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[[File:RobertFuddBewusstsein17Jh.png|alt=A cognitive model illustrated by Robert Fludd|thumb|A [[cognitive model]], as illustrated by [[Robert Fludd]] (1619)<ref>[[Robert Fludd|Fludd, Robert]]. "De tripl. animae in corp. vision". {{Abbr|Tract.|''Tractatus'' ('treatise')}} I, {{Abbr|sect.|section}} I, {{Abbr|lib.|''libre'' ('book')}} X in {{Langx|la|Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atqve technica historia|label=none}}, vol. II. p. [[iarchive:utriusquecosmima02flud/page/216/mode/2up|217]].</ref>]] | [[File:RobertFuddBewusstsein17Jh.png|alt=A cognitive model illustrated by Robert Fludd|thumb|A [[cognitive model]], as illustrated by [[Robert Fludd]] (1619)<ref>[[Robert Fludd|Fludd, Robert]]. "De tripl. animae in corp. vision". {{Abbr|Tract.|''Tractatus'' ('treatise')}} I, {{Abbr|sect.|section}} I, {{Abbr|lib.|''libre'' ('book')}} X in {{Langx|la|Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atqve technica historia|label=none}}, vol. II. p. [[iarchive:utriusquecosmima02flud/page/216/mode/2up|217]].</ref>]] | ||
'''Cognition''' | '''Cognition''' refers to the broad set of mental processes that relate to acquiring [[knowledge]] and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. <ref>{{Cite web|title=Cognition|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/cognition |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715113427/https://www.lexico.com/definition/cognition |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 15, 2020 |website=Lexico|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] and [[Dictionary.com]]|access-date=6 May 2020}}</ref> It encompasses all aspects of [[intellect]]ual functions and processes such as: [[perception]], [[attention]], [[thought]], [[imagination]], [[intelligence]], the formation of [[knowledge]], [[memory]] and [[working memory]], [[Value judgment|judgment]] and [[evaluation]], [[reason]]ing and [[computation]], [[problem solving|problem-solving]] and [[decision making|decision-making]], [[comprehension (logic)|comprehension]] and production of [[language]]. Cognitive processes use existing knowledge to discover new knowledge. | ||
Cognitive processes are analyzed from very different perspectives within different contexts, notably in the fields of [[linguistics]], [[musicology]], [[anesthesia]], [[neuroscience]], [[psychiatry]], [[psychology]], [[education]], [[philosophy]], [[anthropology]], [[biology]], [[systemics]], [[logic]], and [[computer science]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Von Eckardt|first=Barbara | name-list-style = vanc |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E8l48-DZln0C&q=what+is+cognition&pg=PA13|title=What is cognitive science?|publisher=MIT Press|year=1996|isbn=9780262720236|location=Princeton, MA|pages=45–72}}</ref> These and other approaches to the analysis of cognition (such as [[embodied cognition]]) are synthesized in the developing field of [[cognitive science]], a progressively autonomous [[Discipline (academia)|academic discipline]]. | Cognitive processes are analyzed from very different perspectives within different contexts, notably in the fields of [[linguistics]], [[musicology]], [[anesthesia]], [[neuroscience]], [[psychiatry]], [[psychology]], [[education]], [[philosophy]], [[anthropology]], [[biology]], [[systemics]], [[logic]], and [[computer science]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Von Eckardt|first=Barbara | name-list-style = vanc |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E8l48-DZln0C&q=what+is+cognition&pg=PA13|title=What is cognitive science?|publisher=MIT Press|year=1996|isbn=9780262720236|location=Princeton, MA|pages=45–72}}</ref> These and other approaches to the analysis of cognition (such as [[embodied cognition]]) are synthesized in the developing field of [[cognitive science]], a progressively autonomous [[Discipline (academia)|academic discipline]]. | ||
== Etymology == | == Etymology == | ||
The word ''cognition'' dates back to the 15th century, where it meant "[[thought|thinking]] and awareness".<ref name=":0">{{cite book | | The word ''cognition'' dates back to the 15th century, where it meant "[[thought|thinking]] and awareness".<ref name=":0">{{cite book | last=Revlin | first=Russell | title=Cognition: Theory and Practice | publisher=Macmillan | date=2012-02-24 | isbn=978-0-7167-5667-5}}</ref> The term comes from the [[Latin]] noun {{Langx|la|{{wikt-lang|en|i=no|cognitio}}|label=none}} ('examination', 'learning', or 'knowledge'), derived from the verb {{Langx|la|{{wikt-lang|en|i=no|cognosco}}|label=none}}, a [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]] of {{Langx|la|{{wikt-lang|en|i=no|con}}|label=none}} ('with') and {{Langx|la|{{wikt-lang|en|i=no|gnosco|gnōscō}}|label=none}} ('know'). The latter half, {{Lang|la|gnōscō}}, itself is a [[cognate]] of a [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] verb, ''{{Langx|grc|gi(g)nósko|label=none|italic=yes}}'' ({{Langx|grc|γι(γ)νώσκω|label=none|lit=I know,' or 'perceive}}).<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Liddell HG, Scott R | author-link1 = Henry Liddell | author-link2 = Robert Scott (philologist) | date = 1940 | url = https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=gignw/skw | title = γιγνώσκω | work = [[A Greek–English Lexicon|A Greek-English Lexicon]] | veditors = Jones HS, McKenzie R | editor-link1 = Henry Stuart Jones | location = Oxford | publisher = [[Oxford University Press|Clarendon Press]] | via = [[Perseus Project]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Franchi S, Bianchini F | author-link2 = Francesco Bianchini | date = 2011 | chapter = On The Historical Dynamics Of Cognitive Science: A View From The Periphery. | title = The Search for a Theory of Cognition: Early Mechanisms and New Ideas | location = Amsterdam | publisher = [[Rodopi (publisher)|Rodopi]] | page = XIV }}</ref> | ||
== Early studies == | == Early studies == | ||
Despite the word ''cognitive'' itself dating back to the 15th century,<ref name=":0" /> attention to ''cognitive processes'' came about more than eighteen centuries earlier, beginning with [[Aristotle]] (384–322 BCE) and his interest in the inner workings of the mind and how they affect the human experience. Aristotle focused on cognitive areas pertaining to memory, perception, and mental imagery. He placed great importance on ensuring that his studies were based on empirical evidence, that is, scientific information that is gathered through observation and conscientious experimentation.<ref>{{cite book|last=Matlin|first=Margaret | name-list-style = vanc |title=Cognition|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|year=2009|location=Hoboken, NJ|page=4}}</ref> Two millennia later, the groundwork for modern concepts of cognition was laid during the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] by thinkers such as [[John Locke]] and [[Dugald Stewart]] who sought to develop a model of the mind in which ideas were acquired, remembered and manipulated.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Eddy|first1=Matthew Daniel | name-list-style = vanc |title=The Cognitive Unity of Calvinist Pedagogy in Enlightenment Scotland|url=https://www.academia.edu/28249746|journal=Ábrahám Kovács (Ed.), Reformed Churches Working Unity in Diversity: Global Historical, Theological and Ethical Perspectives (Budapest: l'Harmattan, 2016)|pages=46–60}}</ref> | Despite the word ''cognitive'' itself dating back to the 15th century,<ref name=":0" /> attention to ''cognitive processes'' came about more than eighteen centuries earlier, beginning with [[Aristotle]] (384–322 BCE) and his interest in the inner workings of the mind and how they affect the human experience. Aristotle focused on cognitive areas pertaining to memory, perception, and mental imagery. He placed great importance on ensuring that his studies were based on empirical evidence, that is, scientific information that is gathered through observation and conscientious experimentation.<ref>{{cite book|last=Matlin|first=Margaret | name-list-style = vanc |title=Cognition|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|year=2009|location=Hoboken, NJ|page=4}}</ref> Two millennia later, the groundwork for modern concepts of cognition was laid during the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] by thinkers such as [[John Locke]] and [[Dugald Stewart]] who sought to develop a model of the mind in which ideas were acquired, remembered and manipulated.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Eddy|first1=Matthew Daniel | name-list-style = vanc |title=The Cognitive Unity of Calvinist Pedagogy in Enlightenment Scotland|url=https://www.academia.edu/28249746|journal=Ábrahám Kovács (Ed.), Reformed Churches Working Unity in Diversity: Global Historical, Theological and Ethical Perspectives (Budapest: l'Harmattan, 2016)|pages=46–60}}</ref> | ||
During the very early nineteenth century cognitive models were developed both in [[philosophy]]—particularly by authors writing about the [[philosophy of mind]]—and in [[medicine]], especially by physicians seeking to understand how to cure madness. In [[England|Britain]], these models were studied in the academy by scholars such as [[James Sully]] at [[University College London]], and they were even used by politicians when considering the national [[Elementary Education Act 1870]] ([[33 & 34 Vict.]] c. 75).<ref>{{cite journal | | During the very early nineteenth century cognitive models were developed both in [[philosophy]]—particularly by authors writing about the [[philosophy of mind]]—and in [[medicine]], especially by physicians seeking to understand how to cure madness. In [[England|Britain]], these models were studied in the academy by scholars such as [[James Sully]] at [[University College London]], and they were even used by politicians when considering the national [[Elementary Education Act 1870]] ([[33 & 34 Vict.]] c. 75).<ref>{{cite journal | last=Eddy | first=Matthew Daniel | title=The politics of cognition: liberalism and the evolutionary origins of Victorian education | journal=British Journal for the History of Science | volume=50 | issue=4 | date=2017 | issn=1474-001X | pmid=29019300 | doi=10.1017/S0007087417000863 | doi-access=free | pages=677–699 | url=https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/preview/1353882/22231.pdf }}</ref> | ||
