Social Cognition

The social world is complicated and our minds are limited, so we take shortcuts. You have to make quick decisions – this person is dangerous, this one is not. The shortcuts we take mostly work well enough, because, after all, we survive. But some are deeply unjust, including racial or social class categories or other unfair stereotypes.

This book will help you understand how these shortcuts work, why they exist, and how they are changing. 

This edition has been thoroughly revised to remove outdated content and add new information on AI and machine learning, as well as a brand new chapter on accuracy. 

This is not a self-help book, but it will aid you as you navigate your social world. This is not a do-good book, but it will help you make a difference in the world. This is not fiction, but it tells some good stories. Social cognition captures a remarkable range of phenomena useful to individuals and to the human condition.

Susan T. Fiske is Emerita Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology and Professor of Public Affairs, Princeton University. She is the only person to have won all three APS awards.