Cognitive skills are the mental skills you use to take in information, hold it in mind, work with it and act on it. Examples include attention, working memory, processing speed, pattern recognition, logical reasoning and cognitive flexibility. Together they decide how quickly you learn, how well you solve problems and how accurately you handle detail. At work, you use them every time you follow a new process, check a report or plan your day.
Employers often measure these skills with a cognitive ability test. You can see how the questions draw on them in a free cognitive ability test, with a worked solution for every question.
What cognitive skills mean
“Cognitive” means to do with thinking. Cognitive skills are the building blocks of thinking, in the same way that strength and balance are building blocks of sport. They are different from knowledge, which is what you know, and from practical skills, such as typing or driving, which are learned routines. They also sit underneath your broader cognitive ability: the overall capacity that a cognitive ability test sets out to measure.
Cognitive skills are sometimes called thinking skills, mental skills or, in psychology, cognitive functions. The labels differ, but the list below covers the ones most often described.
Examples of cognitive skills
Attention
Attention is the ability to focus on what matters and ignore what does not. It has a few forms. Sustained attention keeps you focused on one task over time, such as checking a long spreadsheet for errors. Selective attention lets you pick out one thing among distractions, such as hearing a colleague in a busy office. Divided attention lets you handle two things at once, such as taking notes while listening on a call.
Working memory
Working memory holds information in mind while you use it, such as keeping a reference number in your head while you type it, or remembering the first step of a calculation while you do the second. Its capacity is limited, which is why long instructions are easier to follow when written down.
Long-term memory
Long-term memory stores information for later, such as product details, procedures and names. It lets you build expertise over time.
Processing speed
Processing speed is how quickly you can take in simple information and respond to it accurately. It shows up in tasks such as sorting emails, scanning a table or answering routine queries at pace.
Pattern recognition
Pattern recognition is spotting regularities, such as a trend in monthly sales or a repeated fault in customer complaints. It is the skill behind abstract and inductive reasoning questions.
Logical reasoning
Logical reasoning means working step by step from information to a sound conclusion. It covers deduction, where you apply rules to reach a definite answer, and induction, where you infer a general rule from examples.
Cognitive flexibility
Cognitive flexibility is switching between tasks or ways of thinking. A team leader who moves from a budget review to a staffing problem to a customer call is using it. Cognitive ability tests that switch between question types test it directly.
Response inhibition
Response inhibition is holding back an automatic reaction so that you can choose a better one, such as checking an answer that looks obviously right before you submit it, or pausing before replying to a frustrating email.
Visual and spatial processing
Visual and spatial processing is picturing shapes and how they move, rotate or fit together. Reading a floor plan, packing a delivery van or following an assembly diagram all rely on it.
Verbal comprehension
Verbal comprehension is understanding written and spoken language accurately, including what a sentence does and does not say. It is central to reading reports, policies and instructions.
How cognitive skills show up in tests
A cognitive ability test cannot measure a skill directly, so each question type leans on a few of them. The table shows the main links.
| Question type | Main skills it draws on |
|---|---|
| Numerical reasoning | Working memory, logical reasoning, attention |
| Verbal reasoning | Verbal comprehension, response inhibition |
| Abstract or inductive reasoning | Pattern recognition, working memory |
| Spatial reasoning | Visual and spatial processing |
| Error checking | Sustained attention, processing speed |
| Mixed timed sections | Cognitive flexibility, processing speed |
Here is a short example that relies mostly on working memory and logical reasoning.
A project starts on Monday. Task A takes 2 days. Task B can only start once Task A is finished and takes 3 days. Nobody works at weekends. On which day does Task B finish?
- Task A runs Monday and Tuesday.
- Task B starts on Wednesday and runs Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Answer: Friday. The arithmetic is easy. The skill is holding each step in mind while you work out the next. For worked questions from every section, see our examples of cognitive tests.
Cognitive skills at work
You use cognitive skills in almost every role. A few everyday examples:
- Analysing a monthly