What Does cognitive Mean
The cognitive is what belongs to or is related to knowledge . This, in turn, is the accumulation of information that is available thanks to a learning process or experience .
The current of psychology in charge of cognition is cognitive psychology , which analyzes the procedures of the mind that have to do with knowledge. Its purpose is the study of the mechanisms that are involved in the creation of knowledge, from the simplest to the most complex.
The cognitive is that associated with knowledge.
Cognitive development
The cognitive development (also known as cognitive development ), meanwhile, focuses on intellectual procedures and behaviors emanating from these processes. This development is a consequence of people's will to understand reality and function in society, which is why it is linked to the natural capacity that human beings have to adapt and integrate into their environment.
The most common way of analyzing data and using cognitive resources is known as cognitive style . It should be noted that this is not linked to intelligence or IQ , but is a factor inherent to personality .
Prejudice and therapy
Another related concept is that of cognitive bias , a distortion that affects the way a person captures the real. At a general level, we speak of cognitive distortions when errors or failures in the processing of information are noticed.
The cognitive therapy or cognitive-behavioral , meanwhile, is a form of psychotherapy intervention that focuses on cognitive restructuring , since it considers that the distortions mentioned above produce negative consequences on behavior and emotions.
Various diseases can cause cognitive decline.
Cognitive learning
Multiple authors have spoken about cognitive learning, including Piaget, Tolman, Gestalt and Bandura . All agree that it is the process in which information enters the cognitive system, that is, reasoning, is processed and causes a certain reaction in said person.
As described by Piaget, the development of intelligence is divided into several parts, these are:
* Sensorimotor period : It covers from the birth of the individual to 2 years of age. It is the learning that takes place through the senses and the possible representations that memory makes of the objects and situations that the individual faces. At this stage, imitation is the answer to learning .
* Pre-operational period : From the age of 2 to 7 the child can analyze things through symbols, hence the importance of children's stories full of practical metaphors that allow the little one to become aware of their environment. the limitation that exists at this stage is linked to logic, and delayed imitation and language are the ways in which the person reacts to what they learn.
* Period of concrete actions : This stage ranges from 7 years to 11 years, it is characterized by the development of reasoning capacity through logic but on present and concrete situations, it is not possible yet, according to the age of the child. CI , that the individual make abstractions to classify their knowledge. In any case, the person is able to understand concepts such as time and space, discerning which things belong to reality and which to fantasy. The first approach to the understanding of morality is also given at this stage. The reaction to knowledge is logic at the moment the events occur.
* Period of formal operations : From the age of 11 to 15, the individual begins to develop the ability to perform mental tasks for which he needs thought to formulate hypotheses and achieve resolution to problems. Begins to show interest in human relationships and personal identity .
Impaired cognition
Antes de cerrar esta definición me interesaría compartir un punto más acerca de lo cognitivo. Según lo han revelado determinados estudios, a partir de los 45 años puede verse una disminución del funcionamiento de nuestro sistema cognitivo. Comienza por leves olvidos, como el lugar donde dejamos las llaves de casa o la lectura de un texto varias veces sin conseguir comprenderlo, etc. Son simples hechos que suelen relacionarse con abundante estrés o un nivel alto de tensión o ansiedad (en algunos casos es sólo eso) pero en muchas ocasiones son los primeros síntomas de enfermedades que serán diagnosticadas años más tarde, tales como Demencia o Alzheimer.
La forma en la que los científico pueden diagnosticar el deterioro cognitivo de una persona es a través de estudios sobre la memoria, el vocabulario, las habilidades para comprender su entorno y la capacidad a la hora de responder a problemas de escritura y semántica.
El deterioro cognitivo puede tardar 20 o 30 años en manifestarse y los detonantes pueden ser enfermedades mentales, obesidad y otros trastornos que favorecen a su desgaste. Se desconoce la forma medicinal en la que pudiera prevenirse este daño, sin embargo se sabe que llevando una vida sana es la mejor manera en la que podemos evitar caer en este deterioro o contraer las enfermedades que se encuentran vinculadas con él.