10.2

Psychology

10.2 Basic cognitive processes

Multiple Choice

Schools of thought gather different opinions and thoughts about the human mind.

• True

• False

Learning Objectives:

Explain the concepts of sensation, perception and consciousness.

Keywords

Nervous system :system of the body that is made up of
nerves, cells, the brain and the spinal cord; it sends
messages to and from the brain

interpret يفسر: to understand something in a
certain way

Consciousness الوعي: the state of understanding; thinking and knowing what is happening around you

Adapt: become used to new conditions

Cognitive processes

Do you remember a time when you did
something without thinking? Maybe
you dropped a cup and quickly tried to catch it? Or maybe you touched
something very hot and moved your
hand away fast? Those natural
responses are the cognitive
processes happening in our bodies.

The nervous system

The nervous system is made up of
two parts, the central nervous
system (CNS) and the peripheral
nervous system (PNS).

Central nervous system (CNS)

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

includes the brain and the spinal

cord.

It interprets the messages sent from the

peripheral nervous system and then sends

a message back to tell the body how it

should react.

includes the peripheral nerves.

These are away from the centre of the

body

and found in the arms and legs.

The PNS takes messages and passes them

onto the CNS.

The Brain

The brain is responsible for many

important functions of the body. It

controls breathing, balance, thinking,

behaviour, muscles and a lot more. In

the following image, you can see that

each part of the brain is responsible

for different jobs.

Match

Match the parts of the nervous system.

brain

spinal cord

CNS/ PNS

• brain

• spinal cord

• CNS/ PNS

Basic cognitive processes

1. Sensation الاحساس

It is the process that allows our brain to take in
information from our five senses.
The five senses are sight, hearing, taste, smell and
touch.

Each of these systems contain something called sensory receptors.
Sensory receptors are located all over the body, and are found in the following:
~ eyes / ears/ nose/ mouth/ skin

Senses can adapt to their surroundings. This means that the level of sensitivity

decreases (goes down) as the senses get used to new conditions.

Example

When we step into a dark room from a bright sunny

day outside, at first we cannot make out our

surroundings. Quickly our pupils get bigger to let in

.more light and we begin to see

When we step from a dark place into bright light,

our pupils get smaller to allow in less light, and again

.it becomes easier to see

Match

Match the picture to the correct sense

taste

smell

touch

hearing

sight

• taste

• smell

• touch

• hearing

• sight

Basic cognitive processes

2. Perception

is the process of getting, selecting and organising the
information that is being sent from the five senses.
The information is processed in the brain, which then tells
the body what to do.
Your past experiences or memory play a part in perception.
If you ate an apple that tasted bad in the past, the next
time you are offered an apple, you will not want to eat it.

Multiple Choice

Perception is a process of getting, selecting and organising the information that is being sent from the five senses.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Perception does not help us to make decisions.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Your past experience affects your perception.

• True

• False

Basic cognitive processes

3. Consciousness

refers to your own awareness of your thoughts,
memories, feelings, sensations, and
environment.
Your consciousness is your awareness of
yourself and the world around you.
This awareness is unique to you.

Multiple Choice

Basic cognitive processes are sensation, perception and consciousness

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The nervous system is made up of the central nervous system and the digestive system.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Senses can adapt to their surroundings

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The five senses are sight, hearing, smell, speaking and touch.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Unconscious means things that we are not aware of, such as memories and feelings.

• True

• False