Cognition: definition, main processes and functioning

We discover one of the most studied and theorized concepts in Psychology.

Cognition allows us to perceive our environment, learn from it and remember the information we have obtained, as well as to solve problems that arise during life or to communicate with other people.It also allows us to solve problems that arise during our lives or to communicate with other people.

In this article we will describe what exactly cognition is and what are the main cognitive processes.

What is cognition?

The term "cognition" can be defined as the ability of some living beings to obtain information from their environment and, based on its processing by the brain, to interpret it and give it meaning. In this sense, cognitive processes depend on both sensory capacities and the central nervous system.

This is a concept of very broad meaning that can be roughly equated with that of "thinking".. However, as we will see below, this term can also refer to one of the processes or phases that make up cognition: reasoning, which in turn overlaps with problem solving.

In the field of psychology, cognition is understood as the processing of any type of information through mental functions. From a historical point of view this conceptualization derives from the traditional separation between the rational and the affective; however, nowadays emotion is often seen as a cognitive process as well.

Throughout history many authors have proposed that cognition, particularly that which takes place consciously, should be the main object of study in scientific psychology. Wilhelm Wundt, Hermann Ebbinghaus or William James began to study basic cognitive processes such as memory or attention at the end of the 19th century.

Current developments in the study of cognition owe much to the theories of information processing and to the cognitivist orientation in general, very popular from the mid-twentieth century onwards. These paradigms favored the consolidation of interdisciplinary fields as relevant as neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience.

Main cognitive processes

The faculties that make up cognition are multiple; we will focus only on some of the most general and relevant ones, such as attention, language and cognition.such as attention, language and metacognition (or knowledge about one's own cognition).

Likewise, and in accordance with current knowledge, we will include emotion as a fully-fledged cognitive process.

1. Perception

The term "perception" refers to the uptake of stimuli from the environment by the sensory organs. and its transmission to higher levels of the nervous system, but also to the cognitive process by which we generate a mental representation of this information and interpret it. This second phase involves prior knowledge and attention.

2. Attention

Attention is the general ability to focus cognitive resources on specific stimuli or mental contents; therefore, it has a regulatory role in the functioning of other cognitive processes. This ability is divided into several facets, so that attention can be understood as selection, concentration, activation, vigilance or expectation.

3. Learning and memory

Learning is defined as the acquisition of new information or the modification of existing mental contents (together with their corresponding neurophysiological correlates). Different types of learning have been described, such as the classical and operant conditioning models, which are associated with synaptic potentiation mechanisms.

Memory is a concept closely related to learning, since it encompasses encoding, storage and retrieval of information.Memory is a concept closely related to learning, since it encompasses the encoding, storage and retrieval of information. These processes involve key structures of the limbic system such as the hippocampus, amygdala, fornix, nucleus accumbens or the mammillary bodies of the thalamus.

4. Language

Language is the faculty that allows human beings to use complex methods of communication, both oral and written.both orally and in writing. From an evolutionary point of view it is considered a development of vocalizations and non-specific gestures that were used by our ancestors and that resemble those used by other animal species.

5. Emotion

Although emotion has traditionally been separated from cognition (understood equivalently to thought), increasing knowledge in psychology has revealed that the two processes function similarly, increasing knowledge in psychology has revealed that the two processes function in a similar way.. The level of activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the motivation to approach or move away from a stimulus are determinants of emotion.

• Recommended article: "The 8 types of emotions (and their characteristics)".

6. Reasoning and problem solving

Reasoning is a high-level cognitive process that is based on the use of other, more basic ones to solve problems or achieve goals around complex aspects of reality. There are different types of reasoning depending on how we classify them; if we do it from logical criteria we have deductive, inductive and abductive reasoning.

7. Social Cognition

The popularization of social psychology, which took place in the 1960s and 1970s, led to an increased interest in the study of cognition applied to interpersonal relationships. From this perspective, transcendental models such as attribution theories and schema theory of knowledge representation have been developed.

8. Metacognition

Metacognition is the faculty that allows us to be aware of our own cognitive processes and to reflect on them. and reflect on them. Particular attention has been paid to metamemory, since the use of strategies to enhance learning and recall is very useful for improving cognitive performance.