Social Representations of Intelligence

The article stresses the relationship between Explicit and Implicit theories of Intelligence. Following the line of common sense epistemology and the theory of Social Representations, a study was carried out in order to analyze naive’s explanations about Intelligence Definitions. Based on Mugny & Carugati (1989) research, a self-administered questionnaire was designed and filled in by 286 subjects. Results are congruent with the main hyphotesis postulated: A general overlap between explicit and implicit theories showed up. According to the results Intelligence appears as both, a social attribute related to social adaptation and as a concept defined in relation with contextual variables similar to expert’s current discourses. Nevertheless, conceptions based on “gifted ideology” still are present stressing the main axes of Intelligence debate: biological and sociological determinism. In the same sense, unfamiliarity and social identity are reaffirmed as organizing principles of social representation. The distance with the object -measured as the belief in intelligence differences as a solve/non solve problem- and the level of implication with the topic -teachers/no teachers- appear as discriminating elements at the moment of supporting specific dimensions.