Social Cognition

Abstract

This article describes the current state of knowledge about adolescent social cognition. It begins with a brief overview of the different perspectives researchers use when studying social cognition. We then delve more deeply into specific topics that have been examined, including adolescents' conceptions of sociopolitical issues, such as government and rights, interpersonal issues, such as friendship and exclusion, and personal issues, such as identity and perspective taking. In general, adolescents' thinking about most of these topics becomes more complex, sensitive to situational differences, and integrated over time. However, the patterning and appearance of these changes vary for different areas of social cognition. We also draw attention to factors that influence adolescents' social thinking, such as parenting, peers, ethnicity, cultural values, and personal behavior, as well as the way changes in social cognition influence adolescents' social interactions. Finally, we discuss interconnections among areas of adolescent social cognition as well as future directions for the field.