Disability and Social Representations Theory : The Case of Hearing Loss

Disability and Social Representations Theory provides theoretical and methodological knowledge to uncover the public perception of disabilities.

Over the last decade there has been a significant shift from body to environment, and the relation between the two, when understanding the phenomenon of disabilities. The current trend is to view disabilities as the outcome of this interaction; in short from a biopsychosocial perspective. This has called for research based on frameworks that incorporate both the body and the environment. There is a great corpus of knowledge of the functions of a body, and a growing corpus of environmental factors such as perceptions among specific groups of persons towards disabilities. However, there is a lack of knowledge of the perception of disabilities from a general population. This book offers an insight into how we can broaden our understanding of disability by using Social Representations Theory, with specific examples from studies on hearing loss. The authors highlight that attitudes and actions are outcomes of a more fundamental disposition (i.e., social representation) towards a phenomenon like disability.

This book is written assuming the reader has no prior knowledge of Social Representations Theory. It will be of interest to all scholars, students and professionals working in the fields of disability studies, health and social care, and sociology.

Vinaya Manchaiah, Au.D., MBA, Ph.D. is Jo Mayo Endowed Professor at the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas, USA. Dr. Manchaiah has worked in various clinical, teaching, research, and administrative roles. His research mainly focuses on improving the accessibility, affordability, and outcomes of hearing and balance disorders, by promoting self-management and using digital technologies.

Berth Danermark, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of Sociology and the former leader of The Swedish Institute for Disability Research (SIDR), Örebro University, Sweden. Within the field of disability research, Prof. Danermark focuses primarily on issues related to hearing and communication from a social, psychological, and sociological perspective. In collaboration with researchers in other disciplines, he has developed an interdisciplinary approach that interweaves a behavioral and social science perspective both technically and medically. Prof. Danermark is also currently working on issues related to interdisciplinary research and inter-professional collaboration.

Per Germundsson, Ph.D. is Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in Social Work at Malmö University, Sweden. Dr. Germundsson has many years of experience in working-life rehabilitation and education for people with disabilities. In recent years, he has focused, and researched, collaboration between professions and actors in the welfare state. He has participated in several evaluations of collaboration concerning children, young people, and disability.

Pierre Ratinaud, Ph.D. is Senior Lecturer in Sciences of Education at LERASS Laboratory, University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France. Dr. Ratinaud’s research focuses on the analysis of the dynamics of systems of social representations. He is also the main developer of the open source software Iramuteq, for statistical analysis of textual data.