The 8 higher psychological processes

One of the most characteristic human traits is that we can think in abstract terms.

Higher psychological processes, such as language or reasoning, are involved in the capabilities that distinguish people from other animals.are involved in the capacities that distinguish people from other animals. These and other voluntary and controlled functions have allowed us to dominate the planet and explain much of the complexity that characterizes our societies.

But what exactly do these functions consist of? but what exactly do higher cognitive functions consist of? In this article you will find the description of the main higher psychological processes and the definition of this concept.

What are higher psychological processes?

According to Lev Vygotsky, higher mental processes are human psychological systems that develop from more basic ones, shared with animals. They are mediated by symbols and emerge from social interactionas well as a natural consequence of brain development.

Oppositely, basic or elementary psychological processes are shared by many animal species and are present in humans from birth. These processes mainly include attention, perception and memory.

The concept of higher psychological process is widely used today, especially in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, although the definition is not always equivalent to that of Vygotsky.

In the field of neuropsychology we speak of higher psychological processes to refer to the brain functions that depend on the integration areas of the cortex.. As their name indicates, these regions integrate information from the rest of the brain, allowing highly complex processes such as language or reasoning.

The main higher cognitive functions

There is no clear consensus on the number of higher psychological processes that exist, although the following are usually included within this concept at least gnosias, praxias, language and executive functions, such as reasoning and inhibition.such as reasoning and inhibition; the latter will be treated separately.

1. Gnosias

Gnosis is defined as the ability to recognize and give meaning to what we perceive.. It depends on memory and the senses, so we can speak of visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory or tactile gnosias; these are the simple gnosias, through which we give meaning directly to external stimulation.

On the other hand, there are also complex gnosias, which combine information from the senses with other brain functions, giving rise to perception of the body itself or visuospatial orientation.

2. Praxias

When we execute a motor motor behavior under voluntary control with the aim of achieving a goal, we are carrying out a praxis, generally learned motor programs. Disorders in these functions are called "apraxias".

Praxias are divided into three types: visuoconstructive (using different elements to create a whole, such as a drawing), ideomotor or ideomotor (recognizing and carrying out simple gestures, such as waving) and ideational or ideational (using a sequence of movements with a specific meaning).

3. Attention

Attention can be considered a basic mental process or a higher one depending on the complexity of the task and whether voluntary control is given. It is defined as the ability to focus cognitive resources on given stimuliIt is mediated by the processes of alertness and perception.

Among the types of attention that could be considered as higher psychological processes are selective attention, selective attention, selective attention, selective attention, selective attention, and selective attention. selective, sustained and divided attention are noteworthy. Selective attention is the ability to focus on a single stimulus, sustained attention consists of paying attention for a prolonged period of time and divided attention allows the focus of attention to alternate between several stimuli.

4. Language

Language is a fundamental psychological process because it facilitates other cognitive functions and mediates many types of learning. For the development of language, symbolic function is required.that is, the ability to represent ideas by means of symbols and to understand them, in case they have been created by other people.

Within this higher mental process we find diverse capacities, such as expression or the discrimination of phonemes and letters. Both oral and written language, which is based on spoken language, make it possible to give information or make requests to other people; the development of this capacity was key to the progress of human societies.

5. Decision Making

Decision making is the ability to choose the most appropriate plan of action among those available to us. This skill includes the detailed analysis of options and their possible consequences, as well as the comparison of alternatives.

Decision-making is included within the executive functions, such as reasoning, planning or inhibition, which we will describe in the following sections. Executive functions are complex brain processes that enable us to reach goals and maximize that allow us to achieve goals and maximize our adaptation to the environment by monitoring voluntary behavior.

6. Reasoning

We can define reasoning as the process by which we draw conclusions, make inferences and draw we draw conclusions, make inferences and establish abstract relationships between concepts. between concepts. It can be inductive (when we use individual cases to arrive at a general rule), deductive (drawing conclusions from the general rule) or abductive (making the simplest possible inference).

7. Planning

Through planning we not only create plans to achieve our objectives, but it also allows for goal setting itself. The creation of plans and forecasts starts from the projection of memories into the future: that is, we work from knowledge about the past and the present to establish hypotheses about what will happen and what could be done.

In addition, planning is strongly involved in decision making and problem solving.

8. Inhibition

When we talk about higher psychological processes, the term "inhibition" refers to the ability to ignore irrelevant stimulior to restrain inappropriate impulses in a given context.

Brain inhibition appears to be altered in several psychological disorders, including schizophrenia and ADHD. Moreover, as with many other higher psychological processes, this capacity is consolidated in adolescence and early adulthood.

Bibliographical references:

• De vega, M. (1999). Introduction to Cognitive Psychology. Alianza Psicología. Madrid.
• Fuentes, L. & García-Sevilla, J. (2008). Manual de psicología de la atención: una perspectiva neurocientífica. Madrid: Síntesis.
• Tirapu-Ustárroz, J. & Muñoz-Céspedes, J.M. (2005). Memory and executive functions. Journal of Neurology, 41(8): pp. 475 - 484.
• Von Eckardt, B. (1996). What is cognitive science? Massachusetts: MIT Press. pp. 45 - 72.