Social Cognition

Recommended Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Teaching Methods

Lectures/discussion of scientific articles/presentation of research works, etc

Learning Outcomes

Adopting the Social Psychology perspective, the curricular unit aims to contribute to a profound knowledge in the substantive area of social cognition, in articulation with the goals and contents of both the compulsory and optional curricular units in the domain of Social Psychology stricto sensu.

More specifically, we want the students, at the end of this curricular unit, to be able to:

1. Identify, describe (in a succinct and precise way) and critically evaluate the main theoretical models, empirical contents and the research methods used in social cognition;

2. Establish connections with the neighbor disciplines (e.g. Evolutionary Psychology) and extract relevant implications to the domain of psychological intervention (e.g. Education).

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Module 1 – Attitudes and attribution

1.1 Attitudes, change of attitudes and persuasion: Cog. and beh.

1.2 Causal attribution: Inferences and biases

1.3 Causal attr. and close relationships

Module 2 –Self and social cognition

2.1 Reflexive conscious experience and cognitive representations of self

2.2 Interpersonal self and self-presentation strategies

2.3 Sociocognitive dimensions and executive function of self

Module 3 – Social representativos, expectancies and interactions

3.1 Social representations and social cognition: Research paradigms and theoretical and methodological tensions

3.Expectancies and interpersonal relations: theoretical models and sociocognitve processes

3.3 Social interaction, language and communication: systems of analysis in the educational context

Module 4 – Social cognition and evolutionary psychology

4.1 The evolutionary paradigma applied to social cognition

4.2 Cooperation and evolution: Mutualism, reciprocity and altruism

4.3 Evolution and social networks

Head Lecturer(s)

Valentim António Rodrigues Alferes

Bibliography

Baumeister (Ed.).(1999).The self in social psychology: Key readings in social psychology. Clev., OH: Psychol. Press.

Babad, E. (2009). The social psych. of the classroom. NY: Routledge.

Deaux, K., & Philogène, G.(2001).Representations of the social: Bridging theroretical traditions. Oxf., UK: Blackwell.

Dunbar, R. I. M., & Barrett, L. (Eds.).(2007).Oxford handbook of evolutionary psychology. Oxf., UK: Oxford U Press.

Fiske, S.T., & Taylor, S. E.(2008).Social cognition: From brains to culture. NY: McGraw-Hil.

Fiske, S. T., Gilbert, D. T., & Lindzey, G. (Eds.).(2010). The handbook of social psychology (5th ed.). NY: Wiley.

Fletcher, G. J., & Clark, M. S.(Eds.).(2001). Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Interper. process. Oxf.: Blackwell.

Kruglanski, A. W, & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.).(2007). Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (2th ed.). NY: Guilford.

Rossano, M. J., Matthew J.(2003). Evolutionary psychology: The science of human behavior and evolution. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.