cognitive process

any of the mental functions assumed to be involved in the acquisition, storage, interpretation, manipulation, transformation, and use of knowledge. These processes encompass such activities as attention, perception, learning, and problem solving and are commonly understood through several basic theories, including the serial processing approach, the parallel processing approach, and a combination theory, which assumes that cognitive processes are both serial and parallel, depending on the demands of the task. This term is often used synonymously with mental process.

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Psychology term of the day

March 17th 2025

dominance–subordination

a form of social relationship within groups with a leader or dominant member who has priority of access to resources over other, subordinate members of the community. Among nonhuman animals, dominance–subordination relationships are highly organized in troops of baboons, in which dominant males have more access to food resources and mates than do subordinate males and all males often appear to have dominance over females. In hyena groups, the relationship is reversed, with males subordinate to females.