THE SOCIAL COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

THE SOCIAL COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE The phenomenological emphasis on inner experience led naturally to a close association between social psychology and cognitive psychology, which examines the mental processes involved in noticing, interpreting, judging, and remembering events in the environment. The study of these processes has advanced greatly since the 1950s, when the advent of computers helped lead a “cognitive revolution”—a rebirth of interest in the workings of the mind. During the 1970s and 1980s, an increasing number of social psychologists adopted a social cognitive perspective, which focuses on the processes involved in people’s choice of which social events to pay attention to, Social constructivist view The idea that people, including scientists, do not discover reality but rather construct or invent it. Social cognitive perspective A theoretical viewpoint that focuses on the mental processes involved in paying attention to, interpreting, judging, and remembering social experiences. David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidian cult. The group’s beliefs about social reality had tragic consequences, leading to a deadly shoot-out with federal agents and a mass conflagration that took 86 members’ lives. From the phenomenological perspective, beliefs are sometimes more important than objective reality. CCONTTEENTTSS IINDEEXX HEELLPP 12 Chapter 1 Introduction to Social Psychology which interpretations to make of these events, and how to store these experiences in memory (Fiske & Taylor, 1991; Smith, 1998). Consider people’s reactions to Martin Luther King Jr.’s powerful “I have a dream” speech to the Washington marchers on August 28, 1963. Many Americans were profoundly moved by the televised images of King speaking to the mass of black and white faces in front of the Lincoln Monument that day. In order for King’s persuasive appeal to work, however, a person needed to pay attention to his words, interpret his arguments as legitimate, and remember the message later. If a person watching the TV news that day was distracted by a loud conversation in the next room, King’s message might have had little impact. Likewise, if the viewer had paid close attention to the speech but remembered reports that several march organizers were former Communists, he or she might have interpreted and remembered King’s words as particularly devious bits of propaganda. We will discuss the specific issue of cognition and persuasive communication in some detail in Chapter 5. Because of the central importance of the social cognitive perspective in modern social psychology, it will provide an essential component throughout this text as we discuss the many mysteries of social behavior.