Social Cognition

Influences on Social Cognition in Children and Adolescents

Academic Institution

Influences on Social Cognition in Children and Adolescents

Child development is influenced by many factors. Some of the most important factors that affect the development of a child include heredity, nutrition, parental affection, and culture. Cognition refers to a general processes regarding the principles of thinking in humans, whereas social cognition refers to the study of how people process and use social information, particularly how social information is encoded, stored, retrieved, and then applied by the person in social situations (Striano & Reid, 2006). Social cognition and social cognitive development are often studied by cognitive psychologist and social psychologists. The parallel between cognitive development and the development of social cognition certainly cannot be ignored. Cognition in children develops within the social context, but also most likely conforms to certain developmental patterns (Piaget, 1954). The primary influences of the...
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