Social Cognition

Social cognition refers to the internal processes involved in perceiving, interpreting, and reasoning about the social world. Social cognitive capacities include discrete and interrelated skills associated with understanding emotions and cognitive states, detecting and responding to social cues, and resolving social problems. These skills are believed to underlie social behavior and contribute to social interaction and competence, both in the moment and over time.

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disorders (ID/DD) experience heightened risk for social problems and poor interpersonal outcomes relative to individuals with neurotypical development. Historically, cognitive delays were assumed to directly account for the increased social difficulties exhibited by individuals with ID/DD. However, research since the late 1990s has challenged this perspective, highlighting the role of other contributing factors, particularly social cognition, in ...