Have you thought about what intelligence is and how the level of development of a person’s mind is determined? Agree that a large amount of knowledge does not give the right to talk about high intelligence.
It is more likely to be well-read and possess a large amount of information. How can one not recall the famous phrase of Bayard Taylor: “A well-read fool is the most annoying kind of fool.”
Therefore, when asserting that a person is truly smart, this correctly means his developed cognitive abilities .
What is "cognitive"?
First, let’s define what “cognitive” is. Cognitive is a mental process during which the consciousness processes incoming information, records it in memory and further practical use. Sciences such as psychology, sociology, philosophy, and linguistics study the topic of cognitive abilities.
Processes that lie in the area of cognition:
- Worldview.
- The relationship between personality and linguistic and cultural knowledge.
- Brain activity in the context of the conscious and unconscious.
- Innate and acquired abilities. Their level of age development.
- The likelihood of developing cognitive abilities in the consciousness of artificial intelligence.
What do cognitive functions include?
Cognitive or cognitive functions are those brain processes that are aimed at interacting with other people and the world around us. Human life is extremely dependent on the ability to remember and store information, correctly compare known facts, and anticipate the consequences of one’s actions. The degree of development of such mental processes is individual; they can be trained, but can be disrupted under the influence of various factors.
It is a mistake to believe that cognitive functions are only memory (see Types of Memory Loss). The ability to perceive, store and reproduce information is important, but it is impossible without other processes.
Attention is one of these functions, which is characterized by the ability to concentrate mental processes on a specific object. Each individual has the following characteristics:
- sustainability;
- switchability;
- concentration;
- concentration;
- volume.
The function of perception is the construction of integral images based on information received from the senses. Perception is characterized by constancy: an object is defined as the same regardless of changing external conditions. This ability is not typical for animals: a dog may consider a familiar person a stranger if he is in the shadows or wears unfamiliar clothes.
Find out why the cognitive sphere changes with age: the reasons for its occurrence.
Why aphasia occurs during a stroke and how to treat it.
Cognitive functions of the brain are speech and intelligence. A person can meaningfully pronounce sounds that form words, and those form sentences. Symbols correspond to sounds, and written speech arises. A person can construct phrases and conduct a monologue without the participation of the speech apparatus, mentally pronouncing words.
The number of words used and the ability to construct complex phrases depend on intelligence. We can say that these are combined cognitive abilities. They are based on attention, perception, memory, and representation.
The development of intelligence separated man from animals, but this is a general concept that is realized through various mental functions. It is defined through learning ability, logical thinking, the ability to analyze information, compare and find patterns. These are also planning skills, the ability to foresee distant events based on data from present reality.
Intelligence is characterized through the breadth and depth of thinking, logic, flexibility of mind, criticality and evidence. Its value can be measured; IQ tests have been developed for this purpose. They are based on an observed pattern: if a person is able to solve problems of a certain type, then there is success in solving others.
Erudition is an important component of intelligence, but they cannot be equated. A large amount of knowledge in an erudite does not mean the ability to manage it or draw logical conclusions (see Who is an erudite).
Cognitive abilities include praxis - the ability to produce a conscious sequence of actions or movements. The ability begins to be mastered in infancy, when a rattle is first placed in the child’s hand. Then finger praxis develops - the ability to manipulate one’s fingers, and gestures appear.
A special place is occupied by symbolic praxis - these are various gestures by which one can understand what a person wants to say, imitation of holding a telephone receiver, driving a car, drinking from a glass. The language of the deaf is roughly based on this principle: performing a special set of gestures allows you to communicate without words.
Cognitive is cognitive
The concept “cognitive” is a similar definition of the concept “cognitive”. A person with cognitive abilities leads an active lifestyle, is interested in various fields of activity and has high intelligence. It is known that the abilities that a person possesses are directly related to the activity of the brain and depend on the state of the whole organism.
If brain activity is disrupted, the whole body malfunctions, accompanied by emotional stress.
Dysfunction of the brain leads to a decrease in abilities and causes the so-called cognitive disorder. This process negatively affects a person’s daily activities, his attention, ability to act and adequately perceive the surrounding reality.
Often, the loss of cognitive abilities is associated with age-related changes in the brain, bad habits and diseases.
Doctors identify the following causes associated with cognitive impairment:
- metabolic disorder,
- I, II degree of diabetes development,
- dysfunction of the thyroid gland, homeostasis,
- hypertension,
- heart attack,
- head injuries, cerebral circulatory disorders,
- obesity,
- Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases,
- alcoholism,
- addiction.
