Prefacio / Preface

The study of the diffusion of scientific knowledge on aids from the perspective of social representations takes an important role in the socialization of knowledge generated by science about the illness. The experimental and survey studies reported in this article focused on the influence of media, social interaction and different forms of diffusion of scientific knowledge about HIV/Aids on the informative dimension of social representations, summarizing research conducted by the Social Psychology of Communication and Cognition Laboratory (LACCOS). Results indicated that providing conditions for the individual to receive the message and giving him/her the possibility to have a position of towards it is fundamental for the acquisition of attitudes and knowledge that favor prevention practices. This implies promoting interaction between scientific and consensual representations in the frame of actions directed to the scientific popularization of aids.