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Dear list,
Peter Lennox wrote:
> So it has sometimes been
> possible to talk about 'direct perception' (sometimes, but not always, in > the same context as 'sense-perceptions'), but I don't remember coming across > 'direct cognition'. > I'd rather like a clearer idea of the distinction, too. I think most cognitive psychologists would use the
term automaticity to describe what he referred to by 'direct cognition'. For
example, reading is a most complex 'cognitive' activity and children learning to
read are engaged in a lot of 'thinking about', activity. However, when they
become proficient readers (as the majority do) the process of reading becomes
more transparent or direct and not so much thinking about is required anymore.
In a way, I think this is similar to the perception of familiar stimuli: When
listeners have to discriminate between novel stimuli (even is a 'simple'
perceptual task) they probably have to engage in a comparison process which
becomes 'automatic' for well trained ones. In this sense I feel a sharp
distinction between perception and cognition is not useful.
Sincerely
Karen
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Karen Banai Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Northwestern University Searle Bldg. 2240 N. Campus Drive Evanston, IL 60208 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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