SOCIAL COGNITION AND SOCIAL COGNITION - FROM THE SUBJECTIVE TO THE INTERSUBJECTIVE

Following Kuhn, it is proposed that there are two major paradigms for the study of social cognition. The first and most traditional paradigm relies on single-subject designs, and is therefore limited to the stu dy of subjective phenomena. It prescribes that subjects responses be k ept independent, and treats any interdependence in these responses as a statistical nuisance. In contrast, the second paradigm relies on dya dic and small group designs and addresses both subjective and intersub jective phenomena It prescribes that the naturally occurring interdepe ndence in the subjects' responses be preserved and studied as an impor tant set of phenomena in their own right. This second, intersubjective paradigm may be especially conducive to the integration of research o n social cognition with research on social interaction and group dynam ics.