Social Cognition: From brains to culture

by Susan T. Fiske, Shelley E. Taylor

How do people make sense of each other? How do people make sense of themselves? Social cognition attempts to explain the most fundamental of questions. It looks at why other people are not simply 'objects' to be perceived and how the social world provides dramatic and complex perspectives on the Self and Others. The subtitle of this book 'From Brains to Culture' reflects the journey that Social Cognition has been on since it first emerged as a dynamic and forward-looking field of research within social psychology. Structured in four clear parts, Social Cognition: From Brains to Culture begins with a clear outline of the basic concepts before moving into more topical sections: understanding individual selves and others, followed by making sense of society. The authors finish by looking beyond cognition to affect and behaviour. Challenging and rigorous, yet strikingly accessible, this book is essential reading for all students of social psychology from undergraduate to post-graduate and beyond.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Reference, Social Science, Philosophy, Neuroscience, Academic

632 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 1984

About the author

Susan Tufts Fiske is the Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs in the Department of Psychology at Princeton University. She is a social psychologist known for her work on social cognition, stereotypes, and prejudice.

Reviews

[Hamilton Carvalho]

There is a lot of work put into this book, which provides a great overview of social cognition. There are, however, four major drawbacks in my view: 1. It portrays lots of research within social psychology that have not withstood the test of replication (the so-called replication crisis in social psychology). This can be corrected in new editions, though; 2. It gives much weight to neuroscience when it should have been providing both an evolutionary lenses and a cross-cultural perspective to the discussed behaviors; 3. Hence, most reported studies were done with WEIRD subjects, making it difficult to generalize to populations living outside industrialized countries; 4. Finally, it is inexcusable to ignore the work of Keith Stanovich on the tripartite model of the mind. Several theoretical issues and conundrums discussed in the book could be better understood under the light provided by the (great) work done by Stanovich and colleagues.

[J. Keck]

A must read for students of psychology who would understand Cognitive-Behavioral Psychology. The text provides a basis for understanding elements of social cognition, attribution theory, and social schemata, along with many processes of social cognition.

[Mike]

The social cognition "bible". It's a book that Laurie Rudman recommended in her Attitudes and Social Cognition course.

[Santiago Aguirre]

Una lectura valiosa para ampliar el conocimiento psicológico. En la práctica clínica se tienden a colocar del lado aspectos cruciales sobre la psicología social. Como profesionales es importante mantenerse informado sobre las maneras en las que los grupos pueden influir en las personas.

La obra fue interesante e hizo un buen trabajo en transmitir tanta información de manera concreta. Me pareció interesante que se reconozca el trabajo que falta en el campo y espero en el futuro continuemos entendiendo los efectos de la cognición social en el individuo.

[Leonardo]

El trabajo de Susan se comenta en esta clase.