Abstract

DOMINGUEZ GUTIERREZ, Silvia. The image of scientists from the television series The Big Bang Theory. A study with undergraduate students. Cultura representaciones soc [online]. 2020, vol.15, n.29, pp.453-489.  Epub Mar 07, 2022. ISSN 2007-8110.

The purpose of this work is to identify the image they share of the scientists featured in the television series The Big Bang Theory (sitcom). The study is based on the theory of social representations, since according to Moscovici (1979), social representations are an organization of images and language that personify or symbolize acts and situations and become common through different sources including the media. 297 students from the 6 thematic centers of the UdeG participated and answered a questionnaire with open questions, analyzed through a content analysis. A complex figurative nucleus was identified among the students’ responses in which the scientist’s image is based on his attributes or qualities in an ambivalent way: on the one hand, neutral qualities predominate, and on the other, there are negative attributes oriented towards stereotypes with which scientists are commonly associated. Most of the students report not identifying with any of the protagonists, and perhaps this is one of the possible causes, in combination with others, that weaken their conviction to profess a scientific discipline.

Keywords : image; scientists; university students; social representations; The Big Bang Theory (sitcom).

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