated to assess the objects “own body”, “female body”, “male body” in two age groups of women. And 29 bipolar scales for evaluating the objects “own body”, “male body”, “female body” — in two age groups of men. The obtained results demonstrate the normative image of the body in the groups of women and men (female and male, respectively), there are no significant differences in the body representations as a matter of different social practices in relation to the body. In the group of males no differences in the representations of the body were found in the two age groups; in the group of females, differences were found only with regard to the representation of the female body.

1. Bovina I.B., Dvoryanchikov N.V., Melnikova D.V., Lavreshkin N.V., Budykin S.V. Telo: s pozitsii teorii sotsial’nykh predstavlenii [Body: Social-Representational Regard] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologiya i parvo = Psychology and Law, 2023. Vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 191–206. doi:10.17759/psylaw.2023130114 (In Russ.).
2. Dvoryanchikov N.V., Melnikova D.V., Belova E.D., Bovina I.B. Sotsial’nye predstavleniya o tele: teoriya, fakty i kommentarii (Chast’ 1) [Social Representations of the Body: Theory, Facts and Commentary (Part 1)]. Psikhologiya i pravo = Psychology and Law, 2024. Vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 219–238. doi:10.17759/psylaw.2024140316 (In Russ.).
3. Kon I.S. Muzhskoe telo v istorii kul’tury. Moscow: Slovo, 2003. 432 p. (In Russ.).
4. Tkhostov A.Sh. Psikhologiya telesnosti. Moscow: Smysl, 2002. 287 p. (In Russ.).
5. Berri B. Bousfield A.B.S., Silva J.P., Giacomozzi A.I. Representaciones sociales del cuerpo para personas con discapacidad física. Ciencias Psicológicas, 2020. Vol. 14, no. 2. doi:10.22235/cp.v14i2.2322
6. Bovina I., Dvorianchikov N., Melnikova D., Lavreshkin N. Social Representations of Body: A Comparison in The Two Generations of Russian Women (Results of an Exploratory Study). International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education, 2022. Vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 185–195. doi:10.23947/2334-8496-2022-10-2-185-195
7. Breakwell GM. Identity and social representations. In R. Jaspal, G.M. Breakwell (Eds). Identity Process Theory: Identity, Social Action and Social Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014, pp. 118–134. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139136983.010
8. Camargo B.V., Goetz E.R., Bousfield A.B. S., Justo A.M. Representações sociais do corpo: estética e saúde. Temas em Psicologia, 2011. Vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 257–268.
9. Camargo B. V., Wachelke J. The study of social representation systems: relationships involving representations on aging, AIDS and the body. Papers on Social Representations, 2010. Vol.19, pp. 21.1–21.21.
10. Costalat-Founeau A.M., Picot M.C., Hauchard D., Klimekova M., Favier F. Représentation du corps et de l’alimentation chez une population de femmes de plus de 75 ans. Papers on Social Representations, 2002. Vol. 11, pp. 4.1–4.20.
11. de Rosa A.S., Holman A. Social representations of female-male beauty and aesthetic surgery: a cross-cultural analysis. Temas em Psicologia, 2011.Vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 75–98.
12. de Souza-Filho E.A., Beldarrain-Durandegui A. The contextual analysis in social representations of the body among ethnic groups in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Universitas Psychologica, 2009. Vol 8, no. 3, pp. 771–783.
13. Flament S., Rouquette M.-L. Anatomie des idées ordinaires. Paris: Armand Colin, 2003. 176 p.
14. Goetz E.R., Camargo B.V., Bertoldo R.B., Justo A.M. Representação social do corpo na mídia impressa. Psicologia & Sociedade, 2008. Vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 226–236. doi:10.1590/S0102-71822008000200010
15. Herzlich C. A journey in the field of health: From social psychology to multidisciplinarity. Journal of Health Psychology, 2018. Vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 386–396. doi:10.1177/1359105317709474
16. Jodelet D. The representation of the body and its transformations. In Farr R., Moscovici S. (eds.). Social Representations. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,1984, pp. 211–238.
17. Joffe H. The self-control ethos. In G. Sammut, E. Andreouli, G. Gaskell, J. Valsiner (Eds.). Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology. The Cambridge Handbook of Social Representations. Cambridge University Press, 2015, pp. 369–384.
18. Moscovici S. La psychanalyse: son image et son public. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1976. 652 p.
19. Moscovici S., Vignaux G. Le concept de thêmata. In C. Guimelli (ed.). Structures et transformations des représentations sociales. Paris: Delachaux et Niestlé, 1994, pp. 25–72.
20. Secchi K., Camargo B.V., Bertoldo R.B. Percepção da Imagem Corporal e Representações Sociais do Corpo. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 2009. Vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 229–236. doi:10.1590/s0102-37722009000200011
21. Silveira A., Camargo B., Giacomozzi A. Social Representations of the Body and Bodily Care Practices of Older Adults. Psico-USF, Bragança Paulista, 2021. Vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 279–290. doi:10.1590/1413-82712021260207
22. Souza S.C.S.D., Ribeiro R.D., Polli G.M., Wanderbroocke A.C. Social representations of the body and health for physically active and inactive individuals. Trends in Psychology, 2019. Vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 961–975. doi:10.9788/TP2019.4-10