Types of cognitive disorder:
- Mild, in which a person experiences a slight decrease in memory, concentration, attention, and quickly gets tired of any activity. However, the results of psychometric testing may remain within normal limits. With a mild form of cognitive impairment, a person is able to cope independently with daily activities and take and keep track of medications.
- Moderate, when impairments in memory, speech and attention become noticeable. At this level of disorder, the resulting mental disability can transform into Alzheimer's disease. With a moderate type of disorder, it is already recommended to look after the person, monitor his behavior and take medications.
- Severe, when there is disorientation of space, unrecognizability of loved ones, elementary things are forgotten: names, people, names of objects, their purpose, life events. Often a person falls into childhood and becomes absolutely helpless. With a severe form of cognitive disorder, a person can no longer be left alone; constant care and strictly controlled drug treatment are required.
General Basics of Cognitive Psychology
Note 1
Cognitive psychology studies the process of a person obtaining information about the world around him, how a person presents this information, the processes of its storage, transformation into internal knowledge and its influence on the behavior and attention of a person in the process of his life.
Cognitive psychology is a branch of psychology whose main task is to prove the decisive role of knowledge in the behavior of the subject.
The basis of cognitive psychology is the study of memory, sensation, attention, consciousness and other mental processes of human consciousness. All these processes are divided into two subtypes: cognitive and executive. It should be noted that each of them, in turn, also consists of several structural elements – blocks.
Considering the relevance of cognitive psychology, it should be noted that it is very popular among specialists who study the characteristics and mechanisms of action of both cognitive processes and the processes of forming certain judgments and conclusions, making decisions in accordance with the situation, effectively resolving emerging problems, working human intelligence and characteristics of its development.
Too lazy to read?
Ask a question to the experts and get an answer within 15 minutes!
Ask a Question
In the process of its development, cognitive psychology influenced all existing branches of psychology. The main focus of research within cognitive psychology is focused on the learning process. Followers of this direction have proven that effective and successful learning takes place only if the study of new material, which is associated with the knowledge and skills a person already has, is included in the existing cognitive structure.
If you observe that the child:
- cannot concentrate and is often distracted,
- gets tired quickly from mental work,
- he finds it difficult to acquire new knowledge,
- uninterested and lacking initiative,
- can't remember simple rules
- quickly forgets the material covered,
- does not understand the meaning of tasks,
- it is difficult for him to identify the main content of the text he read,
- does not keep up with the curriculum,
- difficulties arise only in kindergarten or school,
- cannot organize his own educational process.
The main task of both parents and many developmental and training centers, and the education system as a whole, is the development of cognitive abilities in children, incl. development of creative abilities, development of intellectual abilities, etc. It is important to note that what is understood here is the a priori existing predisposition of the child to:
- cognition and information processing,
- making decisions and implementing planned actions,
- assessing the correctness of execution and the possibility of correcting actions in the process itself,
- comparing the result with the intended goal,
- consolidating experience and extracting positive ways from it,
- flexibility of thinking and creative approach.
Quite an impressive list that requires developed cortical and mental functions. And indeed, part of this list can be attributed to “abilities” - both a genetic and biological given, but also an individual given. Other abilities are formed under the influence of environmental and socio-cultural factors.
Cognitive function is an act of mental activity that allows you to differentiate acquired skills and consolidate them in experience, realize abilities in direct activity and predict the development of new things.
How to develop cognitive functions in a child and what is important to know:
- The development of cognitive and intellectual capabilities in a child begins not even in infancy, but even in utero. The positive attitude of the mother, frequent conversations with the future baby of both parents, a favorable environment (ecological, social) form positive physiological mechanisms in the mother and her emotional well-being, which influence the development of the child’s intellectual abilities.
- developmental education as a factor in the child’s cognitive and intellectual development. What is meant by developmental training? This is a specially organized environment where the individual capabilities of each child are taken into account and appropriate play and learning methods are selected. It is important for specialists (educators, teachers, psychologists) to focus on the child himself, support his successes, competently resolve conflict situations or situations of “mistakes,” involve him in his own development, i.e. constantly expand the possibilities of mastering the surrounding space and incoming information.
The main thing in the development of children’s creative and intellectual abilities is the flexibility of parents in teaching the child and the timeliness of the information provided.
