Ability climates in Europe as socially represented notability

Abstract

The objective of this research was to study whether ability climate was a useful construct in exploring the possible pattern by which abilities were valued in the countries and cultures of Europe. Based on Moscovici’s theory of social representations lists of famous and notable individuals published by the Wikipedia Encyclopedia were analyzed. In all, lists of 29 European countries representing 20,516 individuals perceived to be notable were subjected to a content analysis and a subsequent frequency analysis. The reliability of data derived from a database such as the Wikipedia will be discussed at length. Results suggested that as based on dominant ability clusters there appeared to exist three types of European ability climates: a uniform ability climate; a divergent ability climate, and a diverse ability climate; each of which was characterized by clusters of abilities that seemed to be particularly valued in a given European country. The possible implications of the result will be discussed.

Keywords:

• ability climate
• cultural patterns
• cultural clusters
• social representations
• fame
• notability
• gifted education
• implementation
• Wikipedia