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Concept
Cognitive inhibition
Summary
Cognitive inhibition refers to the mind's ability to tune out stimuli that are irrelevant to the task/process at hand or to the mind's current state. Cognitive inhibition can be done either in whole or in part, intentionally or otherwise. Cognitive inhibition in particular can be observed in many instances throughout specific areas of cognitive science.
The early models of what would become the study and concept of cognitive inhibition were developed by Sigmund Freud. Inhibition was believed to play two primary roles: the prevention of unwanted thoughts or behaviors, and the repression of experiences from infancy and childhood. Freud believed cognitive inhibition was not just a lack of awareness to stimuli but an active process, requiring a constant energy expenditure.
Other early theories of cognitive inhibition focused on its central developmental mechanisms and were founded by Luria and Vygotsky, two Russian psychologists. They proposed that children acquire control of behavior and thought through internalized speech, and that they consciously exhibit a cognitively inhibitory process in order to regulate their own behavior. Cognitive inhibition was thought to develop as mental control over behavior developed.
During the past 30 years inhibitory mechanisms such as cognitive inhibition have not been particularly prominent in developmental psychology, but currently they are undergoing a revival in the study of inefficient inhibition (explored in a later section) and resource limitations.
Cognitive inhibition can be seen at work during studies in developmental psychology. An experiment done by Friedman and Leslie explained children's performance in the false belief task as relying on a critical inhibitory process. What this demonstrated is that reaching the age of 3 or 4 triggers cognitive inhibition ability formation. The idea is that children who are 3 or 4 can suppress information from their cognitive experience in order to evaluate a situation from another's point of view.
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