PSYCHOLOGY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR - Essay Example

Taylor and Brown (1986) are of the view that a person containing positive illusions about his own self and others also maintains healthy mind, because mental information system has the capability to reach a happy and optimistic conclusion. The researchers, above-mentioned, have discussed their socio-psychological perspective of mental health under the title Illusion and Well-Being: A Social Psychological Perspective on Mental Health. In this research paper, Taylor and Brown analyze how mental health has been co-related with perceiving realities without any illusion of optimism.

According to this model, individuals mildly distort reality to their benefit due to self-serving biases. This construct represents an in-depth synthesis of many models. (Luca, 1999:37) The past researches used to measure mental soundness of individuals by their vision of realistic thoughtfulness. A dominant position has maintained that the psychologically healthy person is one who maintains close contact with reality. (Taylor & Brown, 1988:193) Taylor & Brown do not go eye to eye with the notion of assessing mental health with mere the soundness of realism; rather, they are of the opinion that unrealistic positive illusions serve as the definite indicators of metal health on the one hand and are highly supportive in keeping the mind healthy on the other for an individuals cognitive development and mental fitness.

Cognitive development refers to the growth of mental processes as well as ability to think and perceive. It also discusses how an individual learns by his innate mental capabilities and from society. The study of cognitive psychology is motivated by scientific curiosity, by the desire for practical applications, and by the need to provide a foundation for other fields of social science. (Anderson, 1990:1) Taylor & Brown, emphasize on the significance of positive illusion for judging