Our perception of the world is constructed by our awareness, thoughts, and memories, alongside our problem-solving, decision-making, judgment, and communication skills. These mental functions are shaped by psychological, sociocultural, and biological influences that collectively form our reality. Cognitive science examines key areas such as consciousness, cognitive development, problem solving, decision making, intelligence, memory, and language.
The information-processing model likens the brain to a machine that receives, interprets, and stores information for future use. This framework explains how we focus on specific environmental stimuli and retain relevant data in our memory.
Piaget proposed that children build mental frameworks, known as schemata, to understand the world. As they encounter new experiences, children either:
| Age (years) | Stage | Description | Developmental issues |
| 0-2 | Sensorimotor | World experienced through senses and actions | Object permanence Stranger anxiety |
| 2–6 | Preoperational | Use words and images to represent things, but lack logical reasoning | Pretend play Egocentrism Language development |
| 7–11 | Concrete operational | Understand concrete events and analogies logically; perform arithmetical operations | Conservation Mathematical transformations |
| 12– | Formal operational | Formal operations Utilize abstract reasoning | Abstract logic Moral reasoning |
Cognitive abilities, such as intelligence, remain relatively stable until the mid-30s to mid-50s. However, fluid intelligence—which includes reasoning, memory, and information processing—tends to decline in later years. This decline is partly due to the gradual degeneration of brain connections and may be influenced by factors such as reduced physical and mental activity. In some cases, aging can lead to dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease being a prime example, where brain plaques and cell death result in severe cognitive impairments.
Culture plays a critical role in shaping how we interpret and organize our experiences. For example, the way people greet one another or follow social routines can differ dramatically across cultures, influencing their cognitive scripts, or event schemata. Furthermore, the longstanding nature versus nurture debate highlights that our cognitive development is the result of an intricate interplay between genetic predispositions and environmental factors—such as socioeconomic status, education, and parenting style.
Biological factors, such as the functioning of the frontal lobe and the limbic system, are crucial for cognitive processing. The frontal lobe is responsible for planning, reasoning, and impulse control, while the limbic system—including structures like the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus—plays a key role in memory, emotion, and basic bodily regulation.
When faced with challenges, people employ different strategies:
However, these processes are subject to biases and barriers such as confirmation bias (seeking information that confirms preexisting beliefs), fixation (being unable to consider alternative perspectives), and functional fixedness (viewing objects as having only one purpose).
Additional heuristics can further influence our judgments and decision-making:
Overall, our cognitive processes are a complex interplay of mental operations influenced by biological mechanisms, cultural contexts, and environmental factors, all of which determine how we learn, solve problems, and interact with the world.
Sign up for free to take 6 quiz questions on this topic