Social cognition: brief considerations

This article is to present contributions to the understanding of the concept of Social Cognition, a term used for studies related to mental processes and contents when people are in social interaction. The term was used in the 1960s during the studies of Fisk and Taylor when they were interested in relating topics of interest to Cognitive Psychology with the studies of Social Psychology. In this sense, issues such as, how I am perceived, how I influence the environment around me, how I am influenced by it, and how I am affected by belief systems, among others, are interested in the studies of Social Cognition. The fundamental question of this study is characterized by the question: what are the contributions of Social Cognition to the understanding of individual and collective behaviors and behaviors of people? It was then presented important themes in Psychology that dialogue with studies centered on Social Cognition, such as Beliefs, Attitudes, and Self-Efficacy, reaching the conclusion that these themes not only dialogue with Social Cognition and can be considered as subsumed themes in Social Cognition.