Cognitive process

Cognitive Process

A cognitive process or cognition is the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. It encompasses many aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as attention, the formation of knowledge, memory and working memory, judgment and evaluation, reasoning and "computation", problem solving and decision making, comprehension and production of language, etc.

Overview

Cognitive processes use existing knowledge and generate new knowledge. They are studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science. These processes are analyzed from different perspectives within different contexts, notably in the fields of linguistics, anesthesia, neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, education, philosophy, anthropology, biology, systemics, and computer science.

Types of Cognitive Processes

Cognitive processes can be categorized into various types:

• Perception: The process of interpreting sensory information.
• Attention: The ability to focus on specific stimuli or locations.
• Memory: The ability to store and retrieve information.
• Learning: The acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught.
• Language: The use of symbols to communicate.
• Emotion: The complex reaction pattern, involving experiential, behavioral, and physiological elements.

Cognitive Process in Psychology

In psychology, cognitive processes are often conceptualized as a sequence of stages, each involving specific tasks. This is known as the information processing approach to cognitive functioning. It suggests that information is processed in stages, much like how a computer processes data.

Cognitive Process in Neuroscience

In neuroscience, the study of the neural basis of cognition is known as cognitive neuroscience. This field examines how the brain processes, stores, and uses information and how these processes relate to behavior.

Cognitive Process in Artificial Intelligence

In the field of artificial intelligence, cognitive processes are used as models for the development of intelligent systems. This is known as cognitive computing, which aims to mimic human cognitive processes in machines.

See Also

• Cognitive psychology
• Cognitive science
• Cognitive neuroscience
• Cognitive linguistics
• Cognitive anthropology
• Cognitive sociology