Running head: AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: SOCIAL COGNITION 1
AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: SOCIAL COGNITION
Name
Institution
Course
Tutor
Date
, AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: SOCIAL COGNITION 2
Social cognition
What is social cognition?
It’s critical to understand how we select, store and use information to explain how we navigate the
complex social world. The study of social cognition promotes an understanding of the processes
that underlie the social behavior of human beings, analyzing the mental passages in the succession
of thoughts about other people. An aspect of the fascinating thing about social cognition is that it
deals with the questions we ask ourselves daily (e.g. why did I imagine that the head physician was
a man? Why I expected Mark was elderly?).
Jumping to conclusions
A recurring and central theme is the distinction between fast and uncontrolled social thinking and
the more measured and accurate. Since the 1970s, it has been possible to study these two
independently types of thinking, I.e. the influence of unintentional (unconscious) and intentional
(conscious) processes on human thinking and behavior. In the field of social cognition, this
distinction is known as the contrast between automatic processes and controlled processes. We
can hardly resist stereotypical thinking, despite the many risks. The processes that lead us to draw
conclusions concern:
- Categorization: grouping individuals on the basis of shared characteristics;
- Activate the content of these categories: activate the schemes: our expectations about the
members of such categories or groups;
- Confirm stereotypes related to groups using a "mental shortcut": searching only for the info
consistent with expectations.
This process occurs largely spontaneously. In fact, individuals process information just in this way,
that is, going beyond stereotypes only if you are motivated or able to do so. The stereotypes play a
functional role in making people's perception easier. They are a shortcut cognitive, a rule based on
experience or a heuristic that is useful to us in many cases, but not always (Bodenhausen, 1990).
The autopilot inner
For a process to be considered automatic, it must meet several requirements: it must happen without
intentionally, effort or awareness and must not interfere with other concomitant cognitive processes.
AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: SOCIAL COGNITION
Name
Institution
Course
Tutor
Date
, AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: SOCIAL COGNITION 2
Social cognition
What is social cognition?
It’s critical to understand how we select, store and use information to explain how we navigate the
complex social world. The study of social cognition promotes an understanding of the processes
that underlie the social behavior of human beings, analyzing the mental passages in the succession
of thoughts about other people. An aspect of the fascinating thing about social cognition is that it
deals with the questions we ask ourselves daily (e.g. why did I imagine that the head physician was
a man? Why I expected Mark was elderly?).
Jumping to conclusions
A recurring and central theme is the distinction between fast and uncontrolled social thinking and
the more measured and accurate. Since the 1970s, it has been possible to study these two
independently types of thinking, I.e. the influence of unintentional (unconscious) and intentional
(conscious) processes on human thinking and behavior. In the field of social cognition, this
distinction is known as the contrast between automatic processes and controlled processes. We
can hardly resist stereotypical thinking, despite the many risks. The processes that lead us to draw
conclusions concern:
- Categorization: grouping individuals on the basis of shared characteristics;
- Activate the content of these categories: activate the schemes: our expectations about the
members of such categories or groups;
- Confirm stereotypes related to groups using a "mental shortcut": searching only for the info
consistent with expectations.
This process occurs largely spontaneously. In fact, individuals process information just in this way,
that is, going beyond stereotypes only if you are motivated or able to do so. The stereotypes play a
functional role in making people's perception easier. They are a shortcut cognitive, a rule based on
experience or a heuristic that is useful to us in many cases, but not always (Bodenhausen, 1990).
The autopilot inner
For a process to be considered automatic, it must meet several requirements: it must happen without
intentionally, effort or awareness and must not interfere with other concomitant cognitive processes.