As [[psychology]] emerged as a burgeoning field of study in [[Europe]], whilst also gaining a following in [[United States|America]], scientists such as [[Wilhelm Wundt]], [[Hermann Ebbinghaus|Herman Ebbinghaus]], [[Mary Whiton Calkins]], and [[William James]] would offer their contributions to the study of human cognition.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} | As [[psychology]] emerged as a burgeoning field of study in [[Europe]], whilst also gaining a following in [[United States|America]], scientists such as [[Wilhelm Wundt]], [[Hermann Ebbinghaus|Herman Ebbinghaus]], [[Mary Whiton Calkins]], and [[William James]] would offer their contributions to the study of human cognition.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} | ||
=== Early theorists === | === Early theorists === | ||
[[Wilhelm Wundt]] (1832–1920) emphasized the notion of what he called ''[[introspection]]'': examining the inner feelings of an individual. With introspection, the subject had to be careful with describing their feelings in the most objective manner possible in order for Wundt to find the information scientific.<ref name="Fuchs">{{cite | [[Wilhelm Wundt]] (1832–1920) emphasized the notion of what he called ''[[introspection]]'': examining the inner feelings of an individual. With introspection, the subject had to be careful with describing their feelings in the most objective manner possible in order for Wundt to find the information scientific.<ref name="Fuchs">{{cite book| vauthors = Fuchs AH, Milar KJ |chapter=Psychology as a science|title=Handbook of Psychology|year=2003|volume=1|pages=1–26|doi=10.1002/0471264385.wei0101|isbn=9780471176695}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Zangwill OL |title=The Oxford companion to the mind|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|pages=951–952| isbn=978-0-19-866224-2}}</ref> Though Wundt's contributions are by no means minimal, modern psychologists find his methods to be too subjective and choose to rely on more objective procedures of experimentation to make conclusions about the human cognitive process.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cowan |first1=Nelson |last2=Rachev |first2=Nikolay R. |date=2018-08-01 |title=Merging with the path not taken: Wilhelm Wundt's work as a precursor to the embedded-processes approach to memory, attention, and consciousness |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810017306086 |journal=Consciousness and Cognition |volume=63 |pages=228–238 |doi=10.1016/j.concog.2018.06.001 |pmid=29880413 |issn=1053-8100}}</ref> | ||
[[Hermann Ebbinghaus]] (1850–1909) conducted cognitive studies that mainly examined the function and capacity of human memory. Ebbinghaus developed his own experiment in which he constructed over 2,000 syllables made out of nonexistent words (for instance, 'EAS'). He then examined his own personal ability to learn these non-words. He purposely chose non-words as opposed to real words to control for the influence of pre-existing experience on what the words might symbolize, thus enabling easier recollection of them.<ref name="Fuchs" /><ref name="Zangwill">{{cite book| vauthors = Zangwill OL |title=The Oxford companion to the mind|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|page=276}}</ref> Ebbinghaus observed and hypothesized a number of variables that may have affected his ability to learn and recall the non-words he created. One of the reasons, he concluded, was the amount of time between the presentation of the list of stimuli and the recitation or recall of the same. Ebbinghaus was the first to record and plot a "[[learning curve]]" and a "[[forgetting curve]]".<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Brink TL | date = 2008 | chapter = "Memory." Unit 7 | title = Psychology: A Student Friendly Approach | page = 126 }}</ref> | [[Hermann Ebbinghaus]] (1850–1909) conducted cognitive studies that mainly examined the function and capacity of human memory. Ebbinghaus developed his own experiment in which he constructed over 2,000 syllables made out of nonexistent words (for instance, 'EAS'). He then examined his own personal ability to learn these non-words. He purposely chose non-words as opposed to real words to control for the influence of pre-existing experience on what the words might symbolize, thus enabling easier recollection of them.<ref name="Fuchs" /><ref name="Zangwill">{{cite book| vauthors = Zangwill OL |title=The Oxford companion to the mind|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|page=276| isbn=978-0-19-866224-2}}</ref> Ebbinghaus observed and hypothesized a number of variables that may have affected his ability to learn and recall the non-words he created. One of the reasons, he concluded, was the amount of time between the presentation of the list of stimuli and the recitation or recall of the same. Ebbinghaus was the first to record and plot a "[[learning curve]]" and a "[[forgetting curve]]".<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Brink TL | date = 2008 | chapter = "Memory." Unit 7 | title = Psychology: A Student Friendly Approach | page = 126 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335128923}}</ref> | ||
[[Mary Whiton Calkins]] (1863–1930) was an influential American pioneer in the realm of psychology. Her work also focused on human memory capacity. A common theory, called the [[recency effect]], can be attributed to the studies that she conducted.<ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Madigan S, O'Hara R |title=Short-term memory at the turn of the century: Mary Whiton Calkin's memory research|journal=American Psychologist|year=1992|volume=47|pages=170–174|doi=10.1037/0003-066X.47.2.170|issue=2}}</ref> The recency effect, also discussed in the subsequent experiment section, is the tendency for individuals to be able to accurately recollect the final items presented in a sequence of stimuli. Calkin's theory is closely related to the aforementioned study and conclusion of the memory experiments conducted by Hermann Ebbinghaus.<ref name="Matlin">{{cite book|last=Matlin|first=Margaret | | [[Mary Whiton Calkins]] (1863–1930) was an influential American pioneer in the realm of psychology. Her work also focused on human memory capacity. A common theory, called the [[recency effect]], can be attributed to the studies that she conducted.<ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Madigan S, O'Hara R |title=Short-term memory at the turn of the century: Mary Whiton Calkin's memory research|journal=American Psychologist|year=1992|volume=47|pages=170–174|doi=10.1037/0003-066X.47.2.170|issue=2}}</ref> The recency effect, also discussed in the subsequent experiment section, is the tendency for individuals to be able to accurately recollect the final items presented in a sequence of stimuli. Calkin's theory is closely related to the aforementioned study and conclusion of the memory experiments conducted by Hermann Ebbinghaus.<ref name="Matlin">{{cite book | last=Matlin | first=Margaret W. | title=Cognition | date=2007 | isbn=978-0-470-14664-4|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|location=Hoboken, NJ|page=5}}</ref> | ||
[[William James]] (1842–1910) is another pivotal figure in the history of cognitive science. James was quite discontent with Wundt's emphasis on introspection and Ebbinghaus' use of nonsense stimuli. He instead chose to focus on the human learning experience in everyday life and its importance to the study of cognition. James' most significant contribution to the study and theory of cognition was his textbook ''Principles of Psychology'' which preliminarily examines aspects of cognition such as perception, memory, reasoning, and attention.<ref name="Matlin" /> | [[William James]] (1842–1910) is another pivotal figure in the history of cognitive science. James was quite discontent with Wundt's emphasis on introspection and Ebbinghaus' use of nonsense stimuli. He instead chose to focus on the human learning experience in everyday life and its importance to the study of cognition. James' most significant contribution to the study and theory of cognition was his textbook ''Principles of Psychology'' which preliminarily examines aspects of cognition such as perception, memory, reasoning, and attention.<ref name="Matlin" /> | ||
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== Psychology == | == Psychology == | ||
[[File:Generalization process using trees.svg|thumb|alt=Diagram|When the mind makes a generalization such as the [[concept]] of ''tree'', it extracts similarities from numerous examples; the simplification enables higher-level thinking (abstract thinking).]]{{See also|Cognitivism (psychology)}} | [[File:Generalization process using trees.svg|thumb|alt=Diagram|When the mind makes a generalization such as the [[concept]] of ''tree'', it extracts similarities from numerous examples; the simplification enables higher-level thinking (abstract thinking).]]{{See also|Cognitivism (psychology)}} | ||
In [[psychology]], the term "cognition" is usually used in an [[Information processing (psychology)|information processing]] view of an individual's psychological [[functionalism (philosophy of mind)|functions]],<ref name="Sternberg2009">{{cite book | vauthors = Sternberg RJ, Sternberg K | date = 2009 | title = Cognitive Psychology | edition = 6th | location = Belmont, CA | publisher = [[Cengage|Wadsworth Cengage]] Learning | In [[psychology]], the term "cognition" is usually used in an [[Information processing (psychology)|information processing]] view of an individual's psychological [[functionalism (philosophy of mind)|functions]],<ref name="Sternberg2009">{{cite book | vauthors = Sternberg RJ, Sternberg K | date = 2009 | title = Cognitive Psychology | edition = 6th | location = Belmont, CA | publisher = [[Cengage|Wadsworth Cengage]] Learning | isbn=978-0-495-50632-4}}</ref> and such is the same in [[cognitive engineering]].<ref name="Blomberg">{{cite journal| vauthors = Blomberg O |year = 2011|title = Concepts of cognition for cognitive engineering|journal = [[International Journal of Aviation Psychology]]|volume = 21|issue = 1|pages = 85–104|doi = 10.1080/10508414.2011.537561|s2cid = 144876967}}</ref> In the study of [[social cognition]], a branch of [[social psychology]], the term is used to explain [[Attitude (psychology)|attitudes]], [[Attribution (psychology)|attribution]], and [[group dynamics]];<ref name="Sternberg2009" /> however, psychological research in the field of cognitive science has also suggested an embodied approach to understanding cognition. Contrary to the traditional computationalist approach, [[embodied cognition]] emphasizes the body's significant role in the acquisition and development of cognitive capabilities.<ref name="calvo_gomila_2008">{{Cite book |title=Handbook of cognitive science: an embodied approach |publisher=Elsevier Science |editor=Paco Calvo |editor2=Antoni Gomila |date=2008 |isbn=978-0-08-091487-9 |location=Amsterdam |oclc=318353781}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lakoff |first=George |date=2012 |title=Explaining Embodied Cognition Results |journal=Topics in Cognitive Science |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=773–785 |doi=10.1111/j.1756-8765.2012.01222.x |pmid=22961950 |s2cid=18978114 |issn=1756-8757|doi-access=free }}</ref> | ||
