Linking dynamic social impact theory to social representation theory: The emergence of social representations of aggression through electronic communication

Social representations consist of beliefs, values and norms that influence thought and behavior. Moscovici's Social Representation Theory provides an explanation for how social representations are formed, mutate, and survive, while Dynamic Social Impact Theory provides a framework by which to examine the emergence of macro-social phenomena from everyday communication (i.e., clustering, consolidation and continued diversity). Previous research has not examined, but has assumed, the processes by which social representations of aggression develop. The purpose of the present study was to examine social representations (SRs) of direct and indirect aggression and the process by which SRs emerge from interpersonal communication. Specifically, participants were randomly assigned to fixed addresses in an electronic social space and communicated with four of their nearest neighbors, for four weeks about direct and indirect verbal aggression. In the present study, most people agreed about the aggressiveness of direct responses whereas judgments about indirect responses were relatively varied.