Mental processes

thumb|Overview of the forms and functions of memoryMemory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, it would be impossible for language, relationships, or personal identity to develop. Memory loss is usually described as forgetfulness or amnesia.

thumb|17th-century representation of consciousness by Robert Fludd, an English Paracelsian physician

thumb|Joseph Noel Paton , Dante Meditating the Episode of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Imagination is the representation of sensations or physical objects in the mind without any immediate input of the senses. Often described as forming pictures in the mind, it is commonly equated with mental imagery, though imaginary experiences do not have to be purely visual, and can include other sensory experiences, thoughts, and emotions. Imaginings can be re-creations of past experiences, such as vivid memories with or without changes, or completely invented and possibly fantastical scenes. I

thumb|upright=0.7|alt=graphic of a lightbulb|A picture of an incandescent light bulb, a symbol associated with the formation of an [[idea, an example of creativity]]

According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations, thoughts, or images evoking them". The term feeling is closely related to, but not the same as, emotion. Feeling may, for instance, refer to the conscious subjective experience of emotions. The study of subjective experiences is called phenomenology. Psychotherapy generally involves a therapist helping a client understand, articulate, and learn to effectively regulate the client's own feelings, and ultimately to take resp

faculty of the mind which intentionally selects the strongest desire from among the various desires present

thumb|Focused attention

group of psychic characters and processes that are reflected in behaviour, even though not shown in the conciousness

Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning or needing an explanation. Different fields use the word "intuition" in very different ways, including but not limited to: direct access to unconscious knowledge; unconscious cognition; gut feelings; inner sensing; inner insight to unconscious pattern-recognition; and the ability to understand something instinctively, without any need for conscious reasoning. Intuitive knowledge tends to be approximate or heuristic.

advanced emotion, subjective experience of total involvement of the subject, with an object of their awareness

Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's soul. Introspection is closely related to human self-reflection and self-discovery and is contrasted with external observation.

An intention is a mental state in which a person commits themselves to a course of action. Having the plan to visit the zoo tomorrow is an example of an intention. The action plan is the content of the intention while the commitment is the attitude towards this content. Other mental states can have action plans as their content, as when one admires a plan, but differ from intentions since they do not involve a practical commitment to realizing this plan. Successful intentions bring about the intended course of action while unsuccessful intentions fail to do so. Intentions, like many other ment

upright=0.65|thumb|The "redness" of red is an example of a quale.

thumb|right|300px|The intellect comprises the rational and the [[logical aspects of the human mind.]]

thumb|200px|right|A person is writing with both hands. Ambidexterity is the ability to use both the right and left hand equally well. When referring to objects, the term indicates that the object is equally suitable for right-handed and left-handed people. When referring to humans, it indicates that a person has no marked preference for the use of the right or left hand.

Somnolence (alternatively sleepiness or drowsiness) is a state of strong desire for sleep, or sleeping for unusually long periods (compare hypersomnia). It has distinct meanings and causes. It can refer to the usual state preceding falling asleep, the condition of being in a drowsy state due to circadian rhythm disorders, or a symptom of other health problems. It can be accompanied by lethargy, weakness and lack of mental agility.

thumb|Stenciled hands at the Cueva de las Manos in Argentina. Left hands make up over 90% of the artwork, demonstrating the prevalence of right-handedness. thumb|A schoolgirl writing with her left hand In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjectively preferred, is called the non-dominant hand. In a study from 1975 on 7,688 children in US grades 1–6, left handers comprised 9.6% of the sam

thumb|upright=1.2|A representation of how people with differing visualization abilities might picture an apple in their mind. The first image is bright and photographic, levels 2 through 4 show increasingly simpler and more faded images, and the last—representing complete aphantasia—shows no image at all.

manner of solving problems using an indirect and creative approach via reasoning that is not immediately obvious or attainable using only traditional step-by-step logic

standpoint regarding a topic; opinion, attitude, or judgment upon some matter; way that one looks at something

thumb|200px|Conatus is, for Baruch Spinoza, where "each thing, as far as it lies in itself, strives to persevere in its being." In the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza, conatus (; :wikt:conatus; Latin for "effort; endeavor; impulse, inclination, tendency; undertaking; striving") is an innate inclination of a thing to continue to exist and enhance itself. This thing may be mind, matter, or a combination of both, and is often associated with God's will in a pantheist view of nature. The conatus may refer to the instinctive will to live of living organisms or to various metaphysical theories of motio

thumb|Left hemisphere of a human brain The term laterality refers to asymmetric preference, usage, skill, or specialization of symmetric body parts in an organism. Humans exhibit laterality in many ways, including limb dominance such as left and right handedness and footedness as well as specialization of one brain hemisphere over the other for certain functions such as language. Many other animals have also been shown to exhibit laterality in their own ways.

nature of meaning in the philosophy of language, semantics, methaphysics and metasemantics

thumb|right|The exact number of candy pieces in this jar cannot be determined by looking at it, because not all of the pieces are visible. The amount must be guessed or estimated. Guessing is the act of drawing a swift conclusion, called a guess, from data directly at hand, which is then held as probable or tentative, while the person making the guess (the guesser) admittedly lacks material for a greater degree of certainty.

term referring to the highest level of integrative function of the brain, centered in the cerebral cortex

term in psychology

general theory of cognition

form of thinking that uses the function of a phenomenon within a larger system to explain it

dual process theory of persuasion