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Cognition in the Psychological Perspectives

Preprint · September 2022

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.29414.70720

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 Cognition in the Psychological Perspectives

By
Khemraj Subedi
Associate Professor
Tikapur Multiple Campus, Far western University

Abstract

This article focuses on various aspects of cognition such as concepts and importance, thinking,
reasoning, decision making, problem solving, factors that facilitate and interfere effective problem
solving and so on. Cognition refers to a range of mental processes relating to the acquisition,
storage, manipulation, and retrieval of information. The study of cognition in business organizations
has burgeoned in recent years. Top-down information processing theory suggests that individuals create
knowledge structures to help them process information and make decisions. Cognition fundamentally
controls our thoughts and behaviors and these are regulated by discrete brain circuits which are
underpinned by a number of neurotransmitter systems A concept is a way to classify the world in
our mind. Forming concepts helps us to make sense of the world and prepares us to anticipate or
predict future events more successfully. In psychology, reasoning is the study of how
people reason, often broadly defined as the process of drawing conclusions to inform how
people solve problems and make decisions. Inductive reasoning makes broad generalizations from
specific observations. Basically, there is data, then conclusions are drawn from the data. This is
called inductive logic. Deductive reasoning, or deduction, starts out with a general statement, or
hypothesis, and examines the possibilities to reach a specific, logical conclusion. Therefore,
cognition may help to explain why some top managers have more effective capabilities than others
for anticipating, interpreting, and responding to the demands of an evolving environment.

Key words: Cognition, Concept, thinking, Reasoning, decision making, problem solving

1.1 Concept of Cognition

The word cognition dates back to the 15th century, where it meant "thinking and awareness". The
term comes from the Latin noun cognitio ('examination,' 'learning,' or 'knowledge'), derived from
the verb cognosco, a compound of con ('with') and gnōscō ('know').

Cognition is a term referring to the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and
comprehension. In other words, cognition refers to the mental action or process of acquiring
knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. It encompasses all
aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, intelligence,
the formation of knowledge, memory and working
memory, judgment and evaluation, reasoning and computation, problem solving and decision
making, comprehension and production of language. Imagination is also a cognitive process, it is
considered as such because it involves thinking about possibilities. Cognitive processes use
existing knowledge and discover new knowledge.

These cognitive processes include thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem-
solving. These are higher-level functions of the brain and encompass language, imagination,
perception, and planning.

Definition of Cognition

According to Collins dictionary, “Cognition is the mental act or process by

which knowledge is acquired, including perception, intuition, and reasoning.”

Types of Cognitive Processes

There are many different types of cognitive processes. These include:

 Attention: Attention is a cognitive process that allows people to focus on a specific

stimulus in the environment.
 Language: Language and language development are cognitive processes that involve the
ability to understand and express thoughts through spoken and written words. It allows us
to communicate with others and plays an important role in thought.
 Learning: Learning requires cognitive processes involved in taking in new things,
synthesizing information, and integrating it with prior knowledge.
 Memory: Memory is an important cognitive process that allows people to encode, store,
and retrieve information. It is a critical component in the learning process and allows
people to retain knowledge about the world and their personal histories.
 Perception: Perception is a cognitive process that allows people to take in information
through their senses (sensation) and then utilize this information to respond and interact
with the world.
  Thought: Thought is an essential part of every cognitive process. It allows people to
engage in decision-making, problem-solving, and higher reasoning.

1.2 Importance of Cognition

We need cognition to help us understand information about the world around us and interact
safely with our environment, as the sensory information we receive is vast and complicated:
cognition is needed to distill all this information down to its essentials

Cognition has a physical basis in the brain with over 100 billion nerve cells in a healthy human
brain. Each of these can have up to 10,000 connections with other nerve cells called neurons. All
of this makes it an incredibly complicated organ. In order to begin to understand the brain we
sometimes rely on simplified scientific models, some of which have been developed using studies
in rodents and non-human primates. These studies help us better understand certain parts of our
cognition, such as how we learn language, and have also been the basis for many breakthroughs
in treatments for common disorders of cognition such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Cognition fundamentally controls our thoughts and behaviors and these are regulated by discrete
brain circuits which are underpinned by a number of neurotransmitter systems. There are a number
of brain chemicals which play major roles in regulating cognitive processes; including dopamine,
noradrenaline (norepinephrine), serotonin, acetylcholine, glutamate and GABA(gamma-
Aminobutyric acid is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the developmentally
mature mammalian central nervous system. Its principal role is reducing neuronal excitability
throughout the nervous system). In order to better understand what drives certain behaviors, in
both healthy and disease states, it is important to consider cognition and the underlying
neurobiology that underpins these behaviors. Our distinct cognitive functions arise because of
processes occurring within certain parts of our brain, but only some of these, end up entering our
conscious awareness.

