What is Cognition?

Cognition refers to the advanced neural functions of the brain that involve the processes of acquiring, processing, storing, retrieving, and applying knowledge. It encompasses a wide range of mental activities, including perception, attention, memory, thinking, imagination, language, and visual-spatial processing. In essence, cognition is the fundamental psychological process that enables individuals to learn, understand, and navigate the world around them. The Cognitive Process During Gameplaying It wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized in Super Mario, Mario breaks bricks with his fist rather than his head. Despite this misunderstanding persisting for decades, it did not prevent me from enjoying and loving that game world.

During gameplay, even though the world we perceive is merely images displayed on a screen, our brain constructs a virtual gaming world based on all our accumulated cognitive experiences and believes that our actions can be associated with objects in that world through interaction. This experience, which we take for granted, is an extraordinary ability that relies on which we can comprehend and derive enjoyment from games.

During game playing, the cognitive process unfolds in a series of interconnected steps:

1. Perception: The initial stage involves receiving and interpreting sensory information from the game environment, such as visual and auditory stimuli. This information is processed by the brain to form a perceptual representation of the game.
2. Attention and Selection: Among the vast amount of perceived information, the brain selectively attends to the most relevant details that are crucial for gameplay. This involves filtering out irrelevant stimuli and focusing on game elements like objectives, obstacles, and resources.
3. Memory and Storage: Critical game information, such as rules, objectives, character abilities, and environmental cues, is encoded and stored in memory. This enables players to recall this information when needed during gameplay.
4. Thinking and Decision-Making: Players engage in cognitive processes like problem-solving, logical reasoning, and strategic planning to make decisions about their next moves. These decisions are based on the current game state, available resources, and anticipated outcomes.
5. Execution and Feedback: Players execute their decisions by performing actions within the game, such as moving characters, using abilities, or interacting with the environment. The game then provides immediate feedback, such as score updates, rewards, or penalties, which informs players about the effectiveness of their actions.
6. Adaptation and Learning: As the game progresses and new challenges arise, players must adapt their strategies and learn new skills to overcome obstacles. This adaptive learning process involves modifying cognitive structures and refining gameplay techniques.

The cognitive process during game playing is a dynamic and iterative cycle that involves perceiving the game environment, attending to relevant information, storing and retrieving knowledge, making decisions, executing actions, and adapting to feedback. These cognitive activities work together to create a rich and engaging gaming experience.