What is Cognition?
The word comes from the Latin root ‘cognoscere’, which means ‘to know’. Cognition usually refers to everything that is related to knowledge. In other words, the accumulation of information that we have gained through learning or experience.
The most accepted definition of cognition is the ability to process information through perception (information that is received through our different senses), knowledge acquired through experience, and our individual characteristics that allow us to bring together all of this information to make sense of our world.
In other words, cognition is the ability that we have to assimilate and process the information that we receive from different sources to turn them into knowledge.
Cognitive processes:
Cognition includes many cognitive processes which together form part of our intellectual development and experience. Some of these processes are shown in the list below.
- Reasoning.
- Interpreting.
- Learning.
- Decision-making.
- Attention.
- Memory.
- Language.
Cognitive processes
Cognitive processes are the procedures we use to integrate new knowledge and make decisions based on that knowledge. Each of these cognitive processes work together to consolidate the new knowledge and create a view and understanding of the world around us.
To find out more about cognitive processes see below.
Cognitive perception allows us to organise and understand the world through information that comes in from our different senses, like sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. While most people are familiar with the common senses, there are some other, less-known senses, like proprioception (information which unconsciously perceives our position in space and judges spatial orientation) and interoception (which is the perception of our organs in our bodies which allows us to know when we’re hungry or thirsty). Once the information is received, our brain brings together all of the information, generating a new memory.
Attention is the cognitive process that allows us to concentrate on information or an activity in order to process it more thoroughly later. Attention is an essential cognitive function for the development of daily situations, and it is used in the majority of tasks that we carry out everyday. It is the mechanism that controls and regulates the rest of the cognitive processes: from perception to learning and complex reasoning.
Memory is the cognitive process that allows us to code, store, and retrieve information from the past. Memory is a basic process for learning, as it is what allows us to create a sense of identity. There are many types of memory, like short-term memory, which is the ability to retain information for a short period of time (remember a telephone number until we can write it down on paper), and long-term memory, which are all of the memories that we keep for a long period of time.
Thought is fundamental for all cognitive processes. It allows us to integrate all of the information that we’ve received and establish relationships between events and knowledge. To do this, it uses reasoning, integration, and problem solving which are also known as executive functions.
Language is the ability to express our thoughts and feelings through spoken word. It is a tool that we use to communicate and organise and transmit information that we have about ourselves and the world. Language and thought are developed together and are closely related and they both affect each other.
Learning is the cognitive process that we use to incorporate new information into our prior knowledge. Learning includes things as diverse as behaviours or habits, like brushing our teeth or learning how to walk, and knowledge that we learn from the people around us.
