cognitie

Cognitie refers to the mental processes by which knowledge is acquired, transformed, stored, and used. It encompasses perception, attention, memory, language, learning, reasoning, problem solving, and decision making. These processes enable individuals to interpret experiences, form beliefs, plan actions, and communicate.

Cognition is studied across disciplines such as cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy of mind, and artificial intelligence. Methods include behavioral experiments, neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and computational modeling. The information-processing perspective treats cognition as operations on internal representations, akin to a computer.

Brain basis: cognitive functions rely on distributed networks, including the prefrontal cortex for planning and control, the hippocampus for memory formation, and parietal regions for attention and spatial processing.

Theoretical approaches: modular theories propose special-purpose systems; connectionist or distributed models emphasize interconnected networks. Dual-process theories distinguish fast, intuitive processing from slower, deliberate reasoning. Cognitive architectures such as ACT-R and SOAR aim to simulate human cognition.

Applications: understanding learning and memory, improving education, designing user interfaces, informing clinical approaches to memory and attention disorders, and advancing artificial intelligence.

History: the modern study of cognitie emerged during the cognitive revolution of the mid-20th century, challenging behaviorist explanations by focusing on internal representations and mental processes.