Human cognition is conscious and [[Unconscious cognition|unconscious]], [[Tangibility|concrete]] or [[Abstraction|abstract]], as well as [[Intuition|intuitive]] (like knowledge of a language) and [[Conceptualism|conceptual]] (like a model of a language). It encompasses processes such as [[memory]], [[Association of Ideas|association]], [[concept formation]], [[pattern recognition]], [[language]], [[attention]], [[perception]], [[action (philosophy)|action]], [[problem solving]], and [[mental image]]ry.<ref> | Human cognition is conscious and [[Unconscious cognition|unconscious]], [[Tangibility|concrete]] or [[Abstraction|abstract]], as well as [[Intuition|intuitive]] (like knowledge of a language) and [[Conceptualism|conceptual]] (like a model of a language). It encompasses processes such as [[memory]], [[Association of Ideas|association]], [[concept formation]], [[pattern recognition]], [[language]], [[attention]], [[perception]], [[action (philosophy)|action]], [[problem solving]], and [[mental image]]ry.<ref>{{cite book |authorlink1=Stanley Coren|last1=Coren |first1=Stanley |authorlink2=Lawrence M. Ward |first2=Lawrence M. |last2=Ward |first3=James T. |last3=Enns |year=1999 |title=Sensation and Perception |edition=5th |publisher=[[Harcourt (publisher)|Harcourt Brace]] |isbn=978-0-470-00226-1 |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Best | first=John B. | date = 1999 | title = Cognitive Psychology | edition = 5th | pages = 15–17| isbn=978-0-470-00232-2}}</ref> Traditionally, [[emotion]] was not thought of as a cognitive process, but now much research is being undertaken to examine the [[cognitive psychology]] of emotion; research is also focused on one's awareness of one's own strategies and methods of cognition, which is called [[metacognition]]. The concept of cognition has gone through several revisions through the development of disciplines within psychology.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} | ||
Psychologists initially understood cognition governing human action as information processing. This was a movement known as cognitivism in the 1950s, emerging after the Behaviorist movement viewed cognition as a form of behavior.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pyszczynski |first1=Tom |last2=Greenberg |first2=Jeff |last3=Koole |first3=Sander |last4=Solomon |first4=Sheldon |article=Experimental Existential Psychology: Coping With the Facts of Life |year=2010|title=Handbook of Social Psychology |pages=socpsy001020 |editor-last=Fiske |editor-first=Susan T. |editor2-last=Gilbert |editor2-first=Daniel T. |editor3-last=Lindzey |editor3-first=Gardner |location=Hoboken, NJ |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |language=en |doi=10.1002/9780470561119.socpsy001020 |isbn=978-0-470-56111-9}}</ref> Cognitivism approached cognition as a form of computation, viewing the mind as a machine and consciousness as an executive function.<ref name="calvo_gomila_2008" /> However; post cognitivism began to emerge in the 1990s as the development of cognitive science presented theories that highlighted the necessity of cognitive action as embodied, extended, and producing dynamic processes in the mind.<ref>{{Cite book |date=2007 |editor-last=Zelazo |editor-first=Philip David |editor2-last=Moscovitch |editor2-first=Morris |editor3-last=Thompson |editor3-first=Evan |title=The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511816789|isbn=9780511816789 }}</ref> The development of Cognitive psychology arose as psychology from different theories, and so began exploring these dynamics concerning mind and environment, starting a movement from these prior dualist paradigms that prioritized cognition as systematic computation or exclusively behavior.<ref name="calvo_gomila_2008" /> | Psychologists initially understood cognition governing human action as information processing. This was a movement known as cognitivism in the 1950s, emerging after the Behaviorist movement viewed cognition as a form of behavior.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pyszczynski |first1=Tom |last2=Greenberg |first2=Jeff |last3=Koole |first3=Sander |last4=Solomon |first4=Sheldon |article=Experimental Existential Psychology: Coping With the Facts of Life |year=2010|title=Handbook of Social Psychology |pages=socpsy001020 |editor-last=Fiske |editor-first=Susan T. |editor2-last=Gilbert |editor2-first=Daniel T. |editor3-last=Lindzey |editor3-first=Gardner |location=Hoboken, NJ |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |language=en |doi=10.1002/9780470561119.socpsy001020 |isbn=978-0-470-56111-9}}</ref> Cognitivism approached cognition as a form of computation, viewing the mind as a machine and consciousness as an executive function.<ref name="calvo_gomila_2008" /> However; post cognitivism began to emerge in the 1990s as the development of cognitive science presented theories that highlighted the necessity of cognitive action as embodied, extended, and producing dynamic processes in the mind.<ref>{{Cite book |date=2007 |editor-last=Zelazo |editor-first=Philip David |editor2-last=Moscovitch |editor2-first=Morris |editor3-last=Thompson |editor3-first=Evan |title=The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511816789|isbn=9780511816789 }}</ref> The development of Cognitive psychology arose as psychology from different theories, and so began exploring these dynamics concerning mind and environment, starting a movement from these prior dualist paradigms that prioritized cognition as systematic computation or exclusively behavior.<ref name="calvo_gomila_2008" /> | ||
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{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Stage !! Age or Period !! Description<ref>{{cite book | | ! Stage !! Age or Period !! Description<ref>{{cite book | last1=Gauvain | first1=Mary | last2=Parke | first2=Ross D | date = 2009 | title = Child Psychology: A Contemporary Viewpoint | edition = 7th | location = Boston | publisher = [[McGraw-Hill Education|McGraw-Hill]] |isbn=978-0-07-338268-5}}</ref> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Sensorimotor stage ||[[Infant|Infancy]] (0–2 years) || Intelligence is present; motor activity but no symbols; knowledge is developing yet limited; knowledge is based on experiences/ interactions; mobility allows the child to learn new things; some language skills are developed at the end of this stage. The goal is to develop [[object permanence]], achieving a basic understanding of [[causality]], time, and space. | | Sensorimotor stage ||[[Infant|Infancy]] (0–2 years) || Intelligence is present; motor activity but no symbols; knowledge is developing yet limited; knowledge is based on experiences/ interactions; mobility allows the child to learn new things; some language skills are developed at the end of this stage. The goal is to develop [[object permanence]], achieving a basic understanding of [[causality]], time, and space. | ||
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=== Beginning of cognition === | === Beginning of cognition === | ||
Studies on cognitive development have also been conducted in children beginning from the embryonal period to understand when cognition appears and what environmental attributes stimulate the construction of human thought or mental processes. Research shows the intentional engagement of fetuses with the environment, demonstrating cognitive achievements.<ref name="ValDanilov_SI_Modulation 2023">{{Cite journal |last=Val Danilov |first=Igor |date= 2023|title=Shared Intentionality Modulation at the Cell Level: Low-Frequency Oscillations for Temporal Coordination in Bioengineering Systems |url=https://www.lidsen.com/journals/neurobiology/neurobiology-07-04-185 |journal=OBM Neurobiology |language=en |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=1–17 |doi=10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2304185|s2cid=263722179 |doi-access=free }}</ref> However, organisms with simple reflexes cannot cognize the environment alone because the environment is the cacophony of stimuli (electromagnetic waves, chemical interactions, and pressure fluctuations).<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-10467-1_19 | doi=10.1007/978-3-031-10467-1_19 | chapter=Smartphone in Detecting Developmental Disability in Infancy: A Theoretical Approach to Shared Intentionality for Assessment Tool of Cognitive Decline and e-Learning | title=Intelligent Computing | series=Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems | date=2022 | last1=Val Danilov | first1=Igor | volume=508 | pages=305–315 | isbn=978-3-031-10466-4 }}</ref> Their sensation is too limited by the noise to solve the cue problem–the relevant stimulus cannot overcome the noise magnitude if it passes through the senses (see the [[binding problem]]). Fetuses need external help to stimulate their nervous system in choosing the relevant sensory stimulus for grasping the perception of objects.<ref name="ValDanilov_Perspective 2022">{{Cite journal |last1=Val Danilov |first1=Igor |last2=Mihailova |first2=Sandra |date= 2022|title=A New Perspective on Assessing Cognition in Children through Estimating Shared Intentionality |journal=Journal of Intelligence |language=en |volume=10 |issue=2 |page=21 |doi=10.3390/jintelligence10020021 |issn=2079-3200 |pmc=9036231 |pmid=35466234 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[Shared intentionality]] approach proposes a plausible explanation of perception development in this earlier stage. Initially, Michael Tomasello introduced the [[psychological construct]] of [[Shared intentionality]], highlighting its contribution to cognitive development from birth.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tomasello|first=Michael|title=Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=2019|isbn=9780674988651}}{{page needed|date=August 2024}}</ref> This primary interaction provides unaware collaboration in mother-child dyads for environmental learning. Later, Igor Val Danilov developed this notion, expanding it to the intrauterine period and clarifying the [[Neurophysiology|neurophysiological]] processes underlying [[Shared intentionality]].