Learning & Teaching

Key Cognitive Processes

Prepared by: Dr. Neha Goyal
 Perception
Perception refers to the way sensory information is organized, interpreted, and consciously
experienced.
The perceptual process is a sequence of steps that begins with stimuli in the environment and
ends with our interpretation of those stimuli.
Perception is our sensory experience of the world around us and involves both the recognition
of environmental stimuli and actions in response to these stimuli.
Through the perceptual process, we gain information about properties and elements of the
environment that are critical to our survival.
Perception not only creates our experience of the world around us; it allows us to act within
our environment.
It is typically an unconscious process and takes place though our sense: touch, sight, taste smell
and taste.
It also involves the cognitive processes required to process information, such as recognizing the
face of a friend or detecting a familiar scent.
Perception is influenced by personal beliefs, motives, values, stereotypes, etc.
 Process of Perception
Selection: Selection is the first stage of perception by which we receive some stimulus in
our environment and not others. Depending on the environment, and depending on us
as individuals, we attend to one specific thing in our environment—whether it is a smell,
a feeling, a sound, or something else entirely—it becomes the attended stimulus.
Selection is often influenced by personal motives, incentives, impulses, drive to act in a
certain way, etc.
Organization: Organization, the second stage of the perceptual process, is how we
mentally arrange information into meaningful and comprehensible patterns. The Gestalt
laws of grouping are a set of principles in psychology that explain how humans naturally
perceive stimuli as organized patterns and objects.
Interpretation: Interpretation is the process through which we represent and
understand stimuli. Interpretation of stimuli is subjective, which means that individuals
can come to different conclusions about the exact same stimuli. Subjective
interpretation of stimuli is affected by individual values, needs, beliefs, experiences,
expectations, self-concept, and other personal factors.
 Attention
“Attention is the concentration of consciousness upon one subject rather than upon
another”. By Dumville
“Attention is being keenly alive to some specific factor in an environment”. By Morgan
“Attention can be defined as the focusing of perception that leads to a greater
awareness of a limited number of stimulus”. By Roediger
Attention, in psychology, is the process of selectively focusing on specific information in
the environment. Attention is the concentration of awareness on some phenomenon to
the exclusion of other stimuli.
Attention can be defined as a process which compels an individual to select some
particular stimulus according to his interest and attitude out of the multiple stimulus
present in the environment.
 Characteristics of Attention
Attention is essentially a process and not a product.
It helps in our awareness or consciousness of our environment.
This awareness or consciousness is selective.
The concentration or focus provided by the process of attention helps in the clear
understanding of the perceived object or phenomena.
Attention is not only a cognitive function but is also determined by emotional &
personal factors.
 Types of Attention
Involuntary Attention: Involuntary attention is aroused when we attend to an object or
an idea without any conscious effort on our part.

Voluntary Attention: Voluntary attention is the type of attention that is goal-directed

and determined by the relevant task at hand. It demands a conscious effort and is
neither automatic not spontaneous.
Factors / Determinants of Attention
External Factors Internal Factors

Nature of the Stimulus Interest

Intensity of the Stimulus Motive
Novelty / Uniqueness Mindset
Duration Attitude
Size Curiosity
Repetition Past Experiences
Contrast Need / Health Factors
Span of Attention
Span of Attention: The term span of attention maybe defined as the quality, size or
extent to which the perceptual field of an individual can be effectively organized in
order to enable the individual to attend to a number of things in a given spell of short
duration. Span of attention is the idea that individuals can focus their attention at one
object, idea or fact at a particular time, however it is found that some people can
attend to more than one task at the same time.
Memory
“Memory is the process of maintaining information over time.” By Matlin
“Memory is the means by which we draw on our past experiences in order to use this
information in the present". By Sternberg
"Memory is the retention or storage of information in any form". By Guilford
Memory is the faculty by which the brain encodes, stores, and retrieves information. It
is a record of experience that guides future action.
Memory refers to the processes that are used to acquire, store, retain, and later
retrieve information.
There are three major processes involved in memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval.
Memory encompasses the facts and experiential details that people consciously call to
mind as well as ingrained knowledge that surface without effort or even awareness.
It is both a short-term cache of information and the more permanent record of what
one has learned.
Types of Memory
Sensory or Immediate Memory: It is that memory which helps an individual to recall
something immediately after its perceived. In the type of memory the retention time is
extremely brief. Generally, from a fraction of seconds to few seconds.

Short Term Memory: This type of memory is also temporary though not at short lived
like immediate memory. In short term memory (7±2 – The Magic Number given by
George Miller) items can be recalled for at 20-30 seconds.

Long Term Memory: It is called the store house where information is stored almost
permanently. Long-term memories are often outside of the conscious mind. Not all
long-term memories are created equal. Memories that are frequently accessed become
stronger and easier to recall. Long Term Memory has a limitless capacity with little or no
decay.
Language
Language is the ability to produce and comprehend both spoken and written (and in
the case of sign language, signed) words.
Language is a communication system that involves using words and systematic rules to
organize those words to transmit information from one individual to another.
Language is a natural phenomenon, and language learning is common in childhood.
In their usual form, human languages use patterns of sound or gesture for the symbols
in order to communicate with others through the senses.
Language is a cognition that truly makes us human.
Human language development represents a unique kind of abstraction which is basic to
cognition.
Language processing is an important component of information processing and storage.
Characteristics of Language
Language is a system of symbols & tools which is used for meaningful communication.

Language is meaningful & therefore can be understood by other users of that language.

Language is generative which means that the symbols of the language can be combined
to produce infinite number of messages.

Language uses symbols which are sounds, gestures or written characters that represent
objects, actions, events & ideas.

Language has specific rules that govern how the symbols can be arranged.
 Language Acquisition
Language Acquisition is one of the central topic in Cognitive Sciences which revolves
around discovering what abilities are innate and how the child’s environment influences
these abilities.
Stages of Language Acquisition:
Cooing: Infant’s oral expression that explores the production of vowel sounds, indistinguishable across
languages & cultures.
Babbling: Comprises of consonants as well as vowel sounds, with time resemble more closely to the words
of language the infant hears.
One Word Utterances: Words spoken are mostly nouns describing familiar objects, limited in both vowels
& consonants utilized. Over extension error occurs
Two Word Utterances & Telegraphic Speech: Children start combining single words to produce two word
utterances & begin understanding syntax, more like telegrams with no articles or prepositions.
Basic Adult Sentence Structure: Children start forming basic sentence structure with rapid vocabulary
acquisition. Vocabulary is around 300 words around 2 years, triples to around 1000 words at 3 years. By 5
years children can produce complex sentence construction & around 10 years language development is
fundamentally same as an adult.
THANK YOU