social cognition

Examples of social cognition in the following topics:

• Criticisms of the Social-Cognitive Pespective on Personality

  • Critics of the social-cognitive theory of personality argue that it is not a unified theory and does not explain development over time.
  • The social-cognitive theory of personality emphasizes both learning and cognition as sources of individual differences in personality.
  • One of the main criticisms of the social-cognitive theory is that it is not a unified theory.
  • Because of this, it can be difficult to quantify the effect that social cognition has on development.
  • Critics of social-cognitive theory argue that the theory does not provide a full explanation of how social cognition, behavior, environment, and personality are related (known as "reciprocal determinism").

• Social Cognition

  • Social cognition, like general cognition, uses schemas to help people form judgments and conclusions about the world.
  • Similarly, a notable theory of social cognition is social-schema theory.
  • In social cognition, salience is the degree to which a particular social object stands out relative to other social objects in a situation.
  • Social psychologists have become increasingly interested in the influence of culture on social cognition.
  • Studies have found that culture influences social cognition in other ways too.

• Bandura's and Rotter's Social-Cognitive Theories of Personality

  • Bandura's and Rotter's social-cognitive theories of personality emphasize cognitive processes, such as thinking and judging.
  • Social-cognitive theories of personality emphasize the role of cognitive processes, such as thinking and judging, in the development of personality.
  • Social cognition is basically social thought, or how the mind processes social information; social-cognitive theory describes how individuals think and react in social situations.
  • How the mind works in a social setting is extremely complicated—emotions, social desirability factors, and unconscious thoughts can all interact and affect social cognition in many ways.
  • Two major figures in social cognitive-theory are behaviorist Albert Bandura and clinical psychologist Julian Rotter.

• History of Cognition

  • The word "cognition" is the closest scientific synonym for thinking.
  • Human cognition takes place at both conscious and unconscious levels.
  • Some of the most important figures in the study of cognition are:
  • The study of human cognition began over two thousand years ago.
  • For example, in psychology, "cognition" usually refers to processing of neural information; in social psychology the term "social cognition" refers to attitudes and group attributes.

• Cognitive Development in Adolescence

  • In adolescence, changes in the brain interact with experience, knowledge, and social demands and produce rapid cognitive growth.
  • Adolescence is a time for rapid cognitive development.
  • Biological changes in brain structure and connectivity in the brain interact with increased experience, knowledge, and changing social demands to produce rapid cognitive growth.
  • Metacognition is relevant in social cognition and results in increased introspection, self-consciousness, and intellectualization.
  • However, adolescents seem to give more weight to rewards, particularly social rewards, than do adults.

• Mischel's Cognitive-Affective Model of Personality and the Person-Situation Debate

  • The social-cognitive perspective on personality is a theory that emphasizes cognitive processes, such as thinking and judging, in the development of personality.
  • These cognitive processes contribute to learned behaviors that are central to one's personality.
  • Walter Mischel (1930–present) is a personality researcher whose work has helped to shape the social-cognitive theory of personality.
  • Mischel's ideas led him to develop the cognitive-affective model of personality.
  • In this way, Mischel emphasized the importance of physical, social, and environmental forces in shaping behavior.

• Social Psychology

  • Social psychology studies individuals in a social context and examines how situational variables influence behavior.
  • Thus, social psychology studies individuals in a social context and how situational variables interact to influence behavior.
  • The field is also concerned with common cognitive biases—such as the fundamental attribution error, the actor-observer bias, the self-serving bias, and the just-world hypothesis—that influence our behavior and our perceptions of events.
  • After the war, researchers became interested in a variety of social problems including gender issues, racial prejudice, cognitive dissonance, bystander intervention, aggression, and obedience to authority.
  • Social psychologists theorize about how different cognitive biases influence people's perspectives on the event.

• Cognitive Psychology

  • "Cognition" refers to thinking and memory processes, and "cognitive development" refers to long-term changes in these processes.
  • Much of the work derived from cognitive psychology has been integrated into various other modern disciplines of psychological study, including social psychology, personality psychology, abnormal psychology, developmental psychology, educational psychology, and behavioral economics.
  • Major areas of research in cognitive psychology include perception, memory, categorization, knowledge representation, numerical cognition, language, and thinking.
  • Though there are examples of cognitive approaches from earlier researchers, cognitive psychology really developed as a subfield within psychology in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
  • Piaget is best known for his stage theory of cognitive development.

• Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)

  • Social anxiety disorder is marked by intense fear and avoidance of social situations in which one might be negatively judged.
  • Social anxiety disorder (formerly called social phobia) is characterized by extreme and persistent fear or anxiety and avoidance of social situations in which the person could potentially be evaluated negatively by others (APA, 2013).
  • The first-line treatment for social anxiety disorder is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which has been shown to be effective in treating social phobias through both individual and group therapy.
  • The cognitive and behavioral components seek to change thought patterns and physical reactions to anxiety-inducing situations.
  • Worry and fear of social situations in which one may be negatively judged is a defining feature of social anxiety disorder.

• Conscious vs. Unconscious Emotion

  • Cognitive appraisal—The individual assesses the event cognitively, which cues the emotion.
  • Jenny cognitively assesses the snake in her presence.
  • Cognition allows her to understand it as a danger.
  • Lazarus stressed that the quality and intensity of emotions are controlled through cognitive processes.
  • If that information is processed while disregarding other pertinent facts, common sense, or social or other considerations, it could result in a quick or mismanaged resulting action.