Social Information Processing

The social world is a complex and often, ambiguous domain that requires attention to many sources of information (e.g., words, tone of voice, emotional expressions, body language, the broader context, and other cues) that must be processed and interpreted, in the service of making decisions about how to interact with others. This entry describes the reformulated social information processing (SIP) model and how it relates to making decisions about how to behave during social interactions. The SIP conceptual framework provides a coherent structure and flow to understanding what happens during social decision-making and has had a tremendous impact on research across a wide range of subfields in psychology. The SIP model provides a framework for understanding the decision-making process that often occurs unconsciously, simultaneously, and instantaneously in the average social situation. In particular, the SIP model has been helpful in advancing understanding of how someone makes the decision to behave aggressively. In this entry, examples of how SIP is related to behavior will be described with a focus on the application of the SIP model to aggressive decision-making.

In the SIP context, the choice to be aggressive can be thought of as the result of a misinterpretation of the behavior of others. The origin of this misinterpretation is entirely understandable in that in many social situations, particularly those where someone is hurt or feels provoked, the intent of the perpetrator may be unclear or ambiguous. According to the SIP model, how the victim interprets this ambiguous information is what drives decision-making and behavior.

The following scenario describes an example of how this misinterpretation may happen.

The SIP model acknowledges that individuals enter into a social situation with their own unique backgrounds, knowledge, and capabilities; this is referred to as the database. For example, biological and genetic factors such as intellectual disabilities, hearing, or vision impairment will influence an individual’s experiences and interpretations of any given social situation, which could in turn affect behaviors. In addition, knowledge about the social rules in a specific situation, such as whether or not it is appropriate to yell across the room, will have a similar effect. Further, an individual’s [Page 2064]social history and previous experiences will also influence an individual’s interpretations, decision–making, and behavior. In the example just described, Alex’s history with the classmate in the hallway, and even with other classmates in the school, is information that could influence decision-making in this situation.