Social Cognition: Understanding How Individuals Construct Social Reality

1. Choose an issue covered in PSY 102 (or issues) that you think is relevant to psychology. Have this choice of yours be approved by your instructor. After approval, discuss thoroughly why you chose this issue. It is important for you to choose one that you are interested in. You can cite your personal reasons if you want to, but be sure to state factual information to support your opinion.

2. a. Explain in detail (with depth and clarity) this issue. Be sure to cite references or sources. Remember that your opinion is important but NOT when you have to objectively deal with an issue. If you have a problem looking for references or sources, consult the Librarian (Ms. Victoria in Belleville and Ms. Jaclyn in JC). They are available to help you. Be mindful of proper citation because you can be liable for plagiarism, which is a major offense here in EIC. Cite at least 4 (preferably more) references for this part of your paper. (minimum of one paragraph)

b. Discuss how this issuc is related with other existing issues. Identify and explain very well this connection. Consider viewpoints of several experts. Be mindful of your sources. Cite as many references as possible. 

c. Identify and Discuss at least one psychological theory (more is better) that is applicable to the issue that you have chosen. Explain thoroughly the application. Support your explation with factual information.

3. Discuss your position or core belief regarding the issue. Remember that yew winkles me ok to cite but they should be supported with factual proof.

4. Logically elaborate your position and formulate your conclusion. 

What is Social Cognition in Psychology?

Various issues make up the psychology as a topic. Every aspect has helpful content that assists the reader on how he or she can freely interact with other people in society. In this assignment, it is going to focus on social cognition as one of the exciting topics in psychology. Under social cognition, the solution is going to elaborate the meaning, what other philosophers say about the issue and finally give the personal position concerning the content of the topic.

Social cognition is a fascinating topic in psychology.  It refers to the factors that help an individual to feel that he or she is a member of a given social group according to Augoustinos, Walker & Donaghue, (2014). An individual has to understand the world and what people do at various points to enable them to react positively to multiple situations in life. For example, there are signals that human beings use to respond to certain conditions in life. The symbols include body movements facial expressions, sounds and many other messages that try to bring out the position of the person towards certain conditions. Human beings may be faced with uncertain situations such as disgust, fear, happiness among other case but everyone is expected to react in a given direction expressing dissatisfaction of happiness towards that condition.

On the other hand, there are situations where an individual gets to know how to respond to a given condition by looking at other people. For instance, if you consider a young baby who is learning how to react in a given environment before that infant approaches a specific object, he or she will look at the expressing of the mother in reference to Greifeneder, Bless & Fiedler, (2017). If the expression in the eye is positive, the baby walks freely and picks at the material, however, situations where the mother have expressed dissatisfaction, the infant makes a break. In psychology, this condition is referred to us social referencing. The importance of such state is that it shows people that they can learn how to respond through observation.  Besides that, the instruction is another way that people learn how to do various things. Education is better than mere observation because in view, the person sending and the one receiving the signal should know the signs. For instance, the child must have learned that there are specific signals from the mother that gives an authority to go ahead with a task whereas others represent dissatisfaction with the condition according to Wyer Jr & Srull, (2014). Smiling is one of the best signs to show satisfaction with the situation.

Components of the Cognitive Process

Metacognitive process is a critical skill in social cognition. The term refers to a situation whereby an individual can know the strategies to apply in different positions while solving a problem. Apart from that, it also assists the person to understand what signals to use to ring out the meaning of certain conditions. The components that make up the cognitive process include memory, perception, and attention of an individual.

When people interact with the environment, Fiske, (2018) argues that they get varied responses depending on where an individual is at a particular time. However, there are specific components that assist people to take note of what is there and make meaning from the situation. The first principal component is the eye of the individual. People use their eyes to see and send the signals back to the brain for interpretation in reference to Donohew, Sypher & Higgins, (2015). For example, when an individual has encountered a mango, the eye can assist him or her to identify whether that mango is ripe of note by observation the color of the fruit. Another critical part is the hand; it helps in touching and getting meaning from what the person has observed. The hand is also an essential part of the body that human beings use to make signals to other people. However, the most critical part is the brain. All the signs are always transferred through stimuli to the mind of the person. The brain interprets and sends back the meaning of the situation which assists the person to respond to that particular condition.

