My last Assignment

For this last assignment i choose an article called "Active Minorities Psychology" of Serge Moscovici.

During the last four decades, two social psychological theories have had tremendous influence on a generation of researchers: the theory of social representations and the theory of active minorities. One scholar, Serge Moscovici, has developed these two theories, but they each lived independently and they were seldom confronted one another. Both theories aim to develop a dynamic perspective in the analysis of social reality and devote themselves to the understanding of social change. They are both interested in conflict which takes place in society and which may allow a reflection on the motivations for action, decision-making and change. Specifically, he pose the question concerning the epistemological relationship between these two theories. In order to answer this question, he first present the most important aspects of each theory and then reflect on their epistemological relationships.This article also presents a theoretical explanation of the dialectic between active minorities and majorities within a community based on our experience of psychosocial community practice. When assessing needs it is usual to detect contradictions between perceptions of problems by community members and the feelings they express about them. This gap establishes the differences between community needs as estimated by experts and those felt by the people. It also has a delaying and paralyzing effect for the participants. It is contended that the processes of naturalization and habituation are responsible for this phenomenon, their ideological nature leading to accept what is problematic as the way things are. Consciousness-raising and problematization are a way to overcome these contradictions, and through them, community organizations may become active minorities. However, contrary to what the study of social influence argues, this does not mean that the active minority always will move the majority, or vice versa; but there is a dialectic between them, in which power, understood as a relationship, plays a basic role. The notions of psychologization, denial, and conversion are analyzed to explain the tension produced and how it affects the perception of needs and the community's reaction to them.