(i) Perception is irreversible; cognition is adaptive and changeable.

(ii) Cognition permits the individual to control the environment at ever greater distances from the
immediately perceived and experienced.
(iii) Cognitive processes help us to decide what to focus on, when to focus, and in what ways to
focus.

(iv) Cognitive process helps the individual to select, focus on, filter, and sequence the great amount
of information that comes into the system.

(v) Cognitive processes transform the data that are gathered into mental structures to be reframed
or elaborated later.

(vi) Cognitive processes generate new information, not limited to what is derived from existing
sources of information.

(vii) Once conceptualization occurs (structures created through cognitive processes), it can be
communicated to others.
(viii) Cognitive processes enable access to the affective-motivational attitudinal dimensions of
human experience.

(ix) Cognitive processes are in a constant state of animation, producing consciousness.

(x) Cognitive processes enable recognition of conflicts, acceptance of dissonance, and generate
productive conflicts that expand consciousness and generate activity to address them.

1.3 Thinking

Thinking is the process of considering or reasoning about something. In other words, it is the
action of using one's mind to produce thoughts.

According to APA Dictionary of Psychology, “Thinking is a cognitive behaviour in which ideas,

images, mental representations and other such hypothetical elements of thought are experienced
or manipulated.”

The three primary elements of thought are: concepts, signs/symbols, and brain
functions. Concepts are ideas and notions that arise in the mind when we are presented with
objects or information. For example, if we were to hear the word “dog”, we would not only think
of the animal but also the concepts that the animal represents (loyalty, protection, etc.). Signs and
symbols also represent and often substitute actual objects or ideas. A red traffic signal, a danger
sign, songs, flags, etc. act as signs/symbols that convey information to our brains. Lastly, and most
importantly, the brain is the organ that performs the act of thinking. Objects, language, signs and
symbols in our environment, once registered by our sensory organs, are interpreted in the brain to
create thoughts.

Elements of Thought or Reasoning

The "parts" or elements of thinking are as follows:

i. All reasoning has a purpose

ii. All reasoning is an attempt to figure something out, to settle some question, to solve
some problem
iii. All reasoning is based on assumptions
iv. All reasoning is done from some point of view
v. All reasoning is based on data, information and evidence
vi. All reasoning is expressed through, and shaped by, concepts and ideas
vii. All reasoning contains inferences or interpretations by which we draw conclusions and
give meaning to data
viii. All reasoning leads somewhere or has implications and consequences

1.4 Types of Concept

A concept is a way to classify the world in our mind. Forming concepts helps us to make sense of
the world and prepares us to anticipate or predict future events more successfully. When the child
begins to understand words, and soon after talks, he/she certainly forms concepts. First imbibes
the concepts of common things from the social environment. He/she forms concepts of the
prominent objects of perception. He/she forms concepts of those objects with which he deals in a
practical way. Therefore, we can classify concepts into two major types, logical
concepts and natural concepts.

a) Logical Concept
Logical concepts have clearly defined rules for determining membership. Schoolchildren, for
example, learn that the concept of a triangle applies to any three-sided form or figure. If a figure
has three sides, it must be a triangle.
b) Natural Concept
Most concepts we use in everyday life are natural concepts, in which the rules for determining how
they are applied are poorly defined or fuzzy. Abstract concepts such as justice,
honor, and freedom are classified as natural concepts because people typically use them without
applying a strict set of rules to determine how they are to be applied.
c)Image
A mental image or mental picture is an experience that, on most occasions, significantly
resembles the experience of visually perceiving some object, event, or scene, but occurs when the
relevant object, event, or scene is not actually present to the senses. Visual imagery is the ability
to create mental representations of things, people, and places that are absent from an individual’s
visual field. This ability is crucial to problem-solving tasks, memory, and spatial reasoning.
d) Proposition
The proposition is a concept borrowed by cognitive psychologists from linguists and logicians.
The proposition is the most basic unit of meaning in a representation. It is the smallest statement
that can be judged either true or false.