It is inevitable that people act differently in similar situations. However, it is essential to identify what a brings a difference in the way people interpret identical conditions. The following are the main points that make the response of people different towards a similar situation: -

Many people confess that their current mood towards various conditions is as a result of what they were taught when they were young. When a child is between two to seven years, he or she always copies the way people surrounding him respond to particular situations. These responses are always coded in the brain, and the brain always refers to the same signals when it encounters a similar situation according to Wyer Jr & Srull, (2014).

This is the way people live in a certain society or nation. An example is the European and the African culture. These two groups of continents have varied ways of responding to a certain issue in the surrounding in reference to Wyer Jr, (2014). The culture has shaped the lives of every individual in these two continents thus making their response biased to certain situations.

Factors that Influence Different Responses Towards Identical Situations

Despite the childhood surrounding and the culture where one has been brought, education is a crucial action that transforms the mind of an individual. Knowledge in this particular case aims to make the thinking of the person universal. One should be able to appreciate others the way they respond and be ready to do away with the odd way of thinking and reacting.

The main issue that influences how people think and judge people and conditions depend on the teaching information they got while they were children. However, growth and maturity are always inevitable in the way an individual think and relates various issue. When one is a child, he or she still depends on the information from the parent. The response is always restricted to what the parents say according to Wyer, (2014).

Consequently, when one reaches the adolescent stage, the knowledge of making the best decision starts developing in the brain of the person. Interacting with people from different parts of the world makes the experience to widen, and one eliminates the bias according to Green, M. F., Horan & Lee, (2015). When making use of the observation to learn how to think, the signals that people make use of should be revealing to both the sender and the receiver.

On the other hand, despite the teaching on how should thin and relate various issue that he or she sees in the surrounding, some people are still biased on the idea they gained during the childhood period. The signals that a particular group of people uses to mean a given situation may differ with another group. However, there should be mutual understanding, and one can also read more to understand why there exists a difference in the thoughts of people. The response to danger, happiness, and other factors usually differ, and the expression of the individual always shows it clearly. I think everyone should be flexible in understanding the other because the world is vast and the surround where one lives cannot be the same as the other person.

Conclusion.

In summary, the cognitive ability that the individual has is essential in assisting him or her to make various decisions. However, the capability differs from one person to another. It is essential that people accept the difference in response among multiple people to avoid pre-mature judgment on others.

References

Augoustinos, M., Walker, I., & Donaghue, N. (2014). Social cognition: An integrated introduction. Sage.

Donohew, L., Sypher, H. E., & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.). (2015). Communication, Social Cognition, and Affect (PLE: Emotion). Psychology Press.

Fiske, S. T. (2018). Controlling other people: The impact of power on stereotyping. In Social Cognition (pp. 101-115). Routledge.

Green, M. F., Horan, W. P., & Lee, J. (2015). Social cognition in schizophrenia. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(10), 620.

Greifeneder, R., Bless, H., & Fiedler, K. (2017). Social cognition: How individuals construct social reality. Psychology Press.

Wyer Jr, R. S. (2014). Knowledge and Memory: The Real Story: Advances in Social Cognition, Volume VIII. Psychology Press.

Wyer Jr, R. S. (2014). The Automaticity of Everyday Life: Advances in Social Cognition, Volume X. Psychology Press.

Wyer Jr, R. S., & Srull, T. K. (2014). Advances in social cognition, Volume I: A dual process model of impression formation. Psychology Press.

Wyer Jr, R. S., & Srull, T. K. (Eds.). (2014). The Content, Structure, and Operation of Thought Systems: Advances in Social Cognition (Vol. 4). Psychology Press.