<ref name="ValDanilov_Theoretical 2023">Val | Studies on cognitive development have also been conducted in children beginning from the embryonal period to understand when cognition appears and what environmental attributes stimulate the construction of human thought or mental processes. Research shows the intentional engagement of fetuses with the environment, demonstrating cognitive achievements.<ref name="ValDanilov_SI_Modulation 2023">{{Cite journal |last=Val Danilov |first=Igor |date= 2023|title=Shared Intentionality Modulation at the Cell Level: Low-Frequency Oscillations for Temporal Coordination in Bioengineering Systems |url=https://www.lidsen.com/journals/neurobiology/neurobiology-07-04-185 |journal=OBM Neurobiology |language=en |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=1–17 |doi=10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2304185|s2cid=263722179 |doi-access=free }}</ref> However, organisms with simple reflexes cannot cognize the environment alone because the environment is the cacophony of stimuli (electromagnetic waves, chemical interactions, and pressure fluctuations).<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-10467-1_19 | doi=10.1007/978-3-031-10467-1_19 | chapter=Smartphone in Detecting Developmental Disability in Infancy: A Theoretical Approach to Shared Intentionality for Assessment Tool of Cognitive Decline and e-Learning | title=Intelligent Computing | series=Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems | date=2022 | last1=Val Danilov | first1=Igor | volume=508 | pages=305–315 | isbn=978-3-031-10466-4 }}</ref> Their sensation is too limited by the noise to solve the cue problem–the relevant stimulus cannot overcome the noise magnitude if it passes through the senses (see the [[binding problem]]). Fetuses need external help to stimulate their nervous system in choosing the relevant sensory stimulus for grasping the perception of objects.<ref name="ValDanilov_Perspective 2022">{{Cite journal |last1=Val Danilov |first1=Igor |last2=Mihailova |first2=Sandra |date= 2022|title=A New Perspective on Assessing Cognition in Children through Estimating Shared Intentionality |journal=Journal of Intelligence |language=en |volume=10 |issue=2 |page=21 |doi=10.3390/jintelligence10020021 |issn=2079-3200 |pmc=9036231 |pmid=35466234 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[Shared intentionality]] approach proposes a plausible explanation of perception development in this earlier stage. Initially, Michael Tomasello introduced the [[psychological construct]] of [[Shared intentionality]], highlighting its contribution to cognitive development from birth.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tomasello|first=Michael|title=Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=2019|isbn=9780674988651}}{{page needed|date=August 2024}}</ref> This primary interaction provides unaware collaboration in mother-child dyads for environmental learning. Later, Igor Val Danilov developed this notion, expanding it to the intrauterine period and clarifying the [[Neurophysiology|neurophysiological]] processes underlying [[Shared intentionality]].<ref name="ValDanilov_Theoretical 2023">{{Cite journal |last=Danilov |first=Igor Val |date=2023-02-17 |title=Theoretical Grounds of Shared Intentionality for Neuroscience in Developing Bioengineering Systems |url=https://www.lidsen.com/journals/neurobiology/neurobiology-07-01-156/obm.neurobiol.2301156.pdf |journal=OBM Neurobiology |volume=07 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2301156 |doi-access=free}}</ref> According to the [[Shared intentionality]] approach, the mother shares the essential sensory stimulus of the actual cognitive problem with the child.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Danilov |first1=Igor Val |last2=Mihailova |first2=Sandra |date=2021-10-02 |title=Neuronal Coherence Agent for Shared Intentionality: A Hypothesis of Neurobiological Processes Occurring during Social Interaction |url=https://www.lidsen.com/journals/neurobiology/neurobiology-05-04-113/obm.neurobiol.2104113.pdf |journal=OBM Neurobiology |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=1 |doi=10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2104113 |doi-access=free}}</ref> By sharing this stimulus, the mother provides a template for developing the young organism's nervous system.<ref name="ValDanilov_LF 2023">{{Cite journal |last=Val Danilov |first=Igor |date= 2023|title=Low-Frequency Oscillations for Nonlocal Neuronal Coupling in Shared Intentionality Before and After Birth: Toward the Origin of Perception |url=https://www.lidsen.com/journals/neurobiology/neurobiology-07-04-192 |journal=OBM Neurobiology |language=en |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=1–17 |doi=10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2304192|s2cid=265002516 |doi-access=free }}</ref> | ||
Recent findings in research on child cognitive development <ref name="ValDanilov_Perspective 2022" /><ref name="ValDanilov_Theoretical 2023" /><ref>Castiello | Recent findings in research on child cognitive development <ref name="ValDanilov_Perspective 2022" /><ref name="ValDanilov_Theoretical 2023" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Castiello |first1=Umberto |last2=Becchio |first2=Cristina |last3=Zoia |first3=Stefania |last4=Nelini |first4=Cristian |last5=Sartori |first5=Luisa |last6=Blason |first6=Laura |last7=D'Ottavio |first7=Giuseppina |last8=Bulgheroni |first8=Maria |last9=Gallese |first9=Vittorio |date=2010-10-07 |title=Wired to Be Social: The Ontogeny of Human Interaction |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=5 |issue=10 |page=e13199 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0013199 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=2951360 |pmid=20949058 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2010PLoSO...513199C }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kisilevsky |first=Barbara S. |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-22023-9_8 |title=Fetal Development: Research on Brain and Behavior, Environmental Influences, and Emerging Technologies |date=2016 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-319-22022-2 |publication-place=Cham |pages=133–152 |chapter=Fetal Auditory Processing: Implications for Language Development? |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-22023-9_8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Grace Y. |last2=Kisilevsky |first2=Barbara S. |date=2014 |title=Fetuses respond to father's voice but prefer mother's voice after birth |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dev.21084 |journal=Developmental Psychobiology |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1002/dev.21084 |pmid=23817883 |issn=0012-1630}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hepper |first1=P. G. |last2=Scott |first2=D. |last3=Shahidullah |first3=S. |date=1993 |title=Newborn and fetal response to maternal voice |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02646839308403210 |journal=Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=147–153 |doi=10.1080/02646839308403210 |issn=0264-6838}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lecanuet |first1=J.-P. |last2=Granier-Deferre |first2=C. |last3=Jacquet |first3=A.-Y. |last4=Capponi |first4=I. |last5=Ledru |first5=L. |year=1993 |title=Prenatal discrimination of a male and a female voice uttering the same sentence |url=https://www.academia.edu/download/104352542/edp.243002040520230718-1-d9iwqc.pdf |journal=Early Development and Parenting |publisher=Wiley |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=217–228 |doi=10.1002/edp.2430020405 |issn=1057-3593}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hepper |first=Peter |date=2015 |title=Behavior During the Prenatal Period: Adaptive for Development and Survival |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdep.12104 |journal=Child Development Perspectives |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=38–43 |doi=10.1111/cdep.12104}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jardri |first1=Renaud |last2=Houfflin-Debarge |first2=Véronique |last3=Delion |first3=Pierre |last4=Pruvo |first4=Jean-Pierre |last5=Thomas |first5=Pierre |last6=Pins |first6=Delphine |date=2012 |title=Assessing fetal response to maternal speech using a noninvasive functional brain imaging technique |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2011.11.002 |journal=International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=159–161 |doi=10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2011.11.002 |pmid=22123457 |issn=0736-5748}}</ref>{{excessive citations inline|date=March 2025}} and advances in inter-brain neuroscience experiments<ref name="pmid37563301">{{cite journal | vauthors = Liu J, Zhang R, Xie E, Lin Y, Chen D, Liu Y, Li K, Chen M, Li Y, Wang G, Li X | display-authors = 6 | title = Shared intentionality modulates interpersonal neural synchronization at the establishment of communication system | journal = Communications Biology | volume = 6 | issue = 1 | page = 832 | date = August 2023 | pmid = 37563301 | pmc = 10415255 | doi = 10.1038/s42003-023-05197-z }}</ref><ref name="pmid34188170">{{cite journal | vauthors = Painter DR, Kim JJ, Renton AI, Mattingley JB | title = Joint control of visually guided actions involves concordant increases in behavioural and neural coupling | journal = Communications Biology | volume = 4 | issue = 1 | page = 816 | date = June 2021 | pmid = 34188170 | pmc = 8242020 | doi = 10.1038/s42003-021-02319-3 }}</ref><ref name="pmid29292232">{{cite journal | vauthors = Hu Y, Pan Y, Shi X, Cai Q, Li X, Cheng X | title = Inter-brain synchrony and cooperation context in interactive decision making | journal = Biological Psychology | volume = 133 | issue = | pages = 54–62 | date = March 2018 | pmid = 29292232 | doi = 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.12.005 | s2cid = 46859640 }}</ref><ref name="pmid30060130">{{cite journal | vauthors = Fishburn FA, Murty VP, Hlutkowsky CO, MacGillivray CE, Bemis LM, Murphy ME, Huppert TJ, Perlman SB | display-authors = 6 | title = Putting our heads together: interpersonal neural synchronization as a biological mechanism for shared intentionality | journal = Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience | volume = 13 | issue = 8 | pages = 841–849 | date = September 2018 | pmid = 30060130 | pmc = 6123517 | doi = 10.1093/scan/nsy060 }}</ref><ref name="pmid28284802">{{cite journal | vauthors = Szymanski C, Pesquita A, Brennan AA, Perdikis D, Enns JT, Brick TR, Müller V, Lindenberger U | display-authors = 6 | title = Teams on the same wavelength perform better: Inter-brain phase synchronization constitutes a neural substrate for social facilitation | journal = NeuroImage | volume = 152 | issue = | pages = 425–436 | date = May 2017 | pmid = 28284802 | doi = 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.03.013 | hdl = 11858/00-001M-0000-002D-059A-1 | s2cid = 3807834 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> have made the above proposition plausible. Based on them, the [[shared intentionality|shared intentionality hypothesis]] introduced the notion of pre-perceptual communication in the mother-fetus communication model due to nonlocal neuronal coupling.