Discuss all of the daily activities that involve cognition and make note of the most important ones
Cognition is involved in most activities during a day because of the necessity to memorize to-do lists, telephone numbers, instructions made by tutors and bosses, and passwords. Furthermore, cognition is associated with attention and the level of concentration during the studying process, reading, writing, or listening to a lecturer (Wood & Siberry, 2014, para. 3). Driving also requires developed attention. Moreover, it is also important to demonstrate cognitive flexibility while focusing on tasks after being interrupted or while quickly changing activities.
The story of H.M. allows focusing on the critical role of memory in people’s life (Reisberg, 2013, p. 6). I cannot recollect a moment in my life when my cognition did not serve me, but I should state that I experience significant problems with concentration when I have influenza. It is a real challenge for me to read or analyze the information when I am sick because I cannot even understand the written word because of the lack of concentration.
Moreover, memory loss can become a real tragedy for an individual because he or she also loses a part of his personality. This person cannot remember whether he or she likes to read or skate, which people he or she loves, what attributes he or she has and can be proud of. From this point, a person with amnesia can have problems while coping with daily activities and interacting with people because he or she is limited in memories about certain objects and situations.
The study of cognitive psychology is important to improve the quality of daily life because it’s possible to develop skills in memorizing the materials necessary for study and work, to develop attention, and to improve decision-making skills. In work, this knowledge is important to understand the grounds behind the people’s actions or challenges with typical daily activities. Knowing these aspects, a professional can help in reducing stress and developing people’s cognitive skills.
Which of the following options is more likely to lead to success in life? Why?
- Above average intelligence coupled with the average motivation to achieve success.
- Average intelligence coupled with the above-average motivation to achieve success.
If the intelligence is average, but it is coupled with the motivation to achieve success, it is possible to expect more positive outcomes for a person. The reason is that a person with an achievement motivation that is higher than average can spend more time while developing intelligence because of orienting to the goals and their completion. Motivation is a high driving force for a person to direct not only the behavior but also the self-development in terms of improving intelligence (Deckers, 2014, p. 24).
Having significant extrinsic and intrinsic motivators, a person chooses a path toward achieving the goal. As a result, it is possible to expect that such a person will become more successful than a person who has higher intelligence, but lower motivation. In this case, a clever person can lose chances to succeed in life without orienting to excellence and reaching the heights.
What is the motivation for eating, drinking, and sex? Is it the immediate pleasure that each activity provides, or that it ensures the survival of the individual and species?
Even though the motivation for such activities as eating, drinking, and sex can be discussed as biological and based on instincts, the focus on survival while satisfying these needs is less important for people today. However, it is significant to note that the person’s behavior connected with eating, drinking, and sex can depend on a situation and specific associations with these behaviors (Deckers, 2014).
If a person knows that eating, drinking, and sex are pleasant activities, the motivation can be based on achieving immediate pleasure. If a person has health problems and experience problems or feels pain while eating or drinking, this person can try to avoid these activities and discuss them as necessary only for satisfying the basic needs. In most cases, pleasure is the main motivator because these activities can be controlled by a person.
References
Deckers, L. (2014). Motivation: Biological, psychological, and environmental (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Reisberg, D. (2013). Cognition: Exploring the science of the mind (5th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Wood, R., & Siberry, L. (2014). Cognitive skills: What are they and how do we use them? Web.