In philosophy, proposition is anything that can be asserted or denied and that is capable of being
either true or false; that is, the content of a typical declarative sentence, such as Grass is
green or Lenin was a great man.

In linguistics, proposition is a formal statement representing the underlying meaning of a sentence

or sentence component, irrespective of its form. For example, the sentences I scored the
goal and The goal was scored by me represent the same proposition, as would a translation of
either sentence into a different language.

1.5 Reasoning
In psychology, reasoning is the study of how people reason, often broadly defined as the process
of drawing conclusions to inform how people solve problems and make decisions.

Psychological experiments on how humans and other animals reason have been carried out for
over 100 years. An enduring question is whether or not people have the capacity to be rational.

Table 1 Types of Reasoning

Types of Reasoning
Inductive Reasoning Deductive Reasoning
Inductive reasoning makes broad Deductive reasoning, or deduction, starts out
generalizations from specific observations. with a general statement, or hypothesis, and
Basically, there is data, then conclusions are examines the possibilities to reach a specific,
drawn from the data. This is called inductive logical conclusion. We go from the general —
logic. Inductive reasoning works the other the theory — to the specific — the
way, moving from specific observations to observations.
broader generalizations and theories.

Physical Reasoning

Humans can make sense of novel physical situations by reasoning about abstract concepts like
gravity, mass, inertia, and friction. For this reason, testing the ability to solve novel physics puzzles
has been used to measure the reasoning abilities of human children

A key aspect of physical intelligence is generalization: after learning to solve a physics puzzle, an
intelligent agent should be able to generalize that knowledge and quickly solve related tasks.
Robust generalization may set humans apart from other species—prior research showed that four
species of non-human primates can learn to solve novel physics puzzles, but struggle to generalize
to related tasks.

The common errors in reasoning are as under:

i. Conclusion without evidence

Most of us decide a certain thing without the correct evidence. Jumping to a conclusion without
concrete evidence is wrong in most cases. This is the common error of reasoning people do in
offices and personal lives as well.

ii. Emotional sentences

You cannot include an emotion whenever you are discussing an argument. It is one of the biggest
errors people make while arguing.

iii. Selected options

Logical thinking involves many options. It is a common mistake which many of us make thinking
that there are 1 or 2 options.

iv. Showing false generosity

In a company, college or any other place, there are people who try to please everyone with their
positive words and sentences. The actual motive of such people is something is to make other
people agree with them. This is an error as every time you cannot make someone agree with only
positive words containing no logical reasoning.

v. Wishful thoughts

The human tendency is generally based on one rule which is “What I think is true”. Whenever you
are working for a college assignment or company’s project, you cannot argue stating that what you
think is right always. In an argument, when every member starts to think that he is true, the
argument is useless.
vi. One cause

Logical reasoning has many causes. But it is a wrong habit which everyone develops is to take one
cause only ignoring others. There are several factors that cause an argument and reasoning and
you cannot exclude those in a process.

vii. Irrelevant argument

You must have seen many people who use relevant matters to take the discussion on their side. If
you are the one who does the same, avoid it. Putting the irrelevant matter in the discussion does
not seem to be logical. It does not bring good results.

viii. Relating irrelevant events

To win an argument, you should not bring irrelevant events. The cause and effect must be related
to each other if you want to prove right in the argument.

ix. Assumption of truth for all

Various students study at a college. There are people of different nature in a company. You cannot
say that two persons like the same thing. What one likes may not be liked by another person.
Assuming that this is right for all is a common error in reasoning.

x. A mistake of conflict inflation

This can be explained with an example. Suppose you want to watch a new movie but experts say
that it is not a good movie. You cannot judge the movie on the comments of experts only. It may
happen that you like the movie after watching it.