<ref name="ValDanilov_SI_Modulation 2023" /><ref name="ValDanilov_Theoretical 2023" /><ref name="ValDanilov_LF 2023" /> This nonlocal coupling model refers to communication between two organisms through the copying of the adequate ecological dynamics by biological systems indwelling one environmental context, where a naive actor (Fetus) replicates information from an experienced actor (Mother) due to intrinsic processes of these [[Dynamical systems theory|dynamic systems]] ([[Embodied cognition|embodied information]]) but without interacting through sensory signals.<ref name="ValDanilov_SI_Modulation 2023" /><ref name="ValDanilov_Theoretical 2023" /><ref name="ValDanilov_LF 2023" /> The Mother's heartbeats (a low-frequency oscillator) modulate relevant local neuronal networks in specific subsystems of both her and the nervous system of the fetus due to the effect of the [[Wave interference|interference]] of the low-frequency oscillator (Mother heartbeats) and already exhibited gamma activity in these neuronal networks (interference in physics is the combination of two or more electromagnetic waveforms to form a resultant wave).<ref name="ValDanilov_SI_Modulation 2023" /><ref name="ValDanilov_Theoretical 2023" /><ref name="ValDanilov_LF 2023" /> Therefore, the subliminal perception in a fetus emerges due to [[Shared intentionality]] with the mother that stimulates cognition in this organism even before birth.<ref name="ValDanilov_SI_Modulation 2023" /><ref name="ValDanilov_Theoretical 2023" /><ref name="ValDanilov_LF 2023" /> | ||
Further, cognition and emotions develop with the association of affective cues with stimuli responsible for triggering the neuronal pathways of simple reflexes.<ref name="Reflexes Cognition">{{cite journal |last1=Danilov |first1=Igor Val |last2=Mihailova |first2=Sandra |title=Reflexes and Shared Intentionality in the Origins of Emotions Development: A Scoping Review of Studies on Blinking in Infants |journal=OBM Neurobiology |date=January 2025 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=1–21 |doi=10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2501263 |url=https://www.lidsen.com/journals/neurobiology/neurobiology-09-01-263 |language=en |issn=2573-4407|doi-access=free }}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=by4|from this source=yes}}</ref> This pre-perceptual multimodal integration can succeed owing to neuronal coherence in mother-child dyads beginning from pregnancy.<ref name="Reflexes Cognition" /> According to the pre-perceptual multimodal integration hypothesis based on empirical evidence, these cognitive-reflex and emotion-reflex stimuli conjunctions further form simple innate neuronal assemblies, shaping the cognitive and emotional neuronal patterns in statistical learning that are continuously connected with the neuronal pathways of reflexes.<ref name="Reflexes Cognition" /> | Further, cognition and emotions develop with the association of affective cues with stimuli responsible for triggering the neuronal pathways of simple reflexes.<ref name="Reflexes Cognition">{{cite journal |last1=Danilov |first1=Igor Val |last2=Mihailova |first2=Sandra |title=Reflexes and Shared Intentionality in the Origins of Emotions Development: A Scoping Review of Studies on Blinking in Infants |journal=OBM Neurobiology |date=January 2025 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=1–21 |doi=10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2501263 |url=https://www.lidsen.com/journals/neurobiology/neurobiology-09-01-263 |language=en |issn=2573-4407|doi-access=free }}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=by4|from this source=yes}}</ref> This pre-perceptual multimodal integration can succeed owing to neuronal coherence in mother-child dyads beginning from pregnancy.<ref name="Reflexes Cognition" /> According to the pre-perceptual multimodal integration hypothesis based on empirical evidence, these cognitive-reflex and emotion-reflex stimuli conjunctions further form simple innate neuronal assemblies, shaping the cognitive and emotional neuronal patterns in statistical learning that are continuously connected with the neuronal pathways of reflexes.<ref name="Reflexes Cognition" /> | ||
Another crucial question in understanding the beginning of cognition is memory storage about the relevant ecological dynamics by the naive nervous system (i.e., memorizing the ecological condition of relevant sensory stimulus) at the molecular level – an [[Engram (neuropsychology)|engram]]. Evidence derived using [[optical imaging]], [[Molecular genetics|molecular-genetic]] and [[Optogenetics|optogenetic]] techniques in conjunction with appropriate behavioural analyses continues to offer support for the idea that changing the strength of connections between neurons is one of the major mechanisms by which engrams are stored in the brain.<ref>Takeuchi | Another crucial question in understanding the beginning of cognition is memory storage about the relevant ecological dynamics by the naive nervous system (i.e., memorizing the ecological condition of relevant sensory stimulus) at the molecular level – an [[Engram (neuropsychology)|engram]]. Evidence derived using [[optical imaging]], [[Molecular genetics|molecular-genetic]] and [[Optogenetics|optogenetic]] techniques in conjunction with appropriate behavioural analyses continues to offer support for the idea that changing the strength of connections between neurons is one of the major mechanisms by which engrams are stored in the brain.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Takeuchi |first1=Tomonori |last2=Duszkiewicz |first2=Adrian J. |last3=Morris |first3=Richard G. M. |date=2014-01-05 |title=The synaptic plasticity and memory hypothesis: encoding, storage and persistence |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences |volume=369 |issue=1633 |page=20130288 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2013.0288 |issn=1471-2970 |pmc=3843897 |pmid=24298167 |doi-access=free}}</ref> | ||
Two (or more) possible mechanisms of cognition can involve both quantum effects<ref>Kerskens | Two (or more) possible mechanisms of cognition can involve both quantum effects<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kerskens |first1=Christian Matthias |last2=López Pérez |first2=David |date=2022-10-01 |title=Experimental indications of non-classical brain functions |journal=Journal of Physics Communications |volume=6 |issue=10 |page=105001 |doi=10.1088/2399-6528/ac94be |issn=2399-6528 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2022JPhCo...6j5001K }}</ref> and synchronization of brain structures due to electromagnetic interference.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hanslmayr |first1=Simon |last2=Axmacher |first2=Nikolai |last3=Inman |first3=Cory S. |date=2019 |title=Modulating Human Memory via Entrainment of Brain Oscillations |url=https://birmingham.elsevierpure.com/files/68319704/Hanslmayr_et_al_Modulating_human_Memory_Trends_in_Neurosciences_2019.pdf |journal=Trends in Neurosciences |volume=42 |issue=7 |pages=485–499 |doi=10.1016/j.tins.2019.04.004 |doi-access=free|pmid=31178076 }}</ref><ref name="ValDanilov_SI_Modulation 2023" /><ref name="ValDanilov_Theoretical 2023" /><ref name="ValDanilov_LF 2023" /> | ||
=== Common types of tests on human cognition === | === Common types of tests on human cognition === | ||
====Serial position==== | ====Serial position==== | ||
The ''[[Serial-position effect]]'' is meant to test a theory of memory that states that when information is given in a serial manner, we tend to remember information at the beginning of the sequence, called the ''primacy effect'', and information at the end of the sequence, called the ''recency effect''. Consequently, information given in the middle of the sequence is typically forgotten, or not recalled as easily. This study predicts that the recency effect is stronger than the primacy effect, because the information that is most recently learned is still in working memory when asked to be recalled. Information that is learned first still has to go through a retrieval process. This experiment focuses on human memory processes.<ref>{{cite journal | | The ''[[Serial-position effect]]'' is meant to test a theory of memory that states that when information is given in a serial manner, we tend to remember information at the beginning of the sequence, called the ''primacy effect'', and information at the end of the sequence, called the ''recency effect''. Consequently, information given in the middle of the sequence is typically forgotten, or not recalled as easily. This study predicts that the recency effect is stronger than the primacy effect, because the information that is most recently learned is still in working memory when asked to be recalled. Information that is learned first still has to go through a retrieval process. This experiment focuses on human memory processes.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Surprenant | first=Aimée M. | title=Distinctiveness and serial position effects in tonal sequences | journal=Perception & Psychophysics | volume=63 | issue=4 | date=2001 | issn=0031-5117 | doi=10.3758/BF03194434 | doi-access=free | pages=737–745 | pmid=11436742 | url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758/BF03194434.pdf }}</ref> | ||
====Word superiority==== | ====Word superiority==== | ||
The ''[[word superiority effect]] experiment'' presents a subject with a word, or a letter by itself, for a brief period of time, i.e. 40 ms, and they are then asked to recall the letter that was in a particular location in the word. In theory, the subject should be better able to correctly recall the letter when it was presented in a word than when it was presented in isolation. This experiment focuses on human speech and language.<ref>{{cite journal | | The ''[[word superiority effect]] experiment'' presents a subject with a word, or a letter by itself, for a brief period of time, i.e. 40 ms, and they are then asked to recall the letter that was in a particular location in the word. In theory, the subject should be better able to correctly recall the letter when it was presented in a word than when it was presented in isolation. This experiment focuses on human speech and language.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Krueger | first=Lester E. | title=The word-superiority effect and phonological recoding | journal=Memory & Cognition | volume=20 | issue=6 | date=1992 | issn=0090-502X | doi=10.3758/BF03202718 | doi-access=free | pages=685–694 | pmid=1435271 | url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758/BF03202718.pdf }}</ref> | ||
