Communication and Social Cognition: Theories and Methods

Communication and Social Cognitionrepresents the explosion of work in the field of social cognition over the past 25 years. Expanding the contribution made bySocial Cognition and Communication, published in 1982, this scholarly collection updates the study of communication from a social cognitive perspective, with contributions from well-known experts and promising new scholars in diverse areas of communication. Organized into sectionsmessage production, interpersonal communication, media, and social influence the collection reflects the areas in which social cognition theories have become integral in understanding communicative processes, and in which a proliferation of scholarship has emerged. Readers are informed of the current major trends in social cognition research, and are introduced to its history. Throughout the text, chapter authors highlight both theoretical and methodological aspects of research, encouraging communication scholars to include social cognition in their research, and, likewise, promoting communication to social cognition researchers. The volume addresses the future of social cognition, including the most fitting directions in which to take scholarship, emerging theories in the field, and the methods currently yielding the most promising results. Communication and Social Cognitionappeals to scholars, researchers, and advanced students in communication and psychology. It can be used as a textbook in graduate courses related to social cognition, social influence, message production, interpersonal communication, media effects, and message design.

David R. Roskos-Ewoldsen (Ph.D., Indiana University) is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Alabama. His research focuses on attitude accessibility, persuasion, and message comprehension. He is founding co-editor of Media Psychology, with Jennings Bryant, and is founding editor of Communication Methods and Measures. His research has been published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Human Communication Research, and Communication Monographs.   
Jennifer L. Monahan (Ph.D., University of Southern California) is an associate professor in the Department of Speech Communication at the University of Georgia where she is also a Fellow of the Institute for Behavioral Research and a Fellow of the Behavioral Health Science Institute. Her research examines message design and message perception in both interpersonal and mediated communication settings. Her research has been published in Human Communication Research, Communication Monographs, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and a variety of other sources.