Customer Reviews

Social Cognition: Making Sense of People

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I spent some time looking for a simple bedside aggregation of the various topics associated with the psychology of decision making and the various perceptual biases, without finding much. Most of the books are excellent; but, aside from this one (and Jon Baron's) they are usually compilation of original research. I like to have a readable consolidation of the material not far from my figertips. I was lucky to have found this book, which provides a wonderful and comprehensive coverage of the topics.
It is limpid, precise, illustrative, showing a wonderful clarity of mind.

Now the bad news. The author passed away recently at the age of 48.

This is an excellent book, very well-written and thorough. I borrowed it from a friend to use as a reference for a paper, and ended up enjoying myself thoroughly while reading it. I absolutely had to buy a copy for myself to add to my library. I'm thinking of developing a social cognition course, and if I do, I'm definitely using this book.

The book--although poorly bound--is written very nicely. Kunda has a wonderful way of presenting the material objectively and respectfully while still engaging the reader. There are numerous, minor typos but this does not distract the reader terribly. A natural progression is found in Kunda's style, where she presents a topic, draws on some familiar day-to-day experiences, and presents the experiments and research that support it. She explains contradictions and allows the reader to make his/her own conclusions and inferences concerning topics like hot cognition, influences of mood on memory, subliminal processing, false-memories, and influences of culture on cognition. She, herself, did extensive work in the area of cognitive science and since her passing, will be missed by many as her work was incredibly innovative and interesting.

The book reads quickly and will be enjoyed by most. The only thing I wish was different about this book was its size (there is so much left over white space on each page--it's unnecessary). Most people with some experience or interest in cognitive science should find this book fascinating. Do not expect an in-depth or even moderate assessment of the biological or neurological underpinnings of cognition. This book explains cognition by reviewing social and cognitive experiments.

I read this for my Psych course in college, but its also a interesting read for anyone who has in interest into delving into psychology.

Ziva Kunda's Social Cognition is a readable, well-researched, and vital book on the psychology of (surprise) social cognition. It's a mind-bender - what you learn about the experimentally verified mechanics of such wide-ranging topics as racism, motivation, memory, self-knowledge and so on will literally change the way you look at the world.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is even remotely interested in how the human mind works or wants a better understanding of their own mind and chances are, if you're reading this, you fall into one of these two categories.

Very fast shipping! The book came as described (NEW) and I saved about $15 from buying it from Amazon.com