1.6 Decision Making

Decision making is the process of making choices by identifying a decision, gathering information,
and assessing alternative resolutions. Using a step-by-step decision-making process can help you
make more deliberate, thoughtful decisions by organizing relevant information and defining
alternatives. Nobel laureate psychologist, Herbert Simon (1957; March & Simon, 1958) argued
that our decisions are bounded in their rationality. According to the bounded rationality
framework, human beings try to make rational decisions (such as weighing the costs and benefits
of a choice) but our cognitive limitations prevent us from being fully rational. Time and cost
constraints limit the quantity and quality of the information that is available to us. Moreover, we
only retain a relatively small amount of information in our usable memory. And limitations on
intelligence and perceptions constrain the ability of even very bright decision makers to accurately
make the best choice based on the information that is available.

Figure 1 March and Simon’s Model of Decision Making

i.Heuristic

A heuristic is a mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems and make judgments
quickly and efficiently. These rule-of-thumb strategies shorten decision-making time and allow
people to function without constantly stopping to think about their next course of action. Nobel-
prize winning economist and cognitive psychologist Herbert Simon originally introduced the
concept of heuristics in psychology in the 1950s. He suggested that while people strive to make
rational choices, human judgment is subject to cognitive limitations. Purely rational decisions
would involve weighing all the potential costs and possible benefits of every alternative. But
people are limited by the amount of time they have to make a choice as well as the amount of
information they have at their disposal. Other factors such as overall intelligence and accuracy of
perceptions also influence the decision-making process.

During the 1970s, psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman presented their research on
cognitive biases. They proposed that these biases influence how people think and the judgments
people make. As a result of these limitations, we are forced to rely on mental shortcuts to help us
make sense of the world. Simon's research demonstrated that humans were limited in their ability
to make rational decisions, but it was Tversky and Kahneman's work that introduced the study of
heuristics and the specific ways of thinking that people rely on to simplify the decision-making
process.

ii. Framing and Decision Strategy

Framing refers to the presentation of information concerning potential outcomes in terms of gains
or in terms of losses. Framing is a psychological concept closely related with decision-making. It
says, that the way the information is served to the recipients, affects their opinion about a certain
issue and, consequently, their decisions. Frame presents perception of the reality, since the limits
of rationality often don’t allow people to capture the reality in its complexity. Framing is
manifested in several ways. The first relates to the starting point from which the reality is
perceived. This dimension causes that people perceive differently the description of decision
options formulated in terms of gains (positive frame) or losses (negative frame). The second
dimension relates to the size or the width of the frame, i.e. whether the reality is seen from a wider
or a narrower perspective.
Example of Decision Frame
 Figure 2 Decision Frame

The framing effect is a cognitive bias where people decide on options based on whether the
options are presented with positive or negative connotations; e.g. as a loss or as a gain.

People tend to avoid risk when a positive frame is presented but seek risks when a negative frame
is presented. Gain and loss are defined in the scenario as descriptions of outcomes (e.g., lives lost
or saved, disease patients treated and not treated, etc.).

Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman explored how different phrasing affected participants'
responses to a choice in a hypothetical life and death situation in 1981. Participants were asked to
choose between two treatments for 600 people affected by a deadly disease. Treatment A was
predicted to result in 400 deaths, whereas treatment B had a 33% chance that no one would die but
a 66% chance that everyone would die. This choice was then presented to participants either with
positive framing, i.e. how many people would live, or with negative framing, i.e. how many people
would die.
 Table 2 Decision Frame

Framing Treatment A Treatment B

"A 33% chance of saving all 600 people, 66% possibility of

Positive "Saves 200 lives"
saving no one."

"400 people will "A 33% chance that no people will die, 66% probability that all
Negative
die" 600 will die."

Treatment A was chosen by 72% of participants when it was presented with positive framing
("saves 200 lives") dropping to 22% when the same choice was presented with negative framing
("400 people will die").

