Overview

Cognition refers to the mental activities involved in acquiring, processing, and using knowledge. It includes functions such as memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and problem solving. Understanding cognitive processes helps explain how we learn, communicate, and make decisions in daily life.

Key Themes and Concepts

• Memory:
  • Encoding, storage, retrieval: How we process, retain, and access information.
  • Sensory, short-term, and long-term memory: Different stages of memory storage.
  • Working memory: Active manipulation of information; involves the central executive and subsystems like the phonological loop.
  • Forgetting: Decay, interference, and retrieval failure can lead to memory loss.
• Thinking and Problem Solving:
  • Algorithms vs. heuristics: Logical rules vs. mental shortcuts.
  • Insight and fixation: Sudden solutions vs. stuck mental sets.
  • Confirmation bias: Seeking information that supports preexisting beliefs.
• Language:
  • Phonemes, morphemes, syntax: Building blocks of language.
  • Language acquisition: Influenced by both biological readiness and social environment; includes theories by Chomsky (innate grammar) and Skinner (learning).
  • Linguistic relativity: Language may shape thought and perception.
• Creativity and Intelligence:
  • Convergent vs. divergent thinking: One solution vs. many possibilities.
  • Fluid vs. crystallized intelligence: Problem-solving ability vs. accumulated knowledge.
  • Multiple intelligences (Gardner): Broad view including musical, spatial, interpersonal, etc.

Quick Tip

Working memory is like a mental workspace — it helps you hold and manipulate information short-term. Problem solving often relies on heuristics, which are quick and efficient but can lead to mistakes. Language development is deeply rooted in biology but shaped by experience. Cognitive processes are interconnected: memory affects reasoning, and language influences how we think about the world.