Perception Since the rise of experimental psychology in the 19th Century, psychology's understanding of perception has progressed by combining a variety of techniques.[3] Psychophysics quantitatively describes the relationships between the physical qualities of the sensory input and perception.[5] Sensory neuroscience studies the brain mechanisms underlying perception. Perceptual systems can also be studied computationally, in terms of the information they process. Perceptual issues in philosophy include the extent to which sensory qualities such as sound, smell or color exist in objective reality rather than in the mind of the perceiver.[3] The perceptual systems of the brain enable individuals to see the world around them as stable, even though the sensory information is typically incomplete and rapidly varying. Human and animal brains are structured in a modular way, with different areas processing different kinds of sensory information. Process and terminology[edit] Perception and reality[edit]
Thought Cognitive process independent of the senses In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, and deliberation. But other mental processes, like considering an idea, memory, or imagination, are also often included. These processes can happen internally independent of the sensory organs, unlike perception. But when understood in the widest sense, any mental event may be understood as a form of thinking, including perception and unconscious mental processes. Various types of thinking are discussed in the academic literature. Definition[edit] The word thought comes from Old English þoht, or geþoht, from the stem of þencan "to conceive of in the mind, consider".[21] Theories of thinking[edit] Various theories of thinking have been proposed.[22] They aim to capture the characteristic features of thinking.
Mental process A specific instance of engaging in a cognitive process is a mental event. The event of perceiving something is, of course, different from the entire process, or capacity of perception—one's ability to perceive things. In other words, an instance of perceiving is different from the ability that makes those instances possible. See also[edit] External links[edit] Mental Processes at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) Imagination Creative ability Imagination is the production or simulation of novel objects, sensations, and ideas in the mind without any immediate input of the senses. Stefan Szczelkun characterises it as the forming of experiences in one's mind, which can be re-creations of past experiences, such as vivid memories with imagined changes, or completely invented and possibly fantastic scenes.[1] Imagination helps make knowledge applicable in solving problems and is fundamental to integrating experience and the learning process.[2][3][4][5] As an approach to build theory, it is called "disciplined imagination".[6] A basic training for imagination is listening to storytelling (narrative),[2][7] in which the exactness of the chosen words is the fundamental factor to "evoke worlds".[8] One view of imagination links it with cognition,[9][10][11] seeing imagination as a cognitive process used in mental functioning. Imagination can also be expressed through stories such as fairy tales or fantasies. Books
Cognitive science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the mind and its processes.[1] It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on intelligence and behavior, especially focusing on how information is represented, processed, and transformed (in faculties such as perception, language, memory, reasoning, and emotion) within nervous systems (human or other animal) and machines (e.g. computers). Cognitive science consists of multiple research disciplines, including psychology, artificial intelligence, philosophy, neuroscience, linguistics, and anthropology.[2] It spans many levels of analysis, from low-level learning and decision mechanisms to high-level logic and planning; from neural circuitry to modular brain organization. The fundamental concept of cognitive science is "that thinking can best be understood in terms of representational structures in the mind and computational procedures that operate on those structures Principles[edit] "...
Decision-making Sample flowchart representing the decision process to add a new article to Wikipedia. Decision-making can be regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several alternative possibilities. Every decision-making process produces a final choice that may or may not prompt action. Overview[edit] Edit human performance with regard to decisions has been the subject of active research from several perspectives: Psychological: examining individual decisions in the context of a set of needs, preferences and values the individual has or seeks.Cognitive: the decision-making process regarded as a continuous process integrated in the interaction with the environment.Normative: the analysis of individual decisions concerned with the logic of decision-making and rationality and the invariant choice it leads to.[1] Decision-making can also be regarded as a problem-solving activity terminated by a solution deemed to be satisfactory. Problem analysis
Mental representation Hypothetical internal cognitive symbol that represents external reality A mental representation (or cognitive representation), in philosophy of mind, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science, is a hypothetical internal cognitive symbol that represents external reality or its abstractions.[1][2] Mental representation is the mental imagery of things that are not actually present to the senses.[3] In contemporary philosophy, specifically in fields of metaphysics such as philosophy of mind and ontology, a mental representation is one of the prevailing ways of explaining and describing the nature of ideas and concepts. Mental representations (or mental imagery) enable representing things that have never been experienced as well as things that do not exist.[4] Our brains and mental imageries allow us to imagine things have either never happened or are impossible and do not exist. Representational theories of mind[edit] Canadian philosopher P. Responses[edit] Philosophers[edit]
Information The ASCII codes for the word "Wikipedia" represented in binary, the numeral system most commonly used for encoding textual computer information In Thermodynamics, information is any kind of event that affects the state of a dynamic system that can interpret the information. Etymology[edit] The English word was apparently derived from the Latin stem (information-) of the nominative (informatio): this noun is derived from the verb informare (to inform) in the sense of "to give form to the mind", "to discipline", "instruct", "teach". Inform itself comes (via French informer) from the Latin verb informare, which means to give form, or to form an idea of. Furthermore, Latin itself already contained the word informatio meaning concept or idea, but the extent to which this may have influenced the development of the word information in English is not clear. Information theory approach[edit] As sensory input[edit] Often information can be viewed as a type of input to an organism or system.
Observation Active acquisition of information from a primary source Science[edit] The scientific method requires observations of natural phenomena to formulate and test hypotheses.[3] It consists of the following steps:[4][5] Human senses are limited and subject to errors in perception, such as optical illusions. Considered as a physical process itself, all forms of observation (human or instrumental) involve amplification and are thus thermodynamically irreversible processes, increasing entropy. Paradoxes[edit] In some specific fields of science, the results of observation differ depending on factors that are not important in everyday observation. Biases[edit] Several of the more important ways observations can be affected by human psychology are given below. Confirmation bias[edit] Processing bias[edit] Philosophy[edit] In Cosmology the origins of observation are related with the origins of evolutions in our cosmos.[9] See also[edit] References[edit]
Motivation Psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-directed behavior. It is often held that different mental states compete with each other and that only the strongest state determines behavior.[1] This means that we can be motivated to do something without actually doing it. Various competing theories have been proposed concerning the content of motivational states. Research on motivation has been employed in various fields. Definition[edit] However, it could also be argued that there are cases of motivation without flexible behavior. Motivation and mental states[edit] Behaviorists have tried to explain motivation solely in terms of the relation between the situation and external, observable behavior. Drives[edit]