4 Answers

Cog­ni­tive abil­i­ties are the brain-based skills we need to carry out any task from the sim­plest to the most com­plex. They have more to do with the mech­a­nisms of how we learn, remem­ber, problem-solve, and pay atten­tion rather than with any actual knowl­edge. Any task can be bro­ken down into the dif­fer­ent cog­ni­tive skills or func­tions needed to com­plete that task suc­cess­fully. For instance, answer­ing the tele­phone involves at least: per­cep­tion (hear­ing the ring tone), deci­sion tak­ing (answer­ing or not), motor skill (lift­ing the receiver), lan­guage skills (talk­ing and under­stand­ing lan­guage), social skills (inter­pret­ing tone of voice and inter­act­ing prop­erly with another human being). Read more: http://sharpbrains.com/blog/2006/12/18/what-are-cognitive-abilities/

cognition |?käg?niSH?n|
noun
the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.
• a result of this; a perception, sensation, notion, or intuition.
DERIVATIVES
cognitional |-SH?nl|adjective
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin cognitio(n-), from cognoscere ‘get to know.’

ability to learn -- opposite of creative thought.

Mental ability