Social Psychology: Cognition, Attitudes, and Behavior

Introduction to Social Psychology

Social psychology is the scientific study of how individuals' thoughts, behaviors, and feelings are influenced by other people's behaviors and characteristics — whether those behaviors and characteristics are inferred, real, or imagined. Social psychology is critical to understanding how the psychology of individuals works and what external factors have an overarching impact on the development of the self-concept.

Psychology and social psychology intersect as individuals interact; people may act in accordance with social expectations or depending on the behaviors, attitudes, and thoughts prevalent in different cultures (Morris & Maisto, 2016). As a result, behaviors are often perceived as reflections of individual traits — such as values and attitudes — rather than as situational responses prompted by others' social expectations.

Social psychology acknowledges that people's behaviors are greatly influenced by a sense of universality, and it explores how social behaviors differ across cultures. Furthermore, social psychology is not oblivious to the biological influence on behavior; neuroimaging and social cognition are examined extensively to understand the factors that come into play during social interactions.

Social Cognition and Schemas

Social cognition is one of the main sub-topics explored in depth within social psychology. Social cognition refers to a set of complex mental abilities that form the foundation of stimulus perception, processing, interpretation, and response (Morris & Maisto, 2016). Collectively, these cognitive abilities support the development of sufficient social competence and adaptation.

In social psychology, the process of influence in a social setting is associated with the organization and interpretation of information about other people — efforts to understand their behavior and determine the extent to which they influence our own. Before engaging in a conversation with someone new, a person forms an initial perception of that individual which then shapes the interaction. This remains true even when the individual subsequently shares information contrary to that first impression. First impressions can be formed based on clothing, manners, body build, facial features, or gestures (Morris & Maisto, 2016).

This phenomenon is based on a schema — a set of expectations and beliefs an individual has built over time based on their experiences. The schema we develop about a person often informs our own behavior, shaped by what we expect that person's behavior to be or what we anticipate an interaction with them will be like. This effect becomes self-fulfilling if the other person mirrors our behavior.

Notably, social cognition focuses mainly on the principles upon which the thinking process is predicated. While individuals rely on schemas to understand the world, these schemas differ among people. The cultural background of an individual is a primary determinant of differences in schemata.

Attitudes and Their Components

Attitude is defined as the relatively stable organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies directed toward an attitude object, a situation, or another individual. An individual's attitude greatly influences their behavior depending on social circumstances. While attitude is not the only predictor of behavior, it is among the strongest (Hunt et al., 2012).

For example, because racial bias is widely regarded as unacceptable, racially prejudiced individuals may conceal their attitudes through corrective behavior that others would not associate with prejudice. In contrast, explicitly prejudiced individuals do not attempt to take corrective measures to conceal their bias.

The core components of attitude are affect (emotion), behavior, and cognition. The impact of an attitude on behavior is tied to all three components. Three primary variables influence the attitude–behavior relationship: subjective norms that create an inclination to support things we value; the attitude adopted toward a behavior, which serves as a predictor (the stronger we feel, the more likely we are to perform the behavior); and perceived behavioral control, which determines our conviction to act (Morris & Maisto, 2016).

In the case of implicit racial prejudice, an individual may believe their attitude is justified but lack the conviction to act on it — unlike individuals with explicit prejudice, who are committed to behaviors that reveal their bias despite implied social repercussions. Individuals with implicit bias are more likely to conceal their attitudes, since racial prejudice is socially frowned upon and may invite unwanted social consequences.

When the components of attitude — affect and cognition — are activated at the moment an action is performed, behavior follows more readily. For instance, a person who is cognitively aware of the benefits of recycling and feels positive after recycling is likely to recycle regularly to enjoy both the cognitive and emotional rewards of the behavior (Morris & Maisto, 2016). Furthermore, since recycling is encouraged at the community level, individuals who understand its benefits and feel strongly about its importance are more inclined to recycle consistently. An individual's attitude is therefore most likely to influence behavior when the social, cognitive, and affective components are aligned.

References

Hunt, C., Borgida, E., & Lavine, H. (2012). Social cognition. Encyclopedia of Human Behaviour, 456–462. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-375000-6.00331-1

Morris, C., & Maisto, A. (2016). Understanding psychology (11th ed.). Pearson.