2024/06/10 by Sabine Caillaud, Sofia Payotte · 1 voice
Psychology · Health Professions · #Cultural Differences and Values #Social Representations and Identity #Community Health and Development
paper · doi:10.1002/ejsp.3087
openalex publication_date 2024/06/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
Abstract Malnutrition gives rise to stigmatisation worldwide and is a pressing societal issue. Drawing on social representation theory and on the process of othering, a lexicometric analysis of Nepalese press articles ( N = 440) was conducted to explore if, and how, Othering of the malnourished is at play and how articles (re)construct the threat of malnutrition. The results indicate that Othering takes different forms depending on the threat the malnourished represent: (a) the malnourished in foreign countries are perceived as suffering from hunger due to a lack of social development and democracy whereas (b) the malnourished in Nepal are perceived as being afflicted because they hold traditional beliefs. However, (c) when the threat can be attributed to natural disasters, no negative attributes were associated with the malnourished in Nepal. This suggests that Othering is neither systematic nor monolithic. These findings illustrate how social psychology can address urgent societal questions while equally offering an opportunity for new theoretical developments.