Recent evidence suggests, however, that the framing effects observed in previous studies may stem
partly from the scenarios used to induce them (Jou, Shanteau, & Harris, 1996). Specifically, careful
examination of the disease example just described reveals that it is arbitrary in the sense that it
does not provide a rationale for the relationship between the potential gains and losses. People
usually have a general understanding about how events are related based on schemas. When events
we encounter cannot be fit into a schema—as in the disease scenario above—then the relationship
between the events may not be apparent. To test this possibility, Jou and his colleagues (1996)
asked participants in their study to read either the original disease examples or the same ones
revised to include a rationale that explained why a choice must be made. The rationale indicated
that saving some proportion of lives would require sacrificing other lives because of limited
resources. The researchers reasoned that including this rationale would clarify the relationship
between lives saved and lives lost, which in turn might reduce the effects of framing.
iii. Escalation of Commitment: Getting Trapped in Bad Decisions
Escalation of commitment is a human behavior pattern in which an individual or group facing
increasingly negative outcomes from a decision, action, or investment nevertheless continues the
behavior instead of altering course. The actor maintains behaviors that are irrational, but align with
previous decisions and actions. Have you ever heard the phrase “throwing good money after bad”?
It refers to the fact that in many situations, persons who have made a bad decision— one that yields
negative consequences—tend to stick to it even as the evidence for its failure mounts. In fact, they
may decide to commit additional time, effort, and resources to the failing course of action in
order—they hope—to turn the situation around. This tendency to become trapped in bad decisions
is known as escalation of commitment and is all too common in many spheres of life. Escalation
of commitment helps explain the tendencies of many investors to hold on to what are clearly bad
investments, and it
underlies situations in which people remain in troubled marriages or relationships long after these
have begun to yield more pain than happiness (Brockner & Rubin, 1985; Staw & Ross, 1989). In
these and many other cases, people do indeed seem to become trapped in bad decisions with no
simple or easy means of getting out.

iv. Emotion and Decision Making

The decisions we make define our lives. Historically, most influential theories of decision making
arose from the discipline of economics and rested on assumptions of rationality. The cognitive
revolution in psychology made significant progress toward explaining ways that human behavior
departs from the predictions of economic models. In the last few decades, however, an affective-
science revolution has emerged, one that may represent a paradigm shift in thinking about decision
theories. The research reveals that emotions constitute powerful and predictable drivers of decision
making. Across different types of decisions, important regularities appear in the mechanisms
through which emotion effects occur. The present paper provides organizational structure and
critical analysis of what has been learned from the past 35 years of work on emotion and decision
making.

v. Naturalistic Decision Making

The naturalistic decision making (NDM) framework emerged as a means of studying how people
make decisions and perform cognitively complex functions in demanding, real-world situations.
These include situations marked by limited time, uncertainty, high stakes, team and organizational
constraints, unstable conditions, and varying amounts of experience.

The NDM framework focuses on cognitive functions such as decision making, sense
making, situational awareness, and planning – which emerge in natural settings and take forms
that are not easily replicated in the laboratory. For example, it is difficult to replicate high stakes,
or to achieve extremely high levels of expertise, or to realistically incorporate team and
organizational constraints. Therefore, NDM researchers rely on cognitive field research methods
such as task analysis to observe and study skilled performers. From the perspective of scientific
methodology, NDM studies usually address the initial stages of observing phenomena and
developing descriptive accounts. In contrast, controlled laboratory studies emphasize the testing
of hypotheses. NDM and controlled experimentation are thus complementary approaches. NDM
provides the observations and models, and controlled experimentation provides the testing and
formalization.

1.7 Problem solving

The term problem solving has a slightly different meaning depending on the discipline. Problem-
solving is a mental process that involves discovering, analyzing, and solving problems. The
ultimate goal of problem-solving is to overcome obstacles and find a solution that best resolves
the issue. The best strategy for solving a problem depends largely on the unique situation

Problem solving in psychology refers to the process of finding solutions to problems encountered
in life. Solutions to these problems are usually situation or context-specific. The process starts
with problem finding and problem shaping, where the problem is discovered and simplified. The
next step is to generate possible solutions and evaluate them. Finally, a solution is selected to be
implemented and verified. Problems have an end goal to be reached and how you get there
depends upon problem orientation (problem-solving coping style and skills) and systematic
analysis. Mental health professionals study the human problem solving processes using methods
such as introspection, behaviorism, simulation, computer modeling, and experiment. Social
psychologists look into the person-environment relationship aspect of the problem and
independent and interdependent problem-solving methods. Problem solving has been defined as a
higher-order cognitive process and intellectual function that requires the modulation and control
of more routine or fundamental skills.
1.7.1 Methods of Problem Solving

Various methods of studying problem solving exist within the field of psychology
including introspection, behavior analysis and behaviorism, simulation, computer modeling,
and experimentation. A problem-solving strategy is a plan of action used to find a solution.

