Course description

Thinking involves several activities working together. We notice some information, interpret it using what we already know, hold a goal in mind, and choose a response. Understanding these activities helps explain both ordinary successes and familiar mistakes. It also gives us better questions than simply asking whether someone is a good or bad thinker. This course introduces cognition and perception, then examines automatic thinking and the knowledge we use to understand new situations. It explains useful distinctions without asking you to memorize brain regions or treating the mind as a machine with a few separate switches. Later courses develop attention, memory, and learning in more detail.

Topics covered

• What cognition includes
• How we make sense of what we notice
• Fast responses and the knowledge behind them
• cognition
• Beginner

Prerequisites and next steps

This course belongs to Cognitive Foundations. Start with the first step, then work through each level in order before moving back to the path.