cognitive understanding

USAGE SUMMARY

"cognitive understanding" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to refer to a person's ability to comprehend concepts, situations, and information. For example: "I have been studying the subject for two years now, and I have a deep cognitive understanding of it."

✓ Grammatically correct

Academia

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

42 human-written examples

The two theories aren't mutually exclusive: Cognitive understanding accompanied by a motivational reward reinforces prosocial behavior.

The New York Times

"An older child will have a much greater emotional and cognitive understanding of pain," Dr. Fitzgerald said, "and therefore have associated anxiety.

The New York Times - Health

It is often assumed that 3D-visualization improves the cognitive understanding of scenario outcomes.

Computers, Environment and Urban Systems

That's not the whole story, of course: how Beethoven makes those individual moments of sonic splendour part of a much larger expressive journey is another level of musical signification, another level of cognitive understanding.

The Guardian - Music

Humans have the ability to share experience through narratives that shape an emotional and cognitive understanding of our world, and empathy is one of the many complicated social and psychological processes shaped by that exchange.

The New Yorker

Clearly, the child's cognitive understanding of and emotional response to pain are different than an adult's, and these differences make pain assessment and control more difficult.

Stanford University

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

18 human-written examples

A definition of an institution is a 'more-or-less taken-for-granted repetitive social behavior that is underpinned by normative systems and cognitive understandings that give meaning to social exchange and thus enable self-reproducing social order.

Life Sciences, Society and Policy

These social and cultural gendered constructions determine cognitive understandings, behaviours of individuals and health-related practices.

BMC Public Health

This led them to make connections across disciplines, to develop a "meta-cognitive" understanding of their own ways of thinking, and to find ways to negotiate ill-structured problems rather than simply looking for right answers.

Harvard University

to social-cognitive understanding?

HuffPost

Conversation and theory of mind: Do children talk their way to social-cognitive understanding?

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "cognitive understanding" when you want to emphasize the mental processes involved in comprehending information, ideas, or situations. It's suitable for academic, professional, and general contexts.

Common error

Avoid using "cognitive understanding" when a simpler term like "understanding" or "comprehension" suffices. Overusing the phrase can make your writing sound unnecessarily complex.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "cognitive understanding" functions primarily as a noun phrase. It refers to the ability to comprehend and process information through mental processes. As confirmed by Ludwig, the phrase is grammatically sound and frequently used.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

Science

34%

Academia

32%

News & Media

23%

Less common in

Formal & Business

7%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

"Cognitive understanding" is a grammatically correct and frequently used noun phrase that refers to the mental processes involved in comprehension. According to Ludwig, the phrase is versatile, appearing across various domains such as academia, news, and science. It's best used when emphasizing the depth and nature of someone's understanding, but overuse should be avoided in simple contexts. Alternatives include "intellectual comprehension" or "conceptual understanding", depending on the specific nuance you wish to convey.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

cognitive awareness

A direct synonym, interchanging "understanding" with "awareness".

intellectual comprehension

Replaces "cognitive" with "intellectual" and "understanding" with "comprehension", focusing on mental grasp.

conceptual understanding

Emphasizes the understanding of concepts rather than general understanding.

rational understanding

Highlights the rational or logical aspect of understanding.

mental grasp

A more concise way to express the ability to understand something intellectually.

intellectual awareness

Shifts the focus to being aware on an intellectual level.

knowledge based understanding

Emphasizes understanding that is built upon existing knowledge.

conscious awareness

Expresses a state of being consciously aware and understanding something.

perceptual understanding

Focuses on understanding through perception and sensory input.

informed awareness

Stresses awareness that comes from being informed or knowledgeable.

FAQs

How can I use "cognitive understanding" in a sentence?

You can use "cognitive understanding" to describe someone's ability to grasp complex information, for example: "The student demonstrated a strong cognitive understanding of the subject matter."

What's the difference between "cognitive understanding" and "intellectual comprehension"?

While both phrases are similar, "cognitive understanding" emphasizes the mental processes involved, while "intellectual comprehension" focuses on the capacity to grasp and comprehend intellectually.

Is "cognitive understanding" a formal or informal term?

"Cognitive understanding" is suitable for both formal and informal contexts, though it's more commonly used in academic, scientific, and professional writing.

What are some alternatives to "cognitive understanding"?

Depending on the context, you can use alternatives like "conceptual understanding", "mental grasp", or "intellectual awareness".