====Brown–Peterson==== | ====Brown–Peterson==== | ||
In the ''[[Brown–Peterson cohomology]] experiment'', participants are briefly presented with a [[trigram]] and in one particular version of the experiment, they are then given a distractor task, asking them to identify whether a sequence of words is in fact words, or non-words (due to being misspelled, etc.). After the distractor task, they are asked to recall the trigram from before the distractor task. In theory, the longer the distractor task, the harder it will be for participants to correctly recall the trigram. This experiment focuses on human [[short-term memory]].<ref>{{cite journal | | In the ''[[Brown–Peterson cohomology]] experiment'', participants are briefly presented with a [[trigram]] and in one particular version of the experiment, they are then given a distractor task, asking them to identify whether a sequence of words is in fact words, or non-words (due to being misspelled, etc.). After the distractor task, they are asked to recall the trigram from before the distractor task. In theory, the longer the distractor task, the harder it will be for participants to correctly recall the trigram. This experiment focuses on human [[short-term memory]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Nairne | first1=James S. | last2=Whiteman | first2=Howard L. | last3=Kelley | first3=Matthew R. |title=Short-term forgetting of order under conditions of reduced interference |journal=Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology A |year=1999 |volume=52 |pages=241–251 |doi=10.1080/713755806 |s2cid=15713857 |url=http://www1.psych.purdue.edu/~nairne/pdfs/32.pdf |access-date=2018-01-09 |archive-date=2022-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730173204/http://www1.psych.purdue.edu/~nairne/pdfs/32.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> | ||
====Memory span==== | ====Memory span==== | ||
During the ''[[memory span]] experiment'', each subject is presented with a sequence of [[Stimulus (physiology)|stimuli]] of the same kind; words depicting objects, numbers, letters that sound similar, and letters that sound dissimilar. After being presented with the stimuli, the subject is asked to recall the sequence of stimuli that they were given in the exact order in which it was given. In one particular version of the experiment, if the subject recalled a list correctly, the list length was increased by one for that type of material, and vice versa if it was recalled incorrectly. The theory is that people have a memory span of about seven items for numbers, the same for letters that sound dissimilar and short words. The memory span is projected to be shorter with letters that sound similar and with longer words.<ref>{{cite journal | | During the ''[[memory span]] experiment'', each subject is presented with a sequence of [[Stimulus (physiology)|stimuli]] of the same kind; words depicting objects, numbers, letters that sound similar, and letters that sound dissimilar. After being presented with the stimuli, the subject is asked to recall the sequence of stimuli that they were given in the exact order in which it was given. In one particular version of the experiment, if the subject recalled a list correctly, the list length was increased by one for that type of material, and vice versa if it was recalled incorrectly. The theory is that people have a memory span of about seven items for numbers, the same for letters that sound dissimilar and short words. The memory span is projected to be shorter with letters that sound similar and with longer words.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=May | first1=Cynthia P. | last2=Hasher | first2=Lynn | last3=Kane | first3=Michael J. | title=The role of interference in memory span | journal=Memory & Cognition | volume=27 | issue=5 | date=1999 | issn=0090-502X | doi=10.3758/BF03198529 | doi-access=free | pages=759–767 | pmid=10540805 | url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758/BF03198529.pdf }}</ref> | ||
====Visual search==== | ====Visual search==== | ||
| Line 95: | Line 95: | ||
===Physical exercise=== | ===Physical exercise=== | ||
Aerobic and [[anaerobic exercise]] have been studied concerning cognitive improvement.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sanders LM, Hortobágyi T, la Bastide-van Gemert S, van der Zee EA, van Heuvelen MJ | title = Dose-response relationship between exercise and cognitive function in older adults with and without cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 14 | issue = 1 | pages = e0210036 | date = 2019-01-10 | pmid = 30629631 | pmc = 6328108 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0210036 | bibcode = 2019PLoSO..1410036S | veditors = Regnaux JP | doi-access = free }}</ref> There appear to be short-term increases in attention span, verbal and visual memory in some studies. However, the effects are transient and diminish over time, after cessation of the physical activity.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Young J, Angevaren M, Rusted J, Tabet N | title = Aerobic exercise to improve cognitive function in older people without known cognitive impairment | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | issue = 4 | pages = CD005381 | date = April 2015 | volume = 2015 | pmid = 25900537 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD005381.pub4 | collaboration = Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group | pmc = 10554155 }}</ref> People with Parkinson's disease have also seen improved cognition while cycling, while pairing it with other cognitive tasks.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hazamy |first1=Audrey A. |last2=Altmann |first2=Lori J.P. |last3=Stegemöller |first3=Elizabeth |last4=Bowers |first4=Dawn |last5=Lee |first5=Hyo Keun |last6=Wilson |first6=Jonathan |last7=Okun |first7=Michael S. |last8=Hass |first8=Chris J. |date=April 2017 |title=Improved cognition while cycling in Parkinson's disease patients and healthy adults |journal=Brain and Cognition |language=en |volume=113 |pages=23–31 |doi=10.1016/j.bandc.2017.01.002 |pmc=5346468 |pmid=28088064}}</ref> Exercise, even at light intensity, significantly improves general cognition across all populations, with the largest cognitive gains seen from shorter interventions (1–3 months), light to moderate intensity activity.<ref>{{Cite journal | | Aerobic and [[anaerobic exercise]] have been studied concerning cognitive improvement.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sanders LM, Hortobágyi T, la Bastide-van Gemert S, van der Zee EA, van Heuvelen MJ | title = Dose-response relationship between exercise and cognitive function in older adults with and without cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 14 | issue = 1 | pages = e0210036 | date = 2019-01-10 | pmid = 30629631 | pmc = 6328108 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0210036 | bibcode = 2019PLoSO..1410036S | veditors = Regnaux JP | doi-access = free }}</ref> There appear to be short-term increases in attention span, verbal and visual memory in some studies. However, the effects are transient and diminish over time, after cessation of the physical activity.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Young J, Angevaren M, Rusted J, Tabet N | title = Aerobic exercise to improve cognitive function in older people without known cognitive impairment | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | issue = 4 | pages = CD005381 | date = April 2015 | volume = 2015 | pmid = 25900537 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD005381.pub4 | collaboration = Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group | pmc = 10554155 }}</ref> People with Parkinson's disease have also seen improved cognition while cycling, while pairing it with other cognitive tasks.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hazamy |first1=Audrey A. |last2=Altmann |first2=Lori J.P. |last3=Stegemöller |first3=Elizabeth |last4=Bowers |first4=Dawn |last5=Lee |first5=Hyo Keun |last6=Wilson |first6=Jonathan |last7=Okun |first7=Michael S. |last8=Hass |first8=Chris J. |date=April 2017 |title=Improved cognition while cycling in Parkinson's disease patients and healthy adults |journal=Brain and Cognition |language=en |volume=113 |pages=23–31 |doi=10.1016/j.bandc.2017.01.002 |pmc=5346468 |pmid=28088064}}</ref> Exercise, even at light intensity, significantly improves general cognition across all populations, with the largest cognitive gains seen from shorter interventions (1–3 months), light to moderate intensity activity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=Ben |last2=Bennett |first2=Hunter |last3=Miatke |first3=Aaron |last4=Dumuid |first4=Dorothea |last5=Curtis |first5=Rachel |last6=Ferguson |first6=Ty |last7=Brinsley |first7=Jacinta |last8=Szeto |first8=Kimberley |last9=Petersen |first9=Jasmine M. |last10=Gough |first10=Claire |last11=Eglitis |first11=Emily |last12=Simpson |first12=Catherine EM |last13=Ekegren |first13=Christina L. |last14=Smith |first14=Ashleigh E. |last15=Erickson |first15=Kirk I. |date=2025-03-06 |title=Effectiveness of exercise for improving cognition, memory and executive function: a systematic umbrella review and meta-meta-analysis |url=https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/03/06/bjsports-2024-108589 |journal=British Journal of Sports Medicine |volume=59 |issue=12 |pages=866–876 |language=en |doi=10.1136/bjsports-2024-108589 |issn=0306-3674 |pmid=40049759|url-access=subscription }}</ref> | ||
===Dietary supplements=== | ===Dietary supplements=== | ||
Revision as of 15:06, 30 June 2025
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Cognition refers to the broad set of mental processes that relate to acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. [2] It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, imagination, intelligence, the formation of knowledge, memory and working memory, judgment and evaluation, reasoning and computation, problem-solving and decision-making, comprehension and production of language. Cognitive processes use existing knowledge to discover new knowledge.
