Kwan, John, Kenny, Bond, and Robins conceptualize self-enhancement as a favorable comparison of self-judgments with judgments of and by others. Applying a modified version of Kwan et al.’s approach to behavior observation data, we show that the resulting measure of self-enhancement bias is highly reliable, predicts self-ratings of intelligence as well as does actual intelligence, interacts with item desirability in predicting responses to questionnaire items, and also predicts general life satisfaction. Consistent with previous research, however, self-ratings of intelligence did not become more valid when controlling for self-enhancement bias. We also show that common personality scales like the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale reflect self-enhancement at least as strongly as do scales that were designed particularly for that purpose (i.e., “social desirability scales”). The relevance of these findings in regard to the validity and utility of social desirability scales is discussed.

Under år 2020 infördes restriktioner i Sverige då Covid-19 pandemin spreds över världen, distansarbete var en åtgärd som infördes för att minska smittspridningen. Detta medförde en stor omställning för många arbetstagare då de började att utföra sitt arbete på distans från hemmet. Studien ämnar skapa fördjupad förståelse för upplevelser av socialt samspel mellan kollegor under distansarbete till följd av covid-19. Studien avser också att undersöka hur kontorsarbetare beskriver samarbete och sociala relationer vid ensamarbete på distans samt att undersöka vilka utmaningar och möjligheter som kan identifieras i relation till begreppet emotionell energi då arbetet sker på distans. För att uppfylla studiens syfte har en kvalitativ studie med sju semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts. Det insamlade materialet har sedan analyserats med hjälp av tematisk analys där mönster och repetitioner eftersökts. Genom en abduktiv ansats har sedan ett växelspel mellan empiri och teori ägt rum under hela studiens gång, där det teoretiska ramverket bestående av Randall Collins (2004) interaktionsritualer och Erving Goffmans (2009) dramaturgiska perspektiv tillämpats för att få fördjupad förståelse för resultatet. Resultatet av studien påvisar att upplevelsen av distansarbete är individuell där kontorsarbetarna både upplever positiva och negativa effekter av distansarbete. När det gäller positiva upplevelser framkommer upplevelser av högre effektivitet då arbetstagarna blir mindre störda när de arbetar från hemmet. De negativa effekterna av distansarbete som framkommit berör främst det sociala samspelet då kontorsarbetarna inte träffar sina kollegor dagligen på arbetsplatsen, vilket haft en negativ inverkan på samarbete och sociala relationer mellan kollegor. Då distansarbetet skett under lång tid beskrivs en inverka över arbetsglädjen, kreativiteten och välmående hos arbetstagarna. Kontorsarbetarna påtalar en saknad av att inte träffa sina kollegor där de naturliga mötena i arbetets lokaler framhålls som viktiga. Vidare framkommer videofunktionens relevans för det sociala samspelet då det framhålls att funktionen stärker digitala interaktioner. Vidare anses att svårigheter kan uppstå om arbetstagarna inte ser varandra vid möten då kroppsspråket är viktigt för ett gott samarbete och socialt samspel. Distansarbete har också medfört en upplevd ensamhet då de fysiska mötena uteblivit och kontorsarbetarna behöver utföra sitt arbete på distans från hemmet. Trots detta beskriver kontorsarbetarna att arbeta på distans är något som de ställer sig positiva till att fortsätta med några dagar i vecka. / In 2020, restrictions were introduced in Sweden when the Covid-19pandemic spread across the world, teleworking was a measure that was introduced to reduce the spread of infection.  This brought about a major shift for many workers as they began to perform their work remotely from home. The purpose of the study is to create a deeper understanding of experiences of social interaction between colleagues during remote work as a result of COVID-19.  In order to fulfill the purpose of the study, a qualitative study with seven semi-structured interviews has been conducted. The collected material has then been analyzed using thematic analysis where patterns and repetitions have been sought. Through an abductive approach, an interaction between empirical and theory has then taken place throughout the course of the study, where the theoretical framework consisting of Randall Collins (2004) interaction rituals and Erving Goffman's (2009) dramaturgical perspectives has been applied to gain a deeper understanding of the result. The results of the study show that the experience of telework is individual where office workers experience both positive and negative effects of telework. When it comes to positive experiences, experiences of higher efficiency emerge as employees become less disturbed when they work from home. The negative effects of telework that have emerged mainly concern the social interaction as office workers do not meet their colleagues daily in the workplace, which has had a negative impact on cooperation and social relations between colleagues. When teleworking has taken place for a long time, it is described that there is an impact on the job satisfaction, creativity and well-being of employees. The office workers point out a lack of not meeting their colleagues where the natural meetings in the premises of the work are highlighted as important. Furthermore, the relevance of the video function to social interaction emerges when it is emphasized that the function strengthens digital interactions. Furthermore, it is considered that difficulties can arise if the employees do not see each other at meetings as body language is important for good cooperation and social interaction. Teleworking has also led to a perceived loneliness as physical meetings have not been available, and workers need to perform their work remotely from home. Despite this, office workers describe that working remotely is something they are in favor of continuing with a few days a week.

