Social Cognition PDF

Social Cognition  Social cognition refers to the different psychological processes that influence how people process, interpret, Social and respond to social signals. These processes allow people to understand social Cognition behaviour and respond in w...

Social Cognition  Social cognition refers to the different psychological processes that influence how people process, interpret, Social and respond to social signals. These processes allow people to understand social Cognition behaviour and respond in ways that are appropriate and beneficial (Arioli, Crespi & Canessa, 2018)  As we interact with our world, we are both spectators and actors, doing and perceiving, acting and thinking Social cognition explains: how we perceive our world, how we make sense of it and our own behaviour, how we form and change attitudes. Different people perceive the same behaviour differently When judging a behaviour we look at both internal attributions (like the person's character) and external attributions (situational factors)?  Fundamental Attribution Error Tendency to overemphasize personality traits and underemphasize situational factors when explaining others' behaviours. This bias can lead to misunderstandings, as people might judge others unfairly, attributing behaviours to their personality when they might be reacting to external pressures  Application to Transitions If someone moves to a new country and struggles to make friends, they might feel hurt or disappointed by people who don’t immediately reach out, assuming they are “unfriendly” or “cliquish” rather than considering that they might be busy or shy  Actor-Observer Bias The tendency for individuals to attribute their own behaviour to external, situational factors while attributing others' behaviour to internal, dispositional factors. This bias often arises because we have more information about our own circumstances, making it easier to identify external causes.  Application to Transitions Someone adjusting to a major lifestyle change, like becoming a new parent or moving in with a partner, might feel more irritable or stressed. They may view these reactions as situationally driven (“It’s just the sleep deprivation”), while attributing similar behaviours in their partner to dispositional traits (“They’re just not being supportive”). Social cognition is not simply a topic within social psychology— It is an approach to understanding a wide range of other topics, including: Attitudes Prejudice Stereotypes Self-concept Discrimination Persuasion Conformity Obedience Decision-making  Schemas An important topic in social cognition is the concept of schemas. A schema is a cognitive framework that helps organize and interpret information. It is a pattern of thinking that helps us interpret the world around us  Schemas Guide us on how to behave and how we expect others to behave in a given circumstance. A seashore is a better place than the street. At first, it is better to run than to walk. You may have to try several times. It takes some skill but it’s easy to learn. Even young children can enjoy it. Once successful, complications are minimal. Birds seldom get too close. Wind is great. Rain however, is a problem. Too many people doing the same thing can also cause problems. One needs a lot of room. If there are no complications, it can be very peaceful.  Think about how you would act and expect others to act …. IN THE LIBRARY? AT THE BANK? IN A BAR? AT A CONCERT? AT THE GYM? HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW TO ACT?  Example of Social Cognition based on Schemas Imagine that you are getting ready to go on a first date. Not only do you worry about the impression and signals that you are sending to the other person, but you are also concerned with interpreting the signals given by your date. Questions you might ask include: How do you form an impression of this person? What meaning do you read into the other person's behaviour? How do you attribute their actions?  Schemas Advantage: Short cuts to free our cognitive abilities up to focus on higher-order tasks or to seek out novel information AND maximizes our chances of survival Disadvantage: BECOME A SOURCE OF MISTAKES IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS Who would you approach to ask for directions?  “...a fixed, automatic, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people.” (Cardwell, 1996) Stereotypes Stereotypes help us organize information about people on the basis of their membership in certain groups Advantage: enables us to respond rapidly to situations because we may have had a similar experience before Disadvantage: it makes us ignore differences between individuals → i.e. make generalizations. Stereotypes can lead to Prejudice Discrimination  Core Schemas Having these encoded shortcuts can make life, less taxing but it could also be problematic. Because we make snap decisions based on what we think we know which may not always be right. Our earliest experiences with our parents, immediate family, school and social environment form our core schemas. However, as we grow and experience the good, bad, and ugly in life our ‘map’ becomes more nuanced and complex.  Schemas influence what we pay attention to and once a schema is in place, we subconsciously pay attention to information that confirms it, while ignoring information countering it. Furthermore, as we grow older schemas become more entrenched in our psyche and changing them is harder, more so if they were formed under duress or during emotionally charged situations. The way that our basic emotional needs are met across the lifespan affects our core schemas and consequent coping styles  Coping Styles Coping styles can reinforce schemas. Example: an abandonment schema—a deeply held belief that others will eventually leave or not be reliably available. People with this schema may cope by adopting a behavior like clinginess, trying to stay as close to loved ones as possible to prevent being left alone. However, this coping behavior can create stress and even push others away, which may reinforce the person's belief that people don’t stay or aren’t there when needed. Here, the coping style (clinginess) feeds back into and strengthens the schema (fear of abandonment), creating a self-reinforcing loop. This cycle makes it harder for the person to break away from their belief and recognize that it’s not an inevitable truth but rather a schema that can be challenged and modified.  Coping Styles There aren’t any firm rules about which schemas lead to certain coping styles. Your coping style might be based on your overall temperament or even coping styles you learned from your parents. Your own coping style can also change over time, although you’re still dealing with the same schema.  Schema coping modes are divided into four categories 1. Child modes are characterized by childlike feelings and behaviours (e.g. over-reacting-attention-seeking, approval-seeking) 2. Dysfunctional coping modes are used to prevent emotional distress but end up reinforcing the schema (e.g. under reacting and repression of one’s needs) 3. Dysfunctional parent modes are internalizations of critical, demanding, or harsh parental voices (e.g. not protesting if treated unfairly). 4. Healthy adult mode represents your healthy, functional self. This mode can help regulate the other modes by setting limits and countering the effects of other modes.  Identify unhelpful schemas Identify and address coping modes that get in the way of emotional needs Recognise patterns of feelings and behaviours that result automatically from schemas Find alternative, healthy and adaptive ways of meeting core emotional needs Re frame  The processes through which schemas are adjusted or changed are known as assimilation and accommodation. How Schemas Assimilation - new information is incorporated into pre-existing Change schemas. Accommodation - existing schemas might be altered or new schemas might be formed as a person learns new information and has new experiences.  Time to Reflect Consider the times your behaviour was influenced by the stereotypes you hold, including, self-stereotyping. Consider the times you were a target of stereotyping Did you ever respond automatically to a situation or a person and later regretted it? Be aware of how your behaviour is influenced by your schemas. In which situations are they adaptive? outdated? maladaptive? Can you apply social cognition theory to the transition you are observing?