2- Intro to Social Cognition Flashcards
What is social cognition?
The way we interpret, analyse, remember and use information about the social world
Concrete definition of social cognition
Cognitive processes and structures that influence and are influenced by the social context
How do we interact with the social world?
Social world influences us as well as us influencing the social world
What specifically is social cognition focused on?
Thoughts
What are the three theories of processing information?
Naive scientist
Cognitive miser
Motivated tactician
Who created the naive scientist theory?
Heider
What are we according to the naive scientist theory?
Rational beings
How do we look for information in the naive scientist theory?
In a systematic way
Why do we look for information in the naive scientist explanation?
To make conclusions about the world
What are the two primary needs of the naive scientist theory?
Predict and control
What does the naive scientist theory say that we want to come up with?
Causal explanations
Which explanation dominates a lot of social psychology?
Cognitive miser explanation
How does the cognitive miser explanation differ from the naive scientist theory?
We’re not as scientific and don’t work as systematically
How does the cognitive miser explanation suggest that we try to understand the social world?
We engage in time-saving mental shortcuts as processing resources are valuable
Who proposed the cognitive miser explanation?
Fiske and Taylor
What do we develop because we are “cognitive misers”?
Cognitive tools that help us free up limited cognitive resources
Why do we tend to compromise a lot of our social thoughts and processes?
As we only have limited time and resources so we use tools to free up our limited resources
What does the motivated tactician explanation suggest we do?
Choose from multiple cognitive strategies based on goals, motives and needs
What may we be willing to do according to the motivated tactician explanations?
Sacrifice limited resources to process social information
What are the reasons we choose cognitive strategies according to the motivated tactician explanation? (3 points)
- In the interests of adaptability and accuracy
- Sometimes defensively
- In the interest of speed or self-esteem
How is social cognition different from cognitive psychology?
Social cognition focuses on cognitive processes as applied to social objects
