Donald C. Pennington - Social Cognition

Also available in this series (titles listed by syllabus section):

ATYPICAL DEVELOPMENT

AND ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR

Psychopathology

John D.Stirling and Jonathan

S.E. Hellewell

Therapeutic Approaches in

Psychology

Susan Cave

BIO-PSYCHOLOGY

Cortical Functions

John Stirling

The Physiological Basis of

Behaviour: Neural and

hormonal processes

Kevin Silber

Awareness: Biorhythms, sleep

and dreaming

Evie Bentley

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Memory and Forgetting

John Henderson

Perception: Theory,

development and

organisation

Paul Rookes and Jane Willson

DEVELOPMENTAL

PSYCHOLOGY

Early Socialisation: Sociability

and attachment

Cara Flanagan

PERSPECTIVES AND RESEARCH

Controversies in Psychology

Philip Banyard

Ethical Issues in Psychology

Mike Cardwell (forthcoming)

Introducing Research and

Data in Psychology: A guide

to methods and analysis

Ann Searle

Theoretical Approaches in

Psychology

Matt Jarvis

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Social Influences

Kevin Wren

Interpersonal Relationships

Diana Dwyer

OTHER TITLES

Sport Psychology

Matt Jarvis

Health Psychology

Anthony Curtis

Psychology and Work

Christine Hodson

(forthcoming)

STUDY GUIDE

Exam Success in AEB

Psychology

Paul Humphreys

I have enjoyed writing this book. The more so since I completed some of the chapters on a work/holiday in Porthleven, Cornwall. So thanks to the house overlooking the harbour and the pubs in the evening. I spent this time with my daughter, Kyla, who was revising for her university examinations at the time. She helped and commented at times, and dragged me down the pub at other times. So thanks to Kyla.

Cara Flanagan and Vivien Ward have been most helpful on advice and guidance to ensure this book is consistent with the housestyle for this Modular Psychology series. So thanks to Cara and Vivien.

Finally, my thanks to Kathleen Williams who has typed, for-matted, and offered invaluable, helpful advice to make the whole book, especially the figures and tables, look really good. So thanks to Kathleen.

The series editors and Routledge acknowledge the expert help of Paul Humphreys, Examiner and Reviser for A-level Psychology, in compiling the Study Aids chapter of each book in the series.

They also acknowledge the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) for granting permission to use their examination material. The AQA do not accept responsibility for the answers or examiner comment in the Study Aids chapter of this book or any other book in the series.

One of the defining features that sets human beings apart from other animals is not only our ability to think, but also our ability to be aware of what we are thinking. A second feature, although shared with some other animal species, is our sociability and the central importance we place on relationships with other people. Put these two features together and you have the heart of what social cognition is about. Definitions are often useful and one that is particularly helpful characterises social cognition as:

The manner in which we interpret, analyse and remember information about the social world.

(Baron and Byrne, 1997)

This definition highlights three cognitive processes that we apply to our social world. First, information we receive about other people (and ourselves, for that matter) is interpreted; this means that information is given meaning often by both the social context and our previous experience, cultural values, etc. Rarely do we interpret another persons behaviour in a vacuum; what we know about the personassociated stereotypes, social groups to which he or she may belongall feed into the interpretation made. Second, social information is analysed , this means that an initial interpretation may be adjusted, changed or even rejected. For example, whilst the first impression we make of another person may be unduly influential, further acquaintance and interaction with the person may dramatically change this impression. Third, social information is stored in memory from which it may be recalled or retrieved. Recalling information from memory may require considerable effort; effort that we may not always be willing to make. The final comment to make about this definition of social cognition is that the social world refers both to other people and ourselves. Theory and research in social cognition may equally be about other people, ourselves, and, which is most likely, about ourselves in interaction with other people.

Think about someone you often hear about and read about in the national newspapers or on television. This may be Tony Blair (the Prime Minister), or Bill Gates (head of Microsoft), or another well-known figure. Write down what you can recall from memory about this person then consider this information in relation to interpretations and analyses that have been made.

Social psychologists who research into social cognition commonly investigate such questions as:

What caused a person to behave in a particular way?

Why does somebody laugh in one social situation and behave in an unfriendly way in another situation?

How do we mentally represent what we know about another person or group of people?

How does belonging to a social group affect how we behave to others who are members of the same group, and others who are not group members?

Why do individuals and groups of people engage in discrimination and conflict with other groups of people?

How can prejudice and conflict between people be reduced?

Our definition of social cognition means that most areas covered by social psychologists may be included. However, areas which are more concerned with social factors, those external to the person, rather than internal factors (or those related to characteristics of the person) are:

The relationship between a persons attitudes and how he or she actually behaves.

The development, maintenance and breakdown of relationships between people.

Small group behaviour, including decision-making, leadership, group norms and roles.

Social influence processes including majority and minority influence, and obedience to authority.

These areas of social psychology tend to focus on social factors which are external to the person, unlike social cognition which is concerned with internal factors and related mental processes. General text books on social psychology (for example, the further reading suggestions at the end of this chapter) do cover a much wider range of topic areas in social psychology. Other texts in the Modular Psychology series on Social Influences (Kevin Wren), Interpersonal Relationships (Diana Dwyer), and Pro- and Anti-Social Behaviour (David Clarke, forthcoming) cover some key topics in social psychology. However, it could be argued that all areas should and can be considered from the perspective of social cognition.