Originally published in 1981, this volume presents papers from the first
Ontario Symposium on Personality and Social Psychology held at the
University of Western Ontario from August 25-27, 1978. The general theme
of the symposium was social cognition. The chapters have been grouped
into two major parts. Chapters 1-5 focus on the implications of
cognitive structures for social cognition, with particular emphasis on
the nature of social schemata and the organization of social
information. Chapters 6-11 focus on the consequences for social
cognition of various cognitive processes and mechanisms, including
verbal and nonverbal communicative processes, category accessibility,
salience and selective attention, hypothesis-testing, and self-centered
biases. Chapter 12 comments on the general perspectives taken in the
previous chapters and suggests some additional directions for future
consideration. Today it can be read and enjoyed in its historical
context.