Cognitive Skills: What They Are, Why They Matter, and How They’re Used

Cognition is vital in shaping your memory, thinking abilities, and attention spans. Developing cognitive skills is crucial, as they can highly impact how your brain manages daily tasks, social settings, and professional endeavors.

What are cognitive skills?

Cognitive skills are your brain's functions for thinking, paying attention, processing information, and remembering things. They constantly aid your thought processes and memory retention. Some of these functions include sustained attention, auditory processing, and short-term memory. Your brain can employ them simultaneously to increase its overall performance.

Research shows that cognitive function can decrease slightly with age. Typically, a cognitive decline would begin with a slowing in overall processing that could lead to a further recession in cognitive ability later on. The decline may then progress to a general inability to multitask. 

Commonly, people aged 70 and up may need help focusing their attention on multiple things at once and could struggle with memory retention. This can cause challenges in both understanding and effectively communicating through language.

Scientists are constantly working on new treatments and technologies to aid in more severe cognitive declines. However, you can help prevent cognitive decline by engaging in specific activities. 

Current research shows that maintaining physical health throughout your life will aid in cognitive strength. Researchers claim that a healthy body fosters a healthy mind. This is why, as you age, engaging in physical exercise, healthy eating habits, and regularly participating in social interactions will become increasingly important.

8 examples of cognitive skills

Regardless of your age, focusing on a few particular skills can help strengthen and sustain a healthy brain to avoid a severe decline in cognitive functions. Here are eight examples of cognitive skills you can prioritize.

1. Sustained attention

Sustained attention is the ability to stay focused on something for an extended time. A person’s attention span depends on control over internal and external stimuli. Internal stimuli include things like thoughts or memories, and external stimuli involve the five senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. To help maintain your focus and concentration, you can train your mind with tasks that fix your attention on a single task, like playing Sudoku daily.

2. Selective attention

Selective attention is the ability to focus on one thing and disregard external stimuli competing for your time and attention. Similar to sustaining your attention, you must control your perception of internal and external stimuli to maintain focus on one thing.

3. Divided attention

Divided attention is the ability to multitask, focusing on multiple things simultaneously. It also includes an element of stimulus control. When you divide your attention, you should be able to concentrate on specific things from each task without forgetting information about any of the tasks. Playing games that give you different stimuli simultaneously—like auditory and visual stimuli—can help you develop your divided attention skills.

4. Long-term memory

Long-term memory implies the ability to remember past information. This may include actual memories from years past, small things like people’s names or birthdays, or information you’ve read or studied. Long-term memory also applies to physical bodily functions, like “muscle memory.” People with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease may find their physical abilities declining over time as their long-term memory deteriorates.

5. Short-term memory

On the flip side, short-term memory describes the ability to store information for instant access temporarily. It applies mainly to any present tasks or situations, including scenarios like addressing a person you just met by their name, remembering a task you want to complete, or memorizing a short grocery list. Engaging in crossword puzzles, reading, gaming, and exploring new hobbies can help enrich your short-term memory.

6. Auditory processing

Auditory processing is how your brain analyzes, separates, and mixes sounds. If this brain function is lacking, you may need help conversing with others, understanding what people are saying, or even reading and watching movies. Adults with auditory processing difficulties can benefit from deficit-specific auditory processing therapy and hearing assistive technology.

7. Visual processing

Like auditory processing, visual processing refers to how your brain analyzes and separates visuals. People who struggle with visual processing may have trouble reading, following GPS directions, or splitting their focus visually. They can usually train their brain’s neuroplasticity through personalized cognitive stimulation programs to improve their visual processing skills.

8. Processing speed

Processing speed generally refers to how quickly your brain can analyze and comprehend information, be it auditory, visual, internal, or external. This cognitive skill typically declines with age and can affect the sustainability of other cognitive skills. You can take on the Mensa IQ Challenge, which is a timed intelligence assessment, to test your processing speed.

Why are cognitive skills important?

Cognitive skills are essential for maintaining and expanding brain capacity but can also assist in social, personal, and professional settings. By first developing memory retention, attention span, and brain processing in general, you can then work on skills like logic and reasoning, self-awareness, and emotional development.

How are cognitive skills used?

Here are three ways in which cognitive skills are used.

Day-to-day

While it may go unnoticed, cognitive skills are used in nearly every day-to-day scenario, highlighting the significance of refining processing skills, memory retention efforts, and attention span expansion to build a solid logical foundation. Your ability to practice self-control, make decisions, and socialize with others is also enhanced through cognitive functions. Making a daily commitment to strengthen or preserve your cognitive skills will have long-lasting benefits.

In the workplace

Every job requires the use of cognitive skills. Your job might involve the application of problem-solving, critical and analytical thinking, and the ability to make logical and reasoned decisions. Regardless of what your job expects from you, you may want to develop your cognitive skills in preparation for the future. Strong cognitive thinking skills can improve your chances of success.

While socializing

Socialization can be challenging for certain people depending on their comfort level, self-confidence, and cognitive skills. Strengthening your cognitive thinking skills can enhance your focus and perception, leading to increased openness in social settings. Developing cognitive thinking skills can be beneficial in overcoming socialization challenges, even if they are not the sole root cause.

Learn more about cognitive skills with Coursera.

Cognitive skills are the mental abilities you use to think, remember and process information. They are important for daily life, work, and social interaction and can be strengthened through activities that challenge your focus, memory, and processing speed.

If you're eager to delve deeper into cognitive thinking and improve your cognitive development in specific fields, you can find a diverse range of courses on Coursera that can be instrumental in your journey. The Introduction to the Philosophy of Cognitive Sciences course by the University of Edinburgh offers an in-depth analysis of cognitive consciousness and explores the philosophy of cognitive sciences. Additionally, the Cognitive Solutions and RPA Analytics course Automation Anywhere offers explores how cognitive solutions are used in various industries.