Hybridarbete har medfört fördelar och utmaningar som arbetsgivare behöver uppmärksamma för att främja ett hälsosamt arbete. En hybrid arbetsform kan bidra med det bästa från två världar, distans- och kontorsarbete, förutsatt att arbetsgivare och arbetstagare samverkar för att utveckla nya färdigheter för att anpassa sig till det nya arbetssättet. Denna studie syftar till att skapa en djupare förståelse för den organisatoriska och sociala arbetsmiljön vid hybridarbete. Studien är genomförd med en kvalitativ ansats och materialet har samlats in med hjälp av tio semistrukturerade intervjuer med både medarbetare och chefer inom en svensk offentlig organisation. Studiens metodval är inspirerad av empirisk fenomenologi med ett hermeneutiskt förhållningssätt som syftar till att skapa förståelse. Empirin har tematiserats och analyserats med hjälp av tematisk analys. Studiens resultat visar att den främsta fördelen med hybridarbete är flexibiliteten till att påverka balansen mellan arbete och fritid. Till följd av den hybrida arbetsformen visar resultatet utmaningar i egenskap av minskade fysiska interaktioner med kollegor, digital trötthet, uteblivna pauser samt svårigheter med gränsdragningen mellan arbete och fritid. Resultatet visar att tydliga riktlinjer för hybridarbete får betydelse för hur individen upplever den organisatoriska och sociala arbetsmiljön. Studien konstaterar att tillgång till socialt stöd, delaktighet, dialog, autonomi samt explicita riktlinjer och rutiner som kan anpassas efter individuella behov främjar en god arbetsmiljö. Avslutningsvis presenteras en modell som kan användas av praktikersamhället för att bidra med kunskap om hur känslan av sammanhang (KASAM) främjas i den hybrida arbetsmodellen. / Hybrid work has brought benefits and challenges that employers must observe to promote healthy work among employees. Hybrid working can create the best of both worlds, remote and office work, if employers and workers work together to develop new skills to adapt to the new way of working. This study aims to create a deeper understanding of the organizational and social work environment in hybrid work. The study is conducted with a qualitative approach and the material has been collected using ten semi-structured interviews with employees and managers within a Swedish public organization. The study's choice of method is inspired by empirical phenomenology with a subjective hermeneutic approach that aims to create understanding. The empiricism has been thematized and analyzed using thematic analysis.The results of the study show that the main advantage of hybrid work is increased flexibility regarding the ability to influence the balance between work and leisure. The results also show some possible disadvantages of the hybrid working form, such as reduced physical interactions with colleagues, digital fatigue, missed breaks and difficulties with drawing the line between working time and free time. The results shows that clear guidelines for hybrid work are important for how the individual experiences the organizational and social work environment. The study states that access to social support, participation, dialogue, autonomy and explicit guidelines and routines that can be adapted to individual needs promote a good work environment. Finally, a model is presented that can be used by the practitioner community to contribute knowledge about how the sense of coherence (SOC) is promoted in the hybrid work model.

