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Cognition involves our ability to receive, interpret, and process information. This concept includes attention, awareness, focus, memory, judgment, comprehension, problem solving, and reasoning. A person’s cognition can affect the way they learn—whether this learning refers to learning how to use a new device or learning new information in a classroom.
Many aspects of cognition affect one another. If a person has difficulty with attention, or problems focusing after an interruption, these difficulties may lead to issues with comprehension. Similarly, if a person has trouble understanding information, it might be difficult to commit the information to memory. This difficulty can influence a person’s confidence and motivation in learning something new. Cognition is essential to every task we perform.
Attention — Are notifications, animations, or distractions present during the experience?
Memory — Does the experience require memorized information in order to complete a task?
Judgment — Is the experience intuitive and familiar to navigate?
Processing (speed) — Are there timed responses that could expire before the user can act upon them?
Processing (comprehension) — Is there new information being presented to the user during the experience?
The purpose of this reference is to provide concepts people can use to document and discuss aspects of function. Design should happen with people with disabilities. This reference is meant to support that activity, not replace it.