Opportunities and Limitations of Social

As all people are social beings, they interact with each other on a regular basis. Thus, they try to make sense of other people’s reactions as well as predict their potential responses to various impulses. This paper provides an examination of the concept of social cognition as well as additional opportunities and some limitations associated with its application by individuals. Deeper knowledge and better understanding of the essence of social cognition allow analyzing other people’s actions and intentions better, but it should not be viewed as the only or perfect method for harmonizing interpersonal relations. Social cognition may be defined as the process of making sense of oneself, other people, and social situations (Fiske, 2014). People do not communicate randomly; they try to persuade others or collect the needed information. In any case, people aim at improving their social or psychological states in the process of communicating with others. For this reason, they try to analyze closely the actions and responses of other people. However, different people demonstrate different abilities to analyze the actions and intentions of others. The reason is that they utilize their cognitive structures non-similarly (Fiske, 2014). Therefore, such analysis has a high likelihood of being incorrect. Social cognition applies not only to other people but also to a given person. Prior to assessing or analyzing others, it is necessary to evaluate oneself in a correct way. People need to determine their major qualities and traits and compare them with the social functions they fulfill. However, in the majority of cases, their assessment of themselves is not objective as they project some qualities and traits they wish to possess rather than those existing in reality. In addition, it contributes to further problems with assessing other people correctly and predicting their actions. Moreover, people should not overstate the potential of social cognition in a sense that it is always possible to evaluate all relevant aspects and determine the most plausible responses of all actors (Fiske, 2014). Even if their assessment is correct at some point of time, it does not guarantee achieving similar results in the future. As all individuals learn and adjust their behavior to the external conditions, thus people may respond differently to the same stimuli. Therefore, the understanding of social cognition should lead not to predicting the only possible state of the social environment but rather to a set of possible scenarios. Correspondingly, it will decrease the general level of social uncertainty but not eliminate it completely. It is necessary to comprehend that the existence of people’s free will always contributes to social diversity and uncertain responses. Thus, it is reasonable to integrate one’s actions with those of other people in a way that corresponds to the dominant social needs and interests. Such optimization should not violate the rights of any individual. Only those changes that are beneficial for all people involved should be adopted. It is the foundation of the civilized society in the 21st century. It may be concluded that the concept of social cognition is highly important for constructing the social meaning of one’s actions and those of other social members. On the one hand, it creates additional opportunities for a more rational examination of people’s actions, preferences, and plans. On the other hand, it is reasonable to understand that the social environment is always uncertain and cannot be predicted in advance. Therefore, people should interact with each other respecting each other’s autonomy and free choices. As a result, social cognition is necessary but insufficient for the complete social harmony. It should be combined with one’s personal experience and the general assessment of social events and processes. More you can ask on https://qualityessay.com/.