Projective methods in the study of social representations (on the example of the study of social representations about men)

The article presents projective methods as a qualitative strategy for the study of social representations. The work is aimed at analyzing the research potential of such projective techniques as free associations, psychological drawing and figurative associations in the social representations' structure and content research. The possibility of projective techniques systematic and comprehensive using, as well as their comparative advantages and limitations, is considered. Particular attention is paid to comparison of visual techniques with verbal ones (free associations and psychological drawing), and methodological techniques for their structured analysis. This perspective to the problem is relevant due to lack of such methodological studies. The theory of the central core and the peripheral system of social representations of J.-C. Abric, as well as the concept of the matrix core of P. Moliner, is used as a methodological basis for the gained data analysis. The paper discusses the possibility of objective and structured data analysis of the drawing technique, according to the adapted scheme of P. Verges, and a "qualitative" view to the rank approach in visual methods. As an additional method of data collection the figurative associations' method is proposed, combining verbal and nonverbal empirical data. Results allow us to describe the content and structure of social representations, using the case of social representations about men. Interpretation techniques of psychological drawing method and figurative associations' method are proposed. The comparative analysis of verbal and visual tools reveals the research potential, capabilities, limitations of each method, and their combination with each other when working with social representations.