Cognitions are mental activities that deal with knowledge. They encompass psychological processes that acquire, store, retrieve, transform, or otherwise use information. Cognitions are a pervasive part of mental life, helping individuals understand and interact with the world.

Cognitive processes are typically categorized by their function. Perception organizes sensory information about the world, interpreting physical stimuli, such as light and sound, to construct a coherent experience of objects and events. Attention prioritizes specific aspects while filtering out irrelevant information. Memory is the ability to retain, store, and retrieve information, including working memory and long-term memory. Thinking encompasses psychological activities in which concepts, ideas, and mental representations are considered and manipulated. It includes reasoning, concept formation, problem-solving, and decision-making. Many cognitive activities deal with language, including language acquisition, comprehension, and production. Metacognition involves knowledge about knowledge or mental processes that monitor and regulate other mental processes. Classifications also distinguish between conscious and unconscious processes and between controlled and automatic ones.

Researchers discuss diverse theories of the nature of cognition. Classical computationalism argues that cognitive processes manipulate symbols according to mechanical rules, similar to how computers execute algorithms. Connectionism models the mind as a complex network of nodes where information flows as nodes communicate with each other. Representationalism and anti-representationalism disagree about whether cognitive processes operate on internal representations of the world.

Many disciplines explore cognition, including psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science. They examine different levels of abstraction and employ distinct methods of inquiry. Some scientists study cognitive development, investigating how mental abilities grow from infancy through adulthood. While cognitive research mostly focuses on humans, it also explores how animals acquire knowledge and how artificial systems can emulate cognitive processes.

Cognitions are mental processes that deal with knowledge, involving the acquisition, transformation, storage, retrieval, and use of information. For example, these processes occur when reading an article, as sensory information about the text is acquired and preexisting linguistic knowledge is retrieved to interpret the meaning. This information is then transformed as different ideas are linked, resulting in the storage of information as memories and beliefs are formed.

Cognitions are a pervasive part of mental life, and many cognitive processes happen simultaneously. They are essential for understanding and interacting with the world by making individuals aware of their environment and helping them plan and execute appropriate responses. Thought is a paradigmatic form of cognition. It considers ideas, analyzes information, draws inferences, solves problems, and forms beliefs. However, cognition is not limited to abstract reasoning and encompasses diverse psychological processes, including perception, attention, memory, language, and decision-making. It is debated whether or under what conditions feelings, emotions, and other affects qualify as cognitions. Some controversial views associated with cognitivism argue that all mental phenomena are cognitions.

Cognitive activities can happen consciously, like when a person deliberately analyzes a problem step by step. They can also take place unconsciously, such as automatic mechanisms responsible for language processing and facial recognition. Rationalists typically emphasize the role of basic principles and inferences in the generation of knowledge. Empiricists, by contrast, highlight sensory processes as the ultimate source of all knowledge of the world, arguing that all cognitive processes deal with sensory input. Many fields of inquiry study cognition, including psychology, cognitive science, neurology, and philosophy. While research focuses primarily on the human mind, cognition is not limited to humans and encompasses animal and artificial cognition.

The term cognition originates from the Indo-European root gnō-, meaning 'to know'. This root is present in the Latin term gnōscere, also meaning 'to know', which led to the formation of the verb cognōscere, meaning 'to learn, to investigate'. Through its past participle cognitus, the Latin verb entered Middle English as cognicioun. The earliest documented use occurred in 1447, eventually evolving into the modern English word cognition.