[pt] A presente pesquisa analisará a ascensão e a complexificação da Web 2.0, situando-a sobre a emergência da tecnologia algorítmica. Os chamados algoritmos nascem no século XIX, tornando-se no presente século um dos maiores dispositivos tecnológicos referente à coleta, hierarquização, acumulação e coordenação de dados. Assim, este trabalho busca compreender como os algoritmos, em seu desenvolvimento, adquiriram inúmeras funções nas mídias sociais, transcendendo a finalidade de aumento da competitividade econômica das empresas no Vale do Silício. A referida pesquisa fará uma análise conjunta entre as escolas dos Estudos Críticos sobre Algoritmos, Estudos Críticos sobre Fronteiras e de Sociologia Política Internacional, a fim de compreender o que é e como nasce essa Fronteira Algorítmica, quais seriam os seus efeitos sociopolíticos e por que ela é algo que atinge em distintos graus toda a humanidade no século XXI. Após a introdução, a análise, o desenvolvimento e a discussão nos três primeiros capítulos, o último capítulo se destinará a comparar o Caso Snowden e o Escândalo da Cambridge Analytica, evidenciando semelhanças e afastamentos sobre como os algoritmos podem ser usados com fins que não se limitam à escala econômica e política, mas também são entidades capazes de influenciar a níveis psicológicos e sociológicos a raça humana. / [en] This research will analyze the rise and complexity of Web 2.0, placing it on the emergence of algorithmic technology. The so-called algorithms were born in the 19th century, becoming in the present century one of the greatest technological devices regarding the gathering, hierarchy, accumulation and coordination of data. Thus, this work seeks to understand how the algorithms in their development were acquiring numerous functions in social media, transcending the purpose of increasing the economic competitiveness of companies in Silicon Valley. This research will make a joint analysis between the schools of Algorithms Critical Studies, Borders Critical Studies and International Political Sociology, to understand what this Algorithmic Frontier is and how it is born, what would be its socio-political effects and why it is something that affects all of humanity in the 21st century to varying degrees. After the introduction, analysis, development and discussion in the first three chapters, the last chapter will compare the Snowden case and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, highlighting similarities and differences on how algorithms can be used for purposes that are not limited to economic and political scale, but they are also entities capable of influencing humans at psychological and sociological levels.

Ce mémoire est a comme sujet les arguments produits dans les litiges qui impliquent les conceptions sur la santé mentale, présente dans les justifications et les actions des acteurs sociaux impliqués dans les discussions relatives à la maladie mentale au Rio Grande de Sul, dans un contexte de Contre-Réforme Psychiatrique. Cette étude vise à déterminer si c'est à partir de certaines relations sociales parmi les acteurs sociaux que les justifications et les actions sont produites. L'objet de cette étude est composé par les relations sociales et les arguments produits par les membres du Forum Gaucho de Santé Mentale à Porto Alegre. On utilise l’analyse relationnelle ainsi que la référence théorique de Michel Foucault et la sociologie pragmatique de Luc Boltanski. Il a été constaté qu’à partir d’une mise en cause sur la manière dont la configuration du Forum Gaucho de la Santé Mentale se concentre sur les principes de la justification employée par les acteurs sociaux appartenant au groupe, qu'il y a des idées différentes sur la santé mentale au sein du Forum et qu’il existe une prévalence de certains principes de la justification dans le discours une fois qu’il y a une prévalence de certains acteurs sociaux qui dépeint le discours. Pour bien mener cette investigation, dix représentants du Forum Gaucho de la santé mentale à Porto Alegre ont été interviewés et on a utilisé comme procédure méthodologique l'observation, ainsi que l'interview avec l'utilisation d'un script écrit. Après l'achèvement des entretiens, on a fait l'analyse de contenu. / Esta dissertação tem como tema os argumentos produzidos nas disputas envolvendo as concepções sobre saúde mental, presentes nas justificações e ações dos atores sociais envolvidos nas discussões referentes à Reforma Psiquiátrica, no Rio Grande de Sul, em um contexto de Contra-Reforma Psiquiátrica. O presente estudo tem como finalidade verificar se é a partir de determinadas relações sociais entre os atores sociais que as justificações e as ações são produzidas. O objeto deste estudo são as relações sociais e os argumentos produzidos pelos integrantes do Fórum Gaúcho de Saúde Mental de Porto Alegre. Utiliza-se a análise relacional, bem como o referencial teórico de Michel Foucault e a sociologia pragmática de Luc Boltanski. Foi verificado, a partir do questionamento de como a configuração do Fórum Gaúcho de Saúde Mental incide sobre os princípios de justificação mobilizados pelos atores sociais pertencentes ao grupo, que há concepções diferenciadas sobre saúde mental dentro do Fórum e há a prevalência de determinados princípios de justificação no discurso porque há uma prevalência de determinados atores sociais que veiculam este discurso. Para a realização desta pesquisa, foram entrevistados dez representantes do Fórum Gaúcho de Saúde Mental de Porto Alegre e utilizou-se como procedimento metodológico a observação, bem como a entrevista com o uso de um roteiro escrito. Após a realização das entrevistas, efetuou-se a análise de conteúdo. / The subject of this thesis is composed by the arguments produced in disputes involving conceptions about mental health present in the justifications and actions of social actors involved in discussions relating to Psychiatry Reformation in Rio Grande de Sul, in a context of Psychiatry Counter-Reformation. This study aims to check whether it is from certain social relations among the social actors that justifications and actions are produced. The object of this study is composed by the social relations and the arguments produced by members of the Forum Gaucho of Mental Health in Porto Alegre. It is used the relational analysis as weel as the theoretical reference to Michel Foucault and to the Luc Boltanski’s pragmatic sociology. It was found from the question of how the configuration of the Forum Gaucho of Mental Health focuses on the principles of justification employed by social actors belonging to the group, that there are different ideas about mental health within the Forum and there is the prevalence of certain principles of justification in the speech because there is a prevalence of certain social actors who portrayed the speech. To carry out this survey, ten representatives of the Forum Gaucho of Mental Health in Porto Alegre were interviewed and it was used as a methodological procedure the observation, as well as the interview using a script writing. After the nterview completion, it was the analysis of content.

This study examines intricately related questions of consciousness and learning, textually-mediated social coordination, and human relationships within nature, anchored in the everyday life practices and concerns of a remote First Nation community in the Treaty 9 region. Through the use of Institutional Ethnography, community-based research and narrative methods, the research traces how the ruling relations of land use planning unfold within the contemporary period of neoliberal development in Northern Ontario. People’s everyday experiences and access to land in the Mushkego Inninowuk (Swampy Cree) community of Fort Albany for example, are shaped in ways that become oriented to provincial ruling relations, while people also reorient these relations on their own terms through the activities of a community research project and through historically advanced Indigenous ways of being. The study examines the coordinating effects of provincially-driven land use planning on communities and territories in Treaty 9, as people in local sites are coordinated to others elsewhere in a complex process that serves to produce the legislative process called Bill 191 or the Far North Act. Examining texts, ideology and dialectical historical materialist relations, the study is an involved inquiry into the text process itself and how it comes to be put together. The textually mediated and institutional forms of organizing social relations—effectively land relations—unfold with the involvement of people from specific sites and social locations whose work is coordinated, as it centres on environmental protection and development in the region north of the 51st parallel. A critique of the textually mediated institutional process provides a rich site for exploring learning within the context of neoliberal capitalist relations and serves to illuminate ways in which people can better act to change the problematic relations that haunt settler-Indigenous history in the contemporary period. The work asks all people involved in the North how we can work to address historic injustices rooted in the relations and practices of accumulation and dispossession. The voices and modes of governance of Aboriginal people, obfuscated within the processes and relations of provincial planning, must be afforded the space and recognition to flourish on their own terms.

This study examines intricately related questions of consciousness and learning, textually-mediated social coordination, and human relationships within nature, anchored in the everyday life practices and concerns of a remote First Nation community in the Treaty 9 region. Through the use of Institutional Ethnography, community-based research and narrative methods, the research traces how the ruling relations of land use planning unfold within the contemporary period of neoliberal development in Northern Ontario. People’s everyday experiences and access to land in the Mushkego Inninowuk (Swampy Cree) community of Fort Albany for example, are shaped in ways that become oriented to provincial ruling relations, while people also reorient these relations on their own terms through the activities of a community research project and through historically advanced Indigenous ways of being. The study examines the coordinating effects of provincially-driven land use planning on communities and territories in Treaty 9, as people in local sites are coordinated to others elsewhere in a complex process that serves to produce the legislative process called Bill 191 or the Far North Act. Examining texts, ideology and dialectical historical materialist relations, the study is an involved inquiry into the text process itself and how it comes to be put together. The textually mediated and institutional forms of organizing social relations—effectively land relations—unfold with the involvement of people from specific sites and social locations whose work is coordinated, as it centres on environmental protection and development in the region north of the 51st parallel. A critique of the textually mediated institutional process provides a rich site for exploring learning within the context of neoliberal capitalist relations and serves to illuminate ways in which people can better act to change the problematic relations that haunt settler-Indigenous history in the contemporary period. The work asks all people involved in the North how we can work to address historic injustices rooted in the relations and practices of accumulation and dispossession. The voices and modes of governance of Aboriginal people, obfuscated within the processes and relations of provincial planning, must be afforded the space and recognition to flourish on their own terms.