Cognitive processes are analyzed from very different perspectives within different contexts, notably in the fields of linguistics, musicology, anesthesia, neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, education, philosophy, anthropology, biology, systemics, logic, and computer science.[3] These and other approaches to the analysis of cognition (such as embodied cognition) are synthesized in the developing field of cognitive science, a progressively autonomous academic discipline.
Etymology
The word cognition dates back to the 15th century, where it meant "thinking and awareness".[4] The term comes from the Latin noun Template:Langx ('examination', 'learning', or 'knowledge'), derived from the verb Template:Langx, a compound of Template:Langx ('with') and Template:Langx ('know'). The latter half, Script error: No such module "Lang"., itself is a cognate of a Greek verb, Template:Langx (Template:Langx).[5][6]
Early studies
Despite the word cognitive itself dating back to the 15th century,[4] attention to cognitive processes came about more than eighteen centuries earlier, beginning with Aristotle (384–322 BCE) and his interest in the inner workings of the mind and how they affect the human experience. Aristotle focused on cognitive areas pertaining to memory, perception, and mental imagery. He placed great importance on ensuring that his studies were based on empirical evidence, that is, scientific information that is gathered through observation and conscientious experimentation.[7] Two millennia later, the groundwork for modern concepts of cognition was laid during the Enlightenment by thinkers such as John Locke and Dugald Stewart who sought to develop a model of the mind in which ideas were acquired, remembered and manipulated.[8]
During the very early nineteenth century cognitive models were developed both in philosophy—particularly by authors writing about the philosophy of mind—and in medicine, especially by physicians seeking to understand how to cure madness. In Britain, these models were studied in the academy by scholars such as James Sully at University College London, and they were even used by politicians when considering the national Elementary Education Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 75).[9]
As psychology emerged as a burgeoning field of study in Europe, whilst also gaining a following in America, scientists such as Wilhelm Wundt, Herman Ebbinghaus, Mary Whiton Calkins, and William James would offer their contributions to the study of human cognition.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Early theorists
Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) emphasized the notion of what he called introspection: examining the inner feelings of an individual. With introspection, the subject had to be careful with describing their feelings in the most objective manner possible in order for Wundt to find the information scientific.[10][11] Though Wundt's contributions are by no means minimal, modern psychologists find his methods to be too subjective and choose to rely on more objective procedures of experimentation to make conclusions about the human cognitive process.[12]
Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909) conducted cognitive studies that mainly examined the function and capacity of human memory. Ebbinghaus developed his own experiment in which he constructed over 2,000 syllables made out of nonexistent words (for instance, 'EAS'). He then examined his own personal ability to learn these non-words. He purposely chose non-words as opposed to real words to control for the influence of pre-existing experience on what the words might symbolize, thus enabling easier recollection of them.[10][13] Ebbinghaus observed and hypothesized a number of variables that may have affected his ability to learn and recall the non-words he created. One of the reasons, he concluded, was the amount of time between the presentation of the list of stimuli and the recitation or recall of the same. Ebbinghaus was the first to record and plot a "learning curve" and a "forgetting curve".[14]
Mary Whiton Calkins (1863–1930) was an influential American pioneer in the realm of psychology. Her work also focused on human memory capacity. A common theory, called the recency effect, can be attributed to the studies that she conducted.[15] The recency effect, also discussed in the subsequent experiment section, is the tendency for individuals to be able to accurately recollect the final items presented in a sequence of stimuli. Calkin's theory is closely related to the aforementioned study and conclusion of the memory experiments conducted by Hermann Ebbinghaus.[16]
William James (1842–1910) is another pivotal figure in the history of cognitive science. James was quite discontent with Wundt's emphasis on introspection and Ebbinghaus' use of nonsense stimuli. He instead chose to focus on the human learning experience in everyday life and its importance to the study of cognition. James' most significant contribution to the study and theory of cognition was his textbook Principles of Psychology which preliminarily examines aspects of cognition such as perception, memory, reasoning, and attention.[16]
René Descartes (1596–1650) was a seventeenth-century philosopher who came up with the phrase "Cogito, ergo sum", which means "I think, therefore I am." He took a philosophical approach to the study of cognition and the mind, with his Meditations he wanted people to meditate along with him to come to the same conclusions as he did but in their own free cognition.[17]
Psychology
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In psychology, the term "cognition" is usually used in an information processing view of an individual's psychological functions,[18] and such is the same in cognitive engineering.[19] In the study of social cognition, a branch of social psychology, the term is used to explain attitudes, attribution, and group dynamics;[18] however, psychological research in the field of cognitive science has also suggested an embodied approach to understanding cognition. Contrary to the traditional computationalist approach, embodied cognition emphasizes the body's significant role in the acquisition and development of cognitive capabilities.[20][21]
Human cognition is conscious and unconscious, concrete or abstract, as well as intuitive (like knowledge of a language) and conceptual (like a model of a language). It encompasses processes such as memory, association, concept formation, pattern recognition, language, attention, perception, action, problem solving, and mental imagery.[22][23] Traditionally, emotion was not thought of as a cognitive process, but now much research is being undertaken to examine the cognitive psychology of emotion; research is also focused on one's awareness of one's own strategies and methods of cognition, which is called metacognition. The concept of cognition has gone through several revisions through the development of disciplines within psychology.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Psychologists initially understood cognition governing human action as information processing. This was a movement known as cognitivism in the 1950s, emerging after the Behaviorist movement viewed cognition as a form of behavior.[24] Cognitivism approached cognition as a form of computation, viewing the mind as a machine and consciousness as an executive function.[20] However; post cognitivism began to emerge in the 1990s as the development of cognitive science presented theories that highlighted the necessity of cognitive action as embodied, extended, and producing dynamic processes in the mind.[25] The development of Cognitive psychology arose as psychology from different theories, and so began exploring these dynamics concerning mind and environment, starting a movement from these prior dualist paradigms that prioritized cognition as systematic computation or exclusively behavior.[20]
Piaget's theory of cognitive development
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Jean Piaget was one of the most important and influential people in the field of developmental psychology. He believed that humans are unique in comparison to animals because we have the capacity to do "abstract symbolic reasoning". His work can be compared to Lev Vygotsky, Sigmund Freud, and Erik Erikson who were also great contributors in the field of developmental psychology. Piaget is known for studying the cognitive development in children, having studied his own three children and their intellectual development, from which he would come to a theory of cognitive development that describes the developmental stages of childhood.[26]
| Stage | Age or Period | Description[27] |
|---|---|---|
| Sensorimotor stage | Infancy (0–2 years) | Intelligence is present; motor activity but no symbols; knowledge is developing yet limited; knowledge is based on experiences/ interactions; mobility allows the child to learn new things; some language skills are developed at the end of this stage. The goal is to develop object permanence, achieving a basic understanding of causality, time, and space. |
| Preoperational stage | Toddler and Early Childhood (2–7 years) | Symbols or language skills are present; memory and imagination are developed; non-reversible and non-logical thinking; shows intuitive problem solving; begins to perceive relationships; grasps the concept of conservation of numbers; predominantly egocentric thinking. |
| Concrete operational stage | Elementary and Early Adolescence (7–12 years) | Logical and systematic form of intelligence; manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects; thinking is now characterized by reversibility and the ability to take the role of another; grasps concepts of the conservation of mass, length, weight, and volume; predominantly operational thinking; nonreversible and egocentric thinking |
| Formal operational stage | Adolescence and Adulthood (12 years and on) | Logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts; Acquires flexibility in thinking as well as the capacities for abstract thinking and mental hypothesis testing; can consider possible alternatives in complex reasoning and problem-solving. |
Beginning of cognition
Studies on cognitive development have also been conducted in children beginning from the embryonal period to understand when cognition appears and what environmental attributes stimulate the construction of human thought or mental processes. Research shows the intentional engagement of fetuses with the environment, demonstrating cognitive achievements.[28] However, organisms with simple reflexes cannot cognize the environment alone because the environment is the cacophony of stimuli (electromagnetic waves, chemical interactions, and pressure fluctuations).[29] Their sensation is too limited by the noise to solve the cue problem–the relevant stimulus cannot overcome the noise magnitude if it passes through the senses (see the binding problem). Fetuses need external help to stimulate their nervous system in choosing the relevant sensory stimulus for grasping the perception of objects.[30] The Shared intentionality approach proposes a plausible explanation of perception development in this earlier stage. Initially, Michael Tomasello introduced the psychological construct of Shared intentionality, highlighting its contribution to cognitive development from birth.[31] This primary interaction provides unaware collaboration in mother-child dyads for environmental learning. Later, Igor Val Danilov developed this notion, expanding it to the intrauterine period and clarifying the neurophysiological processes underlying Shared intentionality.[32] According to the Shared intentionality approach, the mother shares the essential sensory stimulus of the actual cognitive problem with the child.[33] By sharing this stimulus, the mother provides a template for developing the young organism's nervous system.[34]
