The ability that allows us to develop knowledge is called cognition . It is about the ability to assimilate and process data, evaluating and systematizing the information that is accessed from experience, perception or other means.
Cognitive processes , therefore, are the procedures that human beings carry out to incorporate knowledge . Very diverse faculties intervene in these processes, such as intelligence , attention , memory and language . This means that cognitive processes can be analyzed from different disciplines and sciences.
Development of cognitive processes
Perception, on the one hand, allows us, through the senses, to organize the stimuli and promote the continuation of the cognitive process in question. In this case, the person in question is not only influenced by the properties that define the stimuli themselves, but also by their will and even by their own interests.
Next, memory takes place, which is a faculty that is made up of two different parts: the storage of relevant information and then its retrieval when necessary or desired.
Thought and language
Thinking also plays a fundamental role within the cognitive process. In your case, what it does is process all the information and then establish relationships between the data that compose it. In this case, it does so through actions such as analysis, reasoning, assimilation, synthesis and problem solving.
Language, of course, is also basic within the phase we are addressing. And it is the tool that human beings use to be able to accumulate experiences, preserve them over time and finally transmit them to subsequent generations. It is in clear interrelation with the aforementioned factors, thus, for example, thought cannot exist if there is no language and vice versa.
In the same way, we must not overlook the fact that it is necessary to be clear that we must be very attentive to the cognitive process not only to be able to cope with its different variants and characteristics but also to solve any problems that may arise.
Debates about cognitive processes
There are extensive debates around cognitive processes. These can be conscious or unconscious and, according to some experts, they can even be developed by animals or by entities built by man (such as devices with artificial intelligence ).
A cognitive process can begin with perception (access to information through the senses). The person pays attention to what he perceives and, through different types of thoughts and intelligence mechanisms, manages to generate knowledge that he internalizes and stores in memory. This knowledge, already assimilated, can be expressed and communicated through language.
Information recovery
What a cognitive process implies is that certain information is encoded by the individual and stored in their memory . Whenever a situation warrants it, the subject can recover said information and use it according to their needs.
Take the case of the person who learns to write . Once you develop the necessary cognitive process and become someone capable of expressing yourself through the written word, you can use this knowledge whenever you want (to send a letter, fill out a form, write a birthday greeting, etc. .).