Stages of Problem Solving

Effective problem solving involves four stages. First, the problem must be identified and
understood. Next, potential solutions must be generated. Third, these must be examined and
evaluated. Finally, solutions must be tried and their effectiveness evaluated.
Stages of Problem Solving

Stage 1
Problem identified
and understood

Stage 4 Stage 2
Stagese of
Solutions tried; Potential
Problem solutions
results
evaluated Solving generated

Stage 3
Solutions
examined
and
evaluated

Figure 3 Stages of Problem Solving

i)Trial and Error Method

Trial and error involves trying different responses until, perhaps, one works. Sometimes this is all
you can do: You don’t have enough information to adopt a more systematic approach. But such an
approach is not very efficient, and it offers no guarantee that you will find useful solution.
Therefore, trial and error is a way of solving problems through repeated attempts, trying
something different every time until you are successful. Although this approach sounds random,
problem solving through trial and error is efficient only when you can base your attempts on some
prior knowledge and information.
ii)Algorithms
This is a step-by-step problem-solving formula. A second general approach to solving problems
involves the use of algorithms. These are rules for a particular kind of problem that will, if
followed, yield a solution. For example, imagine that you are supposed to meet a friend
at a restaurant. Try as you may, you can’t remember the name of the place. What can you do? One
approach is to get out the yellow pages and see if this refreshes your memory. If it doesn’t, you
can try calling all the restaurants listed to ask if your friend made a reservation (which you know
she was planning to do). Following this algorithm “Call every restaurant in the book”— will
eventually work; but it is time-consuming and inefficient. A much more effective way of solving
many problems is through the use of an appropriate heuristic.

iii)Means-Ends Analysis

This is a technique for solving problems in which the overall problem is divided into parts and
efforts are made to solve each part in turn. With means-ends analysis you compare your current
situation and the situation you want to arrive at, identify the most significant difference between
those two situations, and then create a sub-goal to remove that difference.

If you want to work as a doctor, the most significant difference between where you are and where
you want to be is having a job as a doctor - that's what would have to be different in your life to
make that happen. Gradually, you'll come to the conclusion that you don't yet have the knowledge
or the degree necessary, but the biggest difference in your actual life is the job.

iv)Heuristic
a heuristic is a general problem-solving framework (Tversky & Kahneman, 1981). We can think
of these as mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems. A “rule of thumb” is an example of a
heuristic. Such a rule saves the person time and energy when making a decision, but despite its
time-saving characteristics, it is not always the best method for making a rational decision.
Different types of heuristics are used in different types of situations, but the impulse to use a
heuristic occurs when one of five conditions is met (Pratkanis, 1989):

 When one is faced with too much information

 When the time to make a decision is limited
 When the decision to be made is unimportant
 When there is access to very little information to use in making the decision
 When an appropriate heuristic happens to come to mind in the same moment

1.7.2 Factors that Facilitate Effective Problem Solving

The higher-level cognition was given the label metacognition by American developmental
psychologist John H. Flavell (1976). The term metacognition literally means 'above cognition',
and is used to indicate cognition about cognition, or more informally, thinking about thinking.
Flavell defined metacognition as knowledge about cognition and control of cognition.

Metacognition is an important process to facilitate effective problem solving. In other words,

problem-solving requires not only knowledge and cognitive skills but also metacognitive skills,
when and how to use knowledge and cognitive resources (Mayer, 1998). Metacognition is an
awareness of one's own thought processes and an understanding of the patterns behind them. The
term comes from the root word meta, meaning "beyond", or "on top of". Metacognition can take
many forms, such as reflecting on one's own ways of thinking and knowing when and how to use
particular strategies for problem-solving.

Metacognition is classified into three components:

a) Metacognitive knowledge (also called metacognitive awareness) is what individuals know

about themselves and others as cognitive processors.
b) Metacognitive regulation is the regulation of cognition and learning experiences through a
set of activities that help people control their learning.
c) Metacognitive experiences are those experiences that have something to do with the
current, on-going cognitive endeavor.
Thus, metacognition is, put simply, thinking about one's thinking. More precisely, it refers to
the processes used to plan, monitor, and assess one's understanding and performance.
Metacognition includes a critical awareness of a) one's thinking and learning and b) oneself as a
thinker and learner.

