Vol. 1, Issue 7, Part E (2015)

Abstract
The presence of othersrnhas a great push in how people act, but in order to understand how great thernsocial influence is, one must first examine the role of the ‘self.’ Thernmain objective of this paper is to understand social cognition and the socialrnworld. Social psychologists confirm that learning is not obtained throughrnindependent factors; they take into account all influences. Thoughts are notrndisembodied, immaterial entities that exist apart from neural events. Socialrncognition is thinking about others and the social world. Cognitive processes arernemergent brain activities that exert determinative influence. Thisrndeterminative influence is reciprocating, in that it is a bit of give and take.rnSocial cognition has its roots in social psychology which attempts ‘tornunderstand and explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individualsrnare influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Firstrnimpressions means other things being equal, the first information one learnsrnabout someone influences, more than later information does. The relationshiprnbetweenaffect and cognition is very much a two-way street: the feelings andrnmoods exert strong effects on several aspects of cognition, and cognition inrnturn, exerts strong effects on one’s feelings and moods.Schemas are mentalrnframe-works containing information relevant to specific situations or events,rnwhich, once established, help, interpret these situations and what’s happeningrnin them.Prototypes aremental models of the typical qualities of members of somerngroup or category.