Thematic analysis of 48 interviews, however, suggests that laypeople have remained largely unaware of the media attention afforded to neuroscience, with the brain occupying a negligible space in people’s day-to-day thought and conversation. A content analysis of 3,630 newspaper articles confirms that the period 2000-2012 saw a steady expansion of neuroscience’s prominence in public dialogue, primarily within appeals to readers to optimise their brain function by moderating their mental activity, nutritional intake and lifestyle choices.

Its investigation focuses upon two empirical contexts, cataloguing the representations of brain research that materialise in (i) the mainstream print media, and (ii) the common-sense understanding revealed by a series of semi-structured interviews with London residents. Drawing on Social Representations Theory and the principles of embodied phenomenology, this thesis aims to map the contours of the neuroscientific knowledge that surfaces in ordinary, everyday life in contemporary Britain.

However, consideration of neuroscience’s cultural implications has largely remained speculative due to a paucity of research that directly examines how publics engage with neuroscientific ideas. The proliferation of neuroscience has been accompanied by lively debate, alternately excited and apprehensive, about its societal significance.

The early years of the 21st century were marked by the increasing prominence of neuroscientific ideas in wider society.

Thematic analysis nvivo