Cognitive Processes Paper - Essay Example

Some processes result from the conscious mind whereas others are because of the sub-conscious mind (Ohta, MacLeod, and Uttl, 2005). Many cognitive processes affect storage, retrieval, and application of knowledge and information. One of these processes is attention. Attention is the ability to create a total focus or center concentration on one specific thing in the surrounding while ignoring the rest. The ability to pay attention is essential in obtaining details, clear description, and understanding.

Without focusing on one thing at time, the human mind wanders to other subjects and may miss important details. Attention allows the brain to see things more vividly and clearly. Studies show that the brain can filter and focus on just one source of data while putting other sources on hold. The sources of data are the five senses. Attention is a cognitive process that one can learn. Majority of individuals have to train their brains on creating a focus to a single source of information at a time.

Lack of attention causes the mind to capture fewer details as it divides the focus among the different sources. People with a high degree of attention perceive maximum details from the data source. There are different types of attention exhibited at different times. An individual working on a task for a long time will require sustained attention. An individual exercising sustained attention does not take breaks from the assignment at hand but keeps concentrating on it. An individual can learn this type of attention over time.

At other times, an individual exercises selective attention. He or she must choose to stay on the task even when there are sources of possible distractions. The individual chooses to put the distractions on hold to attend to the task. Different circumstances force an individual to consider distractions passive and concentrate on the task actively. Some individuals can exercise divided attention while handling multiple tasks. Whether the