BSUJ Special Issue on Self and Social Cognition: Editorial

Researchers such as Leary argue that both interpersonal and intrapersonal processes should be considered in psychological theory and research, contrary to much research that has focused on only intrapsychic motives such as maintenance of cognitive or affective states. Therefore, authors in this issue have examined common psychological constructs within social contexts, and some have posited methodologies that may assist in this line of research in the future. In this special issue, readers will learn about self-processes and social cognition through both clinical and positive psychology lenses, meaning that authors investigated how these processes are related to both clinical dysfunction and everyday well-being respectively. Part 1 offers a look at self-awareness (SA), or the process of actively identifying, storing, and retrieving information about the self; part 2 is focused on conceptual self-processes, or the process of actively mentalizing about one’s own traits and emotions, and part 3 connects the topic of the self to that of social cognition, or the process of actively mentalizing about the self and others.