Perception and Attentive Memory’s Role in Decision Making 

Decision making is a cognitive function that people utilize daily, probably without a large amount of thought as to how the process takes place inside the mind. Or does it take much thought to come to a decision? That was indeed a question that provoked Donders to tackle the very first cognitive psychology experiment (Goldstein, 2011, p.6). Though, to really explore decision making, it is important to understand the other cognitive processes that work together to assist the brain in working properly. Without processes such as memory and perception, the ability to make decisions would not be possible (Goldstein, 2011, p. 52). 

Perception is defined as the result formed after stimulation of the senses, according to the textbook (Goldstein, 2011, p.52). Many tasks associated with cognitive processes such as remembering events from the past, solving problems, communicating with others, recognizing someone you’ve met from the past, answering Cognitive Psychology quiz questions, and the art of decision-making could not be completed without the ability to perceive a stimulus (Goldstein, 2011, p.4-5).  As humans in this very hectic society, we make decisions constantly. Our perception of a situation is an important factor in how those decisions are made. I like to believe that a good amount of thought and consideration go into the decision-making process, though many decisions are made so quickly that there isn’t a large portion of time behind the cognitive forces at work. Thoughts such as which direction to walk, turning on a light, opening a stick of gum are only a few of the decisions that we reach daily that take very little thought. Our ability to perceive cognitive stimulation (perception) is responsible for those instantaneous responses. 

While perception of a decision provoking stimuli is the first step in the decision-making process, memory is also integral to the cognitive process being carried out. Memory must be triggered by stimuli, specific to the event being carried out. This is referred to as attention and attention allows  for focus on those stimuli to get the memory process moving (Goldstein, 2011, p.86). Attention is an information processing unit, according to the text, however, selective attention affects an individual’s informative process based on the surrounding conditions in any given situation (Goldstein, 2011, p. 87-88). Broadbent’s Filter Model of Attentions examines the effect that attention has on memory (Goldstein, 2011, p. 88). The diagram in the textbook is helpful in describing the flow of information, according to Broadbent’s Filter Model of Attentions. The diagram shows the relay journey that the messages perceived take to tap into memory and therefore, take action. The perception of a message leads to a sensory memory, which leads to a filter, that leads to a detector, that finally leads to memory access (Goldstein, 2011, p.88). 

When tasked with making a decision, our attention must be triggered by our perception of a situation. This manner in which we perceive the attention activating stimuli allow for the retrieval of certain stored information, otherwise known as memory. Once the memory is retrieved, specific cognitive functions occur. For the sake of this event, the cognitive ability to evaluate the decision at hand, leads to the making of a decision. While there are different types of decisions, some that happen without much thought or effort, and others that require more input from Long-term memory, or, more “thought”, if you will. It would seem that there may be more effort expelled to think on events that do not occur instantaneously. 

Cognition of the mind plays an essential role in memory, problem solving, and making decisions (Goldstein, 2011, p.5). Cognitive processes that occur in the mind also create/control perceptions, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning (Goldstein, 2011, p.5). The decision-making process could not be completed without perception and memory. Therefore, our cognitive abilities and daily lives would be seriously hindered without these essential processes.  

Reference 

Goldstein, E. B. (2015). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience. New york: Cengage learning