Recent findings in research on child cognitive development [30][32][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]Template:Excessive citations inline and advances in inter-brain neuroscience experiments[42][43][44][45][46] have made the above proposition plausible. Based on them, the shared intentionality hypothesis introduced the notion of pre-perceptual communication in the mother-fetus communication model due to nonlocal neuronal coupling.[28][32][34] This nonlocal coupling model refers to communication between two organisms through the copying of the adequate ecological dynamics by biological systems indwelling one environmental context, where a naive actor (Fetus) replicates information from an experienced actor (Mother) due to intrinsic processes of these dynamic systems (embodied information) but without interacting through sensory signals.[28][32][34] The Mother's heartbeats (a low-frequency oscillator) modulate relevant local neuronal networks in specific subsystems of both her and the nervous system of the fetus due to the effect of the interference of the low-frequency oscillator (Mother heartbeats) and already exhibited gamma activity in these neuronal networks (interference in physics is the combination of two or more electromagnetic waveforms to form a resultant wave).[28][32][34] Therefore, the subliminal perception in a fetus emerges due to Shared intentionality with the mother that stimulates cognition in this organism even before birth.[28][32][34]
Further, cognition and emotions develop with the association of affective cues with stimuli responsible for triggering the neuronal pathways of simple reflexes.[47] This pre-perceptual multimodal integration can succeed owing to neuronal coherence in mother-child dyads beginning from pregnancy.[47] According to the pre-perceptual multimodal integration hypothesis based on empirical evidence, these cognitive-reflex and emotion-reflex stimuli conjunctions further form simple innate neuronal assemblies, shaping the cognitive and emotional neuronal patterns in statistical learning that are continuously connected with the neuronal pathways of reflexes.[47]
Another crucial question in understanding the beginning of cognition is memory storage about the relevant ecological dynamics by the naive nervous system (i.e., memorizing the ecological condition of relevant sensory stimulus) at the molecular level – an engram. Evidence derived using optical imaging, molecular-genetic and optogenetic techniques in conjunction with appropriate behavioural analyses continues to offer support for the idea that changing the strength of connections between neurons is one of the major mechanisms by which engrams are stored in the brain.[48]
Two (or more) possible mechanisms of cognition can involve both quantum effects[49] and synchronization of brain structures due to electromagnetic interference.[50][28][32][34]
Common types of tests on human cognition
Serial position
The Serial-position effect is meant to test a theory of memory that states that when information is given in a serial manner, we tend to remember information at the beginning of the sequence, called the primacy effect, and information at the end of the sequence, called the recency effect. Consequently, information given in the middle of the sequence is typically forgotten, or not recalled as easily. This study predicts that the recency effect is stronger than the primacy effect, because the information that is most recently learned is still in working memory when asked to be recalled. Information that is learned first still has to go through a retrieval process. This experiment focuses on human memory processes.[51]
Word superiority
The word superiority effect experiment presents a subject with a word, or a letter by itself, for a brief period of time, i.e. 40 ms, and they are then asked to recall the letter that was in a particular location in the word. In theory, the subject should be better able to correctly recall the letter when it was presented in a word than when it was presented in isolation. This experiment focuses on human speech and language.[52]
Brown–Peterson
In the Brown–Peterson cohomology experiment, participants are briefly presented with a trigram and in one particular version of the experiment, they are then given a distractor task, asking them to identify whether a sequence of words is in fact words, or non-words (due to being misspelled, etc.). After the distractor task, they are asked to recall the trigram from before the distractor task. In theory, the longer the distractor task, the harder it will be for participants to correctly recall the trigram. This experiment focuses on human short-term memory.[53]
Memory span
During the memory span experiment, each subject is presented with a sequence of stimuli of the same kind; words depicting objects, numbers, letters that sound similar, and letters that sound dissimilar. After being presented with the stimuli, the subject is asked to recall the sequence of stimuli that they were given in the exact order in which it was given. In one particular version of the experiment, if the subject recalled a list correctly, the list length was increased by one for that type of material, and vice versa if it was recalled incorrectly. The theory is that people have a memory span of about seven items for numbers, the same for letters that sound dissimilar and short words. The memory span is projected to be shorter with letters that sound similar and with longer words.[54]
Visual search
In one version of the visual search experiment, a participant is presented with a window that displays circles and squares scattered across it. The participant is to identify whether there is a green circle on the window. In the featured search, the subject is presented with several trial windows that have blue squares or circles and one green circle or no green circle in it at all. In the conjunctive search, the subject is presented with trial windows that have blue circles or green squares and a present or absent green circle whose presence the participant is asked to identify. What is expected is that in the feature searches, reaction time, that is the time it takes for a participant to identify whether a green circle is present or not, should not change as the number of distractors increases. Conjunctive searches where the target is absent should have a longer reaction time than the conjunctive searches where the target is present. The theory is that in feature searches, it is easy to spot the target, or if it is absent, because of the difference in color between the target and the distractors. In conjunctive searches where the target is absent, reaction time increases because the subject has to look at each shape to determine whether it is the target or not because some of the distractors if not all of them, are the same color as the target stimuli. Conjunctive searches where the target is present take less time because if the target is found, the search between each shape stops.[55]
Knowledge representation
The semantic network of knowledge representation systems have been studied in various paradigms. One of the oldest paradigms is the leveling and sharpening of stories as they are repeated from memory studied by Bartlett. The semantic differential used factor analysis to determine the main meanings of words, finding that the ethical value of words is the first factor. More controlled experiments examine the categorical relationships of words in free recall. The hierarchical structure of words has been explicitly mapped in George Miller's WordNet. More dynamic models of semantic networks have been created and tested with computational systems such as neural networks, latent semantic analysis (LSA), Bayesian analysis, and multidimensional factor analysis. The meanings of words are studied by all the disciplines of cognitive science.[56]
Metacognition
Improving cognition
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Physical exercise
Aerobic and anaerobic exercise have been studied concerning cognitive improvement.[57] There appear to be short-term increases in attention span, verbal and visual memory in some studies. However, the effects are transient and diminish over time, after cessation of the physical activity.[58] People with Parkinson's disease have also seen improved cognition while cycling, while pairing it with other cognitive tasks.[59] Exercise, even at light intensity, significantly improves general cognition across all populations, with the largest cognitive gains seen from shorter interventions (1–3 months), light to moderate intensity activity.[60]
Dietary supplements
Studies evaluating phytoestrogen, blueberry supplementation and antioxidants showed minor increases in cognitive function after supplementation but no significant effects compared to placebo.[61][62][63] Another study on the effects of herbal and dietary supplements on cognition in menopause show that soy and Ginkgo biloba supplementation could improve women's cognition.[64]
Pleasurable social stimulation
Exposing individuals with cognitive impairment (i.e. dementia) to daily activities designed to stimulate thinking and memory in a social setting, seems to improve cognition. Although study materials are small, and larger studies need to confirm the results, the effect of social cognitive stimulation seems to be larger than the effects of some drug treatments.[65]
Other methods
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been shown to improve cognition in individuals without dementia 1 month after treatment session compared to before treatment. The effect was not significantly larger compared to placebo.[66] Computerized cognitive training, utilizing a computer based training regime for different cognitive functions has been examined in a clinical setting but no lasting effects has been shown.[67]
See also
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- Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument
- Cognitive biology
- Cognitive computing
- Cognitive holding power
- Cognitive liberty
- Cognitive musicology
- Cognitive psychology
- Cognitive science
- Cognitivism
- Comparative cognition
- Embodied cognition
- Cognitive shuffle
- Information processing technology and aging
- Mental chronometry – i.e., the measuring of cognitive processing speed
- Nootropic
- Outline of human intelligence – a list of traits, capacities, models, and research fields of human intelligence, and more.
- Outline of thought – a list that identifies many types of thoughts, types of thinking, aspects of thought, related fields, and more.
- Shared intentionality
- Sex differences in cognition
References
Further reading
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- Stix, Gary, "Thinking without Words: Cognition doesn't require language, it turns out" (interview with Evelina Fedorenko, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Scientific American, vol. 332, no. 3 (March 2025), pp. 86–88. "[I]n the tradition of linguist Noam Chomsky... we use language for thinking: to think is why language evolved in our species. [However, evidence that thought and language are separate systems is found, for example, by] looking at deficits in different abilities – for instance, in people with brain damage... who have impairments in language – some form of aphasia [ – yet are clearly able to think]." (p. 87.) Conversely, "large language models such as GPT-2... do language very well [but t]hey're not so good at thinking, which... nicely align[s] with the idea that the language system by itself is not what makes you think." (p. 88.)
External links
Template:Sister project Template:Sister project Template:Sister project
- Cognition An international journal publishing theoretical and experimental papers on the study of the mind.
- Information on music cognition, University of Amsterdam
- Cognitie.NL Template:Webarchive Information on cognition research, Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and University of Amsterdam (UvA)
- Emotional and Decision Making Lab, Carnegie Mellon, EDM Lab
- The Limits of Human Cognition – an article describing the evolution of mammals' cognitive abilities
- Half-heard phone conversations reduce cognitive performance
- The limits of intelligence Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 14 June 14, 2011.
Template:Mental processes Template:Human intelligence topics
- ↑ Fludd, Robert. "De tripl. animae in corp. vision". Tract. I, sect. I, lib. X in Template:Langx, vol. II. p. 217.
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