Representaciones sociales de la ciencia y la tecnología

Abstract

This article attempts to renovate the traditional approach that public understanding of the technoscience field has assigned to the so-called «social perception of science and technology». For that reason it takes into account the notion of social
representations and makes a critical review of the arguments and empirical evidence that have constituted their three essential main ideas: wide positive evaluation of these subjects in public opinion, a high interest in them, and the existence of
a linear causal link between the level of education and the acceptance and support given to technoscience. The article ends by suggesting an alternative model to the traditional approach which links the plurality of social representations of science
and technology with the different social contexts.