**Cognitive Processes** are the mental operations that underlie how humans acquire, store, transform, and use knowledge. They represent the _functional mechanisms_ of cognition—how [[perception]] becomes thought, thought becomes decision, and decision becomes action. In contrast to brain structures, which provide the biological substrate, cognitive processes describe _what the mind does_. - Nature - Concerned with information processing, representation, and transformation - Studied through behavior, reaction times, and task performance - Often modeled computationally to simulate human thought and behavior - Relationship to [[Cognitive Psychology]] - [[Cognitive Psychology]] investigates cognitive processes empirically - [[Cognitive Neuroscience]] connects these processes to neural systems - [[Philosophy of Mind]] examines their implications for [[consciousness]] and rationality ## Major Categories - [[Perception]] - Visual, auditory, and multisensory integration - [[Attention]] - Sustained, selective, divided, and shifting focus - [[Memory]] - Working, short-term, and long-term (episodic, semantic, procedural) - [[Learning]] - Classical, operant, and observational learning - [[Language]] - Comprehension, production, reading, and writing - [[Decision-Making]] - Risk, reward, rationality, and moral judgment - [[Problem-Solving]] - Strategic reasoning and creative insight - [[Reasoning]] - Deductive, inductive, and analogical inference - [[Executive Function]] - Planning, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility - [[Consciousness]] - Awareness, [[selfhood]], and subjective experience ([[Qualia]]) - [[Emotion]] - Recognition, regulation, and expression - [[Creativity]] - Divergent thinking and insight - [[Intelligence]] - Fluid and crystallized reasoning abilities ## Summary Cognitive processes form the _dynamic core_ of human thought, connecting sensation to reasoning, emotion to behavior, and [[memory]] to identity. They are interdependent, adaptive, and foundational to all psychological and [[Neuroscience|neurological]] models of the [[Human Mind]].