1.7.3 Factors that Interfere Effective Problem Solving

Many factors interfere the problem solving process and hence it can become complicated and
drawn out when they are unaccounted for. Acknowledging the factors that affect the process and
taking them into account when forming a solution gives teams the best chance of solving the
problem effectively. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we are unable to solve problems. In
many cases our failure stems from obvious causes, such as lack of necessary information or
experience. We may also lack internal frameworks that allow us to
represent the problem situation fully and effectively. As a result, we don’t know which variables
or factors are most important, and we spend lots of time “wandering about,” using an informal
type of trial and error (Johnson & Johnson, 1985). In other cases, though, difficulties in solving
problems seem to stem from subtler factors. Let’s consider some of these now.
Factors Interfere Effective Problem Solving

Figure 4 Factors Interfere Effective Problem Solving

I. Confirmation Bias
Confirmation Bias arises when the approach taken is to confirm a preconceived solution. Basically,
you would have found the solution before you found the problem, and perceive the problem solving
method through this lens (perspective and intellectual blocks). For example, if you feel you already
know everything about the problem, you won’t perform research, or only research things that
confirm the appropriateness of the solution you want to use.
ii.Mental Set
This comes from relying too heavily on heuristics – the clichés of problem solving, like a ‘rule of
thumb’ or ‘common sense’ as a way to solve a problem, rather than actively looking for the best
or simplest solution. It is about reusing what has been successful in the past, rather than assessing
and evaluating the problem.
The heuristic for mental mind set could be called ‘why reinvent the wheel’. It relies on previous
experiences to direct how a problem can be solved. This could be an intellectual block, as the
problem solver is not prepared to learn new problem solving skills, and emotionally relies on
familiarity to feel comfortable with a solution.

iii.Functional Fixedness
This is about not thinking creatively. It is a narrow mind-set. Functional Fixedness comes from
people thinking that an object has only one function.
For example; a jug can only be used to pour fluids; it can’t be used as a mixing bowl. It can be
summarized as ‘You can’t do that’. Functional Fixedness affects the time taken to make a decision.
If you don’t have a mixing bowl, but won’t use the jug, you waste time going to buy a new mixing
bowl. Because it relates to objects, often caused by an intellectual or environmental block.
iv.Unnecessary Constraints
This barrier causes unwarranted boundaries to be placed on a problem. It links to trying to solve a
problem using previous experience of what has worked in a situation and trying to force it to work
in the current situation, rather than looking for a new solution.
This inhibits creativity. The barrier can be removed by insight. Most problem solving methods
focus on developing insight into a problem – through information gathering, evaluation and
assessment. Unnecessary Constraints could be caused by an intellectual block, or an emotional one
causing an over reliance on the known. An example would be trying to improve a service using
current procedures and processes, rather than find a solution and design new procedures and
processes.

v.Irrelevant Information
This is information that is not needed to solve the problem, often caused by people diverging from
the problem itself, onto other topics they feel are related or presenting too much information.
Irrelevant information hinders problem solving as it slows the process down, can cause confusion
or misunderstandings.

1.8 Summary and Implication of Cognition in Business Administration and Management

Cognition refers to a range of mental processes relating to the acquisition, storage, manipulation,
and retrieval of information. The study of cognition in business organizations has burgeoned in recent
years. Top-down information processing theory suggests that individuals create knowledge structures
to help them process information and make decisions. While the benefits of employing such knowledge
structures are widely noted, there is a growing concern that they can limit decision makers' abilities to
understand their information environments and thus, compromise their decision making. This issue has
captured the imagination of managerial and organizational cognition researchers. Till today, their
inquiry has been eclectic in focus and method. To order and advance this work, the author reviews
extant research on the developmental origins and decision consequences of both the content and
structure of knowledge structures at multiple levels of analysis. A host of research challenges are
identified to help develop a better understanding of knowledge structure representation, development,
and use in business organizations for its better operation. Therefore, cognition may help to explain
why some top managers have more effective capabilities than others for anticipating, interpreting,
and responding to the demands of an evolving environment (Helfat & Peteraf, 2015).

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