1) That Social Representations of disability within society are stable,
but not finite. The representations develop in relation to changes to
knowledge, culture and communication.
2) The use of Social Representation Theory is an important
psychological tool in understanding people’s perceptions of
disability and impairments because it focuses on the social
component of individual and inter-group representation processes.
3) The use of multi-methodologies to determine a set of Social
Representations is essential to corroborate and pin down the key
Chapter 5: The Whole Story
The Social Representations of Disability Michael Devenney
371
components of any Social Representation. This was very important
in this study because the storyboard materials were based on
imagination and the print media studies were based on assumed
facts. The Focus Groups were based on lived experiences. The
overlap between these data outcomes was quite significant in
qualitative terms and with some statistical underpinning. It is clear
that the living experience of disabled people is represented by the
Social Representations defined in this study. These Social
Representations may change. However it may be possible now to
track their development.
4) It has become clear that non-disabled people have different Social
Representations of born disabled people to those of acquired
disabled people. This is characterised by the underlying implication
that acquired disabled people are essentially ‘normal’ because they
were non-disabled before and that born disabled people are
actually different. This is an important psychological perception of
impairment and is reflected in the treatment and services offered to
born and acquired disabled people. For instance, acquired disabled
children rarely go to segregated schools.
5) There is a noticeable difference in the occupational groups. This is
most likely a consequence of knowledge base and training.
Ordinary people appear to have a much wider range of Social
Representations of disability than charity workers and medical
professionals. This is an encouraging sign. It appears that the
media has little or no impact on people’s Social Representations of
disability outside their normal schema of thought. The media will
have some influence but it is not reflected in the evidence of this
study.
6) There is an indication that images of disabled people produce more
emotive and elaborate storylines than written text about disabled
Chapter 5: The Whole Story
The Social Representations of Disability Michael Devenney
372
people. This may be because disability is often associated with
visual difference and aesthetics.
7) All of the Social Representations identified in this study both in the
storyboards and in the print media study were independently
identified by the disabled people in the Focus Groups. Therefore it
is reasonable to deduce that these Social Representations of
disability have a real material valence within society. This is an
important finding because it allows disabled people and other
professionals to focus their training, service developments and
academic work in a more strategic way