The Way We Use Our Cognitive Skills To Think

Cognitive skills relate to the way we think and learn. They are the key to understand how our brains process information. They are generally grouped in a number of different categories and types. Let’s review them here.

The first involves attention skills. This includes the ability of a person to focus on information and process it effectively. There are several types of attention skills as follows:

• Sustained attention relates to our ability to remain focused on a particular task.
• Selective attention relates to our ability to remain focused on a particular task while being subjected to other input which can otherwise be distracting.
• Divided attention relates to our ability to focus on more than one task at the same time. It is otherwise known as multi tasking.

Training your attention skills can help you perform several tasks at the same time or better focus and concentrate on the task at hand.

Memory is another essential cognitive skill that we use everyday of our life. It involves the ability to take in information, process it, store it and then retrieve it later on. There are many different memory types but we usually refer to two key types of memory. Long-term memory involves our ability to recall information that was stored previously. The information can often be recalled days and sometimes years later.

Short-term memory or working memory as it is sometimes called involves our ability to hold information in place which performing another mental task.

Logic and reasoning is another critical brain function and involves our ability to form concepts, reason, and solve problems using a variety of otherwise unfamiliar information. These problem solving tasks can be further enhanced with deductive reasoning which helps a person to draw conclusions and derive solutions by looking at the relationship between given conditions.

Auditory processing involves our ability to analyze sounds. It is an essential way in which we process sounds for language. In other words a person is able to hear a particular sound and derive meaning from it. It is also an essential part of a person’s ability to read and understand the words effectively.

Visual processing is involved in a person’s ability to perceive and think in terms of visual images and cues. This is an important skill to help people to read and understand maps, follow instructions or perform math problems.

Processing speed is a person’s ability to perform cognitive tasks quickly. It is a critical way in which people can perform many other mental tasks quickly and effectively.

These cognitive skills are all essential parts of how we learn and interact with the world around us. There are a number of techniques available to help people to improve and train these cognitive skills. It is important to start by taking a thorough assessment of where you stand so you can understand what can be further improved. Check out some resources available on the Internet or through your medical professional to start taking care of your overall brain health and cognitive development.