Social cognitive theorists are most interested in which of the following aspects of human behavior?

• A. The influence of genetic factors on personality development
• B. How individuals interpret and mentally represent social information
• C. The effects of neurotransmitters on emotional responses
• D. The role of unconscious motives in shaping behavior

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that social cognitive theory focuses on how people process, store, and apply information about other people and social situations.
2. Recognize that this theory emphasizes the role of cognitive processes such as attention, memory, and interpretation in influencing behavior.
3. Identify that social cognitive theorists are particularly interested in how individuals interpret and mentally represent social information, which affects their actions and reactions.
4. Compare this focus with other options: genetic factors relate more to biological perspectives, neurotransmitters to biological psychology, and unconscious motives to psychoanalytic theory.
5. Conclude that the key aspect social cognitive theorists study is how individuals interpret and mentally represent social information, as this aligns with the theory's emphasis on cognitive processes in social behavior.