Research on social representations (SRs) has often focused more on categorical than narrative‐based representations. However, narratives are considered to play a key role in the organization of SRs. This article describes an empirical study of some 2000 creative narratives about human immunodeficiency virus written by young Africans from five countries between 1997 and 2014 and examines the theoretical, methodological and applied relevance of Social Representations Theory (SRT) for this study and the implications of the study for the intersection between narrative and SRT. The study is unusual within the SR paradigm: it is temporal and cross‐national; addresses a subject whose science has evolved over time; and uses creative narratives as its data source. A narrative perspective foregrounds holistic understandings of SRs as systems of thought. Creative narratives fit well within an SR framework. Our triangulating methodologies foreground categorical or narrative dimensions depending on the objectives of specific sub‐studies. Central Core Theory provides a framework to articulate stability and change within narrative representations. In creative narrative, objectification also happens at the level of plot and characters, such that dominant cultural narratives can be viewed as a form of hegemonic SR. We link with health communication and embrace more critical streams within SR research.

中文翻译：

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社会表征理论和非洲青年对人类免疫缺陷病毒/获得性免疫缺陷综合征的创造性叙述，1997-2014

对社会表征 (SR) 的研究通常更侧重于分类表征，而不是基于叙事的表征。然而，叙述被认为在 SR 的组织中起着关键作用。本文描述了对 1997 年至 2014 年间来自五个国家的年轻非洲人撰写的大约 2000 篇关于人类免疫缺陷病毒的创造性叙述的实证研究，并检验了社会代表理论 (SRT) 对本研究的理论、方法和应用相关性以及研究叙事和SRT之间的交集。这项研究在 SR 范式中是不寻常的：它是时间性的和跨国的；解决科学随时间发展的主题；并使用创意叙述作为其数据源。叙事视角突出了对 SR 作为思想系统的整体理解。创造性的叙述非常适合 SR 框架。我们的三角测量方法前景分类或叙述维度取决于特定子研究的目标。中心核心理论提供了一个框架来阐明叙事表征中的稳定性和变化。在创作叙事中，物化也发生在情节和人物层面，因此主导文化叙事可以被视为一种霸权SR。我们与健康交流联系起来，并在 SR 研究中接受更多关键流。