Social Representations of Rights and Duties in Young Italians and Albanians

Abstract

Rights and duties are normative social representations that organize social interactions. In this article, representations of rights and duties were analyzed in Italy and Albania, focusing on their social anchoring in culture and values. Italians underlined the priority of their individual rights over duties to others. Conversely, Albanians defined rights as focusing on the protection of fundamental individual freedoms and defined duties emphasizing the responsibilities of the individual and the family. The anchoring in value-types shows that people who attach importance to individualistic values conceived of rights in a self-centered manner, while those who attach importance to egalitarian values underscored their personal responsibilities in rights and duties.