Cognition in psychology refers to a range of mental processes related to the acquisition, storage, manipulation, and retrieval of information
. It is essential for everyday functioning and underpins many daily activities in health and disease across the age span
. Cognition encompasses various processes, including:
- Perception
- Knowledge
- Problem-solving
- Judgment
- Language
- Memory
Cognitive psychology is the field of psychology dedicated to examining how people think and attempts to explain how and why we think the way we do by studying the interactions among human emotion, creativity, language, and problem-solving, in addition to other cognitive processes
. Cognitive assessment refers to the objective measurement of distinct cognitive abilities, such as working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, psychomotor speed, and sustained attention
. Computerized cognitive testing is now the gold standard for measuring cognitive performance, as it allows for the testing, measurement, and monitoring of cognitive performance across the lifespan
. Cognition can be separated into multiple distinct functions, dependent on particular brain circuits and neuromodulators
. Researchers in cognitive psychology strive to develop a unified theory of cognition by creating computer models that solve problems and remember as humans do
. The second approach to understanding cognition is based on the work of Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, who viewed cognitive adaptation in terms of two basic processes: assimilation and accommodation
. Assimilation is the process of interpreting reality in terms of a person's internal model of the accommodation represents the changes one makes to their internal model based on new experiences
