Mental representations of the economy : a key factor in economic progress

Pierre Vergès (1) , Jean-Marie Albertini (2) , Raymond Ryba (3)

1 LAMES - Laboratoire méditerranéen de sociologie
2 IRPEACS-CNRS - Institut de Recherche en Pédagogie de l'Economie et en Audiovisuel pour la Communication dans les Sciences Sociales - Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Ecully
3 University of Manchester [Manchester]

Europe faces a major tension between the pressures for a standardised world-wide economy and the cultural identities of its component countries, anchored firmly in the cultural identity and history of each European country. The concept of "social representation" enables us constructing a mental schematisation which take both economic phenomena and cultural values into account. Such representations of the economy have a marked effect of the interpretation of economic reality and directly influence behaviour. These representations are a form of knowledge which is not without importance for everyday life and which, in any case, conditions learning.

Mots clés: Mental representations; abstract; social representation; Europe; key factors; copernicus; cultural identities; Verges; Albertini; Ryba

Mots clés: représentations mentales; résumé; représentations sociales; facteur clé; identité culturelle

Domaines: Sociologie

Pierre Vergès, Jean-Marie Albertini, Raymond Ryba. Mental representations of the economy : a key factor in economic progress. 1996. ⟨halshs-03644509⟩