En esta tesis se analiza la sociedad de Murcia en el siglo XVII a través de los procesos de producción, manufactura, comercialización y detracción fiscal de la seda, con las finalidades de explicar la movilidad y la reproducción social de las elites surgidas del comercio sedero, así como indagar en las circunstancias que posibilitaron o no la formación de una grupo social burgués. La seda contribuyó a la caracterización de la sociedad murciana como una formación económica y social que tiene como principio fundamental la perpetuación y la reproducción social. Sin embargo, en esta estructura social existían algunas posibilidades de mejorar la condición que se ocupaba en la misma. Los actores sociales actúan para mejorar y garantizar su posición en la sociedad, ésta es más importante que la posesión de bienes materiales; no obstante, la riqueza y las relaciones sociales son imprescindibles para la lucha individual y familiar por el honor. / The essential thesis is to analyse the Murcian society in the seventeenth century through the process of production, manufacture, commercialization and fiscal taxation of the silk. In the same way it has the purpose of explaining the social mobility and social reproduction of the elite which arose out of the silk trade, and doing research in the circumstances which made possible or did not the formation of a social middle class group, the bourgeoisie. The silk contributed to the characterization of the society of the seventeenth century as an economical and social formation that has the perpetuation and the social reproduction as fundamental principle. The social protagonists acts in order to improve and guarantee their position in the society, this one is more important than the possession of goods; nevertheless, the wealth and the social relations are essential for the individual and family fight to get the honour.

In this thesis the overall aim is to analyse conceptions of change with the point of departure being texts developed within the framework of three development partnerships financed by the European Social Fund's Equal Programme 2001-2007. The development partnerships, consisting of collaborating parties from both the public and private sector, aimed at developing new methods and ideas in order to counteract discrimination and all kinds of inequality in working life. The thesis poses the following research questions: How are the problems that the development partnerships intended to counteract described? What appears as important to change in order for discrimination in working life to decrease? In what ways are changes aimed at combating discrimination and contributing to increased gender equality and diversity in working life deemed possible? What motives emerge behind the visions of creating a working life without discrimination? How are gender and other social categories constructed and how do these constructions impact on the conceptions of change that emerge? The ideas, perspectives and interests that characterise the understanding of changes in working life in the studied texts, are illustrated with the aid of theories on how society's forms of rule have changed from government to governance and theories on how gender is done. Furthermore, why certain perspectives and ideas emerge and the consequences of them is analysed based on institutional ethnography and concepts such as social relations and ruling relations. The thesis' analysis points to how the consensus-based organisational form of partnership and the politics and principles that are reflected in the Equal Programme together with notions on growth, leadership and gender create limits for the conceptions of change. Limits that in certain respects entail that society's relations of power and inequality, instead of being challenged, are reproduced. Based on the results of the study, the importance is emphasised of continuously taking one's point of departure in identifying and challenging the limits to how one can speak of change, since the dominant conceptions of change may be an expression of the ruling relations. / I den här avhandlingen är det övergripande syftet att analysera föreställningar om förändring med utgångspunkt i texter som tagits fram inom ramen för tre utvecklingspartnerskap som finansierades av den Europeiska socialfondens Equal-program 2001-2007. Utvecklingspartnerskapen, som bestod av flera samverkansparter från privat och offentlig sektor, syftade till att utveckla nya metoder och idéer för att motverka diskriminering och all slags ojämlikhet i arbetslivet. Avhandlingen utgår från frågeställningarna: Hur beskrivs de problem som utvecklingspartnerskapen avsåg att motverka? Vad framstår som viktigt att förändra för att diskrimineringen i arbetslivet ska minska? På vilka sätt antas förändringar, som anses leda till minskad diskriminering och ökad jämställdhet och mångfald i arbetslivet, vara möjliga? Vilka motiv framträder bakom visionerna om att skapa ett arbetsliv utan diskriminering? Hur konstrueras kön och andra sociala kategorier och hur inverkar dessa konstruktioner på de föreställningar om förändring som framträder? Med hjälp av teorier om hur samhällets styrformer förändrats ”från government till governance” och teorier om hur kön görs åskådliggörs vad det är för idéer, perspektiv och intressen som karakteriserar förståelsen av förändringar i arbetslivet i de rapporter, filmer, utbildningar och metodböcker med mera som studerats. Utifrån den institutionella etnografin och begrepp som sociala relationer och styrningsrelationer analyseras vidare varför vissa perspektiv och idéer framträder och konsekvenserna av dem. Avhandlingens analys pekar på hur den konsensusbaserade organiseringsformen partnerskap och den politik och de principer som reflekteras i Equal-programmet tillsammans med föreställningar om tillväxt, ledarskap och kön skapar gränser i föreställningarna om förändring. Gränser som i vissa avseenden innebär att samhällets relationer av makt och ojämlikhet – istället för att utmanas – reproduceras. Utifrån studiens resultat poängteras vikten av att ständigt ta utgångspunkt i att identifiera och utmana gränserna för hur det går att tala om förändring eftersom dominerande föreställningar om förändring kan vara ett uttryck för samhällets styrningsrelationer.

