La rappresentazione sociale del nemico pubblico e del nemico privato

the social representations of public enemy and private enemy were investigated on a sample of 100 participants, composed by four groups which were different from one another as to degree of involvement and interest in politics. data deriving from content analysis were submitted to statistical descriptive analysis (cluster analysis and analysis of correspondences) as well as to inferential analysis (MANOVA). the comparison between the two representations in the global sample demonstrates that the typical aspects of public enemy can be brought back to the ideas of criminality, war, ideological conflict, and political corruption. the private enemy is brought back to the affective and personal sphere and, in some cases, is identified in an interior presence.