Social representations of psychology students about madness

• Published in: Psi Unisc Vol. 1; no. 1; pp. 60 - 73
• Main Authors: Adriano Schlosser, Gabriel Fernandes Camargo Rosa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Universidade de Santa Cruz do Sul (UNISC) 01-07-2017
• Subjects: Loucura. Representação social. Psicologia
• ISSN: 2527-1288
• DOI: 10.17058/psiunisc.v1i1.9541

Among the several studies in Social Representation, the madness has been highlighted, having several forms of understanding throughout history. This article analyze the social representations of psychology students about madness. Fifty students from an institution of Higher Education participated in the study, being twenty of five participants from the group of beginners of the course and twenty of five from the group of conclusion, for comparative purposes between the data raised. The focal group technique was used as a research tool for data collection. The speeches were transcribed and organized according to categories established later, using as a method for the interpretation of data the technique of discourse analysis. Various notions about what is really madness have been observed, with the media being the main vehicle for representations by the incoming academics, while the students base their perceptions on two distinct theoretical poles, being the psychopathological field and the social field.