Social Cognition & Social Influence

Social psychology: The scientific study of the way in which people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the real or imagined presence of people.
Social Influence: The effect that the words, actions, or mere presence of other people have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behavior.
Comparison to Related Fields:
- Sociology: The study of groups, organizations, and societies, rather than individuals.
- Social Psychology: The study of the psychological processes people have in common that make them susceptible to social influence.
- Personality Psychology: The study of the characteristics that make individuals unique and different from one another.
Importance of Social Influence:
- Curiosity about human social behaviour and a desire to understand it deeply.
- We live in a social environment and are influenced by it.
- Understanding how we are influenced, how we influence others, and why we form relationships (love, dislike, indifference).
- Relevance in modern social platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Definition: How people think about themselves and the social world; more specifically, how people select, interpret, remember, and use social information to make judgments and decisions (PSY2042 textbook).
Alternative Definitions: