Demonstrate how people draw on social representations in making sense Essay

Demonstrate how people draw on social representations in making sense of their career trajectories. Draw on theoretical and empirical work in your response - Essay Example tremendous impact from these social representations, such as the need to conform and identify with similar groups of people, to act within the context of rule systems, and to be shaped by human relationships in our decisions. Occupational pursuits structure a large part of people’s daily social relations. How, then, does one come to choose the path of one’s career? In this paper, we will explore this very question, using the concepts of social representation and examples drawn specifically from an interview conducted with Bryony, a 19-year-old second year university student (see Appendix for interview transcript). systems of values, ideas and practices with a two-fold function; first, to establish an order which will enable individuals to orientate themselves in their material and social world and to master it; secondly, to enable communication to take place amongst members of a community by providing them with a code for social exchange and a code for naming and classifying unambiguously the various aspects of their world and their individual and group history. (Foreword) A social representation, then, is a kind of social knowledge which is shared by individuals through communication. It is practical in the sense that it is aimed at mastering real problems and issues, and is situated within unmistakable contexts faced by different groups of people in different positions. The manner in which one happens to be living ultimately directs the extent along which identities and relations unfold, and essentially defines social representation. Moscovici argues that there is a connection between the self-directed individual’s choices and his notions of the family, institutions, and professional categories, which determines possibilities for action, and eventually the destiny of each individual as well as society as a whole (International Balzan Foundation, 2006). Individuals essentially organize their experiences in the social realm, in situational dynamics