Cognitive Dissonance takes place when two consciously held ideas are mutually antagonistic. For example Steven has received his weekly paycheck. He is tempted to get into a poker game, thinking , “I really want to play this weekend. I feel lucky.” Steven was raised by parents who taught him that gambling is sinful. So he also thinks, “It’s a sin to gamble.” Idea 1 is, “I want to gamble.” Ideas 2 is, “Gambling is sinful.” Assuming that both ideas have some weight for Steven, he is in a state of cognitive dissonance.

Let’s say that you are asked: “How are an apple, a grape, and a peach alike?” You probably have conscious images of the items. It takes only a bit of reflection to decide that the right answer is: “They are all kinds of fruit.” You know what an apple and a grape and a peach look like. You know they belong to a larger category. All of this knowing represents cognition.

Cognition is considered to be the highest level of mental information processing. Below cognition are sensation and perception. Cognitive development is the growth of the intellect over time, the maturation of the higher thought processes from infancy to adulthood. According to Swiss philosopher Jean Piaget, the four stages of cognitive development are:

1. Sensorimotor 0-2 years
2. Preoperational 2-7 years
3. Concrete operations 7-11 years
4. Formal operations 7-11

The philosopher Rene Descartes wrote in Latin, “Cogito ergo sum,” meaning, “I think, therefore I am.” This is one of the most famous quotations in philosophy. The Latin word cogito for I think is the root word for both thinking and knowing. Another way of saying that a person is thinking is to say that he or she is cogitating.

A deeper appreciation of the meaning of the word cognition can be had by associating it with the familiar word recognition. Re-cognition means to know again. Now you understand the connection.

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Tags : cognitive development, cognitive dissonance, information processing, Jean Piaget, perception, rene descartes, Thinking, thought processes, word recognition
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