Canadian Medical Guide > Psychiatry and Psychology > Psychological Phenomena and Processes > Mental Processes > Cognition Terms and Definitions

Cognition

	Awareness - The act of "taking account" of an object or state of affairs. It does not imply assessment of nor attention to the qualities or nature of the object.
	Cognitive Dissonance - Motivational state produced by inconsistencies between simultaneously held cognitions or between a cognition and behavior; e.g., smoking enjoyment and believing smoking is harmful are dissonant.
	Comprehension - The act or fact of grasping the meaning, nature, or importance of; understanding. (American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed) Includes understanding by a patient or research subject of information disclosed orally or in writing.
	Consciousness - Sense of awareness of self and of the environment.
	Imagination - A new pattern of perceptual or ideational material derived from past experience.
	Intuition - Knowing or understanding without conscious use of reasoning. (Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors, 1994)

Cognition Medical Definitions and Terms