Introduction
The role of cognition of the surrounding world in human behavior cannot be overestimated. All people, no matter what closed environment they were brought up in, encounter other people, and get to know the world around them, and all this affects their upbringing and behavior. Cognition of the world refers to the social need of an individual and has been called an indicative need. All living organisms use sense organs that help them navigate in space. Humans, unlike other living organisms, have a highly developed intellect. Such external stimuli, such as sound, color, smell, and shape, allow one to create a certain attitude toward the surrounding world and choose a certain form of behavior in relation to it, allowing one to avoid harmful influences. Thus, the body receives the best conditions for maintaining internal balance in the broadest sense of the word.
Theories
Language: Top-Down Processes
In order for cognition to become possible, a unique combination of many factors is necessary, among which language occupies a special place. This is a system of signs that plays an important role in people’s communication and acts as the main means of forming and expressing thoughts. In all cases, communication is the process of transferring certain information from the sender to the recipient. The role of language in cognition is that it provides the process of cognition itself, the design, preservation and transfer of the acquired knowledge (Goldstein, 2014). The main function of language is the transmission and storage of information. Therefore, it is directly connected with human thinking, with all the spiritual activities of people aimed at the cognition of the world, at its reflection in human consciousness.
The theory of top-down processes of language cognition is that the reality existing outside of a person is recognized by them and reflected in their head. The results of cognition are fixed and expressed through language. The main way to consolidate a person’s thoughts during the practical development of the world is the word. In its content, it is a generalized reflection of the designated object. The variety of features inherent in objects of the same class are denoted by one word. The individual characteristics of the objects are left out as insignificant (Boer et al., 2019). Consequently, the language organizes the process of cognition in a certain way, forms the received knowledge and ensures its translation. This top-down procedure is called the conceptualization of knowledge.
The main problem of the theory of top-down processes of language cognition is that an object is always fuller and richer than a word, concept, or image that reflects this object. At the same time, it does not matter whether the object belongs to an objective reality or to a subjective one. In other words, the original is always richer than the copy, which never exhausts all the richness of its properties and relationships (Goldstein, 2014). This problem cannot be solved by searching for such a method of cognition, in the results of which an exhaustive knowledge of the world would be obtained. Thus, the question of what people can know reliably about the inner and outer world is insoluble from the extreme positions of the theory of top-down processes of language cognition.
Perception: Top-Down & Bottom-Up Processes
Perception is a mental process consisting of a holistic reflection of objects and phenomena acting at the moment on the senses. Conventionally, perception can be represented as the sum of sensations, memory and thinking. It is aimed at creating a complete picture of the original element; this form of cognition allows one to single out an object among many others and create a holistic image in one’s head. The perception of a person manifests itself in determining the specific properties of an object and its severity.
In other words, a person pays attention to a specific property of an object (shape, color, smell, taste, etc.). The degree of this property is also taken into account (round or square, more or less sweet, heavy or light). From this, it can be concluded that the perception of each person is individual. If comparing the definitions of two mental processes, i.e., perception and sensation, then some features can be noticed (Goldstein, 2014). Perception is a more complex process: if sensations reflect individual properties of objects, then perception is a holistic reflection. Thus, the result of perception is an integral perceptual image of the object and not its separate property.
Theory of top-down and bottom-up processes of perception in a combination of various properties of perception. First of all, it is the ability to reflect objects and phenomena of the real world not in the form of a set of unrelated sensations but in the form of individual objects. Perception also gives a holistic image of the subject. It is formed on the basis of the generalization of information received in the form of various sensations about individual properties and qualities of the object. Thus, in this case, both top-down and bottom-up processes occur (Schilhab, 2018). This is due to the fact that not only the object of perception affects the subject, but also vice versa; the subject’s experience affects how a particular object will be perceived.
The theory of top-down and bottom-up processes of perception faces such a problem as the projection effect. This is the property of people to attribute their advantages to a person who is pleasant to them and their disadvantages to an unpleasant person (Goldstein, 2014). This effect assumes that other people have the same qualities as the perceiving person. That effect disrupts the logical course of the top-down and bottom-up processes of perception and creates a distorted perception of the object.
Focused & Selected Attention
Focused and selected attention are important concepts, without interaction between which the process of cognition is impossible. When thinking, the human brain is in two states – focused and selected attention. It switches from one mode to another without using both at the same time. The focused mode of thinking is used for the first acquaintance with concepts and tasks. As soon as a person is distracted from the task they were engaged in, selected thinking begins to work. There are two main types of attention — involuntary or passive, voluntary or active (Goldstein, 2014). Involuntary, absent-minded attention is spoken of in cases when a person is attracted by a strong, new or interesting stimulus. Focused attention is peculiar only to man; it is found in the fact that the subject can deliberately focus their attention on one or another object.
The theory of focused and selected attention is that the effectiveness of cognition and the probability of the birth of insight increases significantly if two types of attention are alternated. When returning to a cognitive task after changing the type of attention, it is easier to find a solution and more progress in understanding (Johnson, 2011). Due to selected thinking, the context can be seen and new non-standard solutions can be found. For example, if one cannot find a solution to a problem, one needs to postpone it for a while, let their brain work, and look for a solution in the background. One should also avoid setting on the first idea, which immediately seems to be the only correct one. Thus, the possibilities of the brain are limited and it is not difficult to find an additional solution. Without alternating focused and selected attention, it is impossible to understand and assimilate information, the purpose of which is the process of cognition.
The theory of focused and selected attention faces the problem of distinguishing these types of attention. They are distinguished on the basis of basic properties, such as volume, disreputability, stability, concentration and switchability. The volume of attention is understood as the number of incoming signals or associations simultaneously held in clear consciousness. It is believed that the volume of attention is equal to the capacity of short memory and is around 7 units of information (Goldstein, 2014). Concentration or selectivity of attention is characterized by the intensity of its concentration on the object of activity. Selectivity of attention is the degree of noise immunity to any type of activity. The switchability of attention consists in the ability to quickly switch off from some settings and switch on to new ones corresponding to changed conditions. However, with the exception of the attention volume, it is impossible to accurately measure other indicators of the transition from one state to another.
Conclusion
All three theories affect the process of human cognition through their different perception of the surrounding reality. The first theory – the top-down process of language cognition – reflects the formation of linguistic reality depending on the objects being studied. The second theory, related to the two-way process of perception, demonstrates that the personality of the knower also plays a very important role. Finally, the theory of focused and selected attention explains the course of cognitive activity. All three theories are closely related to each other, as they have an adjacent conceptual complex.
References
Boer, J. N., Linszen, M. M., Vries, J., Schutte, M. J., Begemann, M. J., Heringa, S. M., … Sommer, E. C. (2019). Auditory hallucinations, top-down processing and language perception: A general population study. Psychological Medicine, 4(49), 2772-2780.
Goldstein, E. B. (2014). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.
Johnson, S.P. (2011). Development of visual perception. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 2(5), 515-528.
Schilhab, T. (2018). Neural bottom-up and top-down processes in learning and teaching. Postmodernism Problem, 8(2), 228-245.