Ce mémoire est a comme sujet les arguments produits dans les litiges qui impliquent les conceptions sur la santé mentale, présente dans les justifications et les actions des acteurs sociaux impliqués dans les discussions relatives à la maladie mentale au Rio Grande de Sul, dans un contexte de Contre-Réforme Psychiatrique. Cette étude vise à déterminer si c'est à partir de certaines relations sociales parmi les acteurs sociaux que les justifications et les actions sont produites. L'objet de cette étude est composé par les relations sociales et les arguments produits par les membres du Forum Gaucho de Santé Mentale à Porto Alegre. On utilise l’analyse relationnelle ainsi que la référence théorique de Michel Foucault et la sociologie pragmatique de Luc Boltanski. Il a été constaté qu’à partir d’une mise en cause sur la manière dont la configuration du Forum Gaucho de la Santé Mentale se concentre sur les principes de la justification employée par les acteurs sociaux appartenant au groupe, qu'il y a des idées différentes sur la santé mentale au sein du Forum et qu’il existe une prévalence de certains principes de la justification dans le discours une fois qu’il y a une prévalence de certains acteurs sociaux qui dépeint le discours. Pour bien mener cette investigation, dix représentants du Forum Gaucho de la santé mentale à Porto Alegre ont été interviewés et on a utilisé comme procédure méthodologique l'observation, ainsi que l'interview avec l'utilisation d'un script écrit. Après l'achèvement des entretiens, on a fait l'analyse de contenu. / Esta dissertação tem como tema os argumentos produzidos nas disputas envolvendo as concepções sobre saúde mental, presentes nas justificações e ações dos atores sociais envolvidos nas discussões referentes à Reforma Psiquiátrica, no Rio Grande de Sul, em um contexto de Contra-Reforma Psiquiátrica. O presente estudo tem como finalidade verificar se é a partir de determinadas relações sociais entre os atores sociais que as justificações e as ações são produzidas. O objeto deste estudo são as relações sociais e os argumentos produzidos pelos integrantes do Fórum Gaúcho de Saúde Mental de Porto Alegre. Utiliza-se a análise relacional, bem como o referencial teórico de Michel Foucault e a sociologia pragmática de Luc Boltanski. Foi verificado, a partir do questionamento de como a configuração do Fórum Gaúcho de Saúde Mental incide sobre os princípios de justificação mobilizados pelos atores sociais pertencentes ao grupo, que há concepções diferenciadas sobre saúde mental dentro do Fórum e há a prevalência de determinados princípios de justificação no discurso porque há uma prevalência de determinados atores sociais que veiculam este discurso. Para a realização desta pesquisa, foram entrevistados dez representantes do Fórum Gaúcho de Saúde Mental de Porto Alegre e utilizou-se como procedimento metodológico a observação, bem como a entrevista com o uso de um roteiro escrito. Após a realização das entrevistas, efetuou-se a análise de conteúdo. / The subject of this thesis is composed by the arguments produced in disputes involving conceptions about mental health present in the justifications and actions of social actors involved in discussions relating to Psychiatry Reformation in Rio Grande de Sul, in a context of Psychiatry Counter-Reformation. This study aims to check whether it is from certain social relations among the social actors that justifications and actions are produced. The object of this study is composed by the social relations and the arguments produced by members of the Forum Gaucho of Mental Health in Porto Alegre. It is used the relational analysis as weel as the theoretical reference to Michel Foucault and to the Luc Boltanski’s pragmatic sociology. It was found from the question of how the configuration of the Forum Gaucho of Mental Health focuses on the principles of justification employed by social actors belonging to the group, that there are different ideas about mental health within the Forum and there is the prevalence of certain principles of justification in the speech because there is a prevalence of certain social actors who portrayed the speech. To carry out this survey, ten representatives of the Forum Gaucho of Mental Health in Porto Alegre were interviewed and it was used as a methodological procedure the observation, as well as the interview using a script writing. After the nterview completion, it was the analysis of content.