Theories of Social Cognition: EQ: What is Social Cognition in Social Psychology?

I. What is Social Psychology? DEF: The study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors influence and are influenced by each other We use these feelings and thoughts to quantify our relationships with people around us and within different group settings We are also influenced by people outside of our actual spheres of influence -media -politics -religion -etc…

II. What is Social Cognition? DEF: Mental processes associated with people’s perceptions of, and relations to, other people. In all social interactions, we are evaluating our relationships We may act differently in different situations depending on our comfort levels We are also acutely aware of how others perceive us

III. How do we Quantify our Self Concept? DEF: The way one thinks of one’s self This can change all of the time Most people base their self concept on some categories that can be quantified within our relation to other people These could be people we know or people we don’t know

IV. Temporal Comparison vs. Social Comparison: -Using one’s previous performance or characteristics as a basis for judging oneself in the present. -If we were good at something in the past, we expect to be good at it now. Social Comparison: -Using other people as a basis for comparison for evaluating oneself. -We judge ourselves and our performances at various tasks (often unfairly) when compared to others.

V. Reference Groups: DEF: Categories of people to which people compare themselves. Once again, these can be people we know or those we don’t know How we classify ourselves tells us a lot about who we really are

VI. Relative Deprivation: DEF: The belief that, in comparison to reference groups, one is getting less than they deserve. Many students, in Oxnard for example, would quantify themselves as “poor” In reality, we in Oxnard are not really poor, but may be compared to the people we idolize.

VII. Social Identity: DEF: The beliefs we hold about the groups we belong to. Our feelings tend to be very strong Ex: -Religion -Our friends -Our Families -Our Gang -etc..

VIII. Self-Schemas: DEF: Mental representations that people form about themselves These can be positive or negative In our minds, they may become absolute even though they can change

IX. Social Perception: DEF: The process through which people interpret information about others, draw inferences about them, and develop mental representations of them We use physical, emotional, or other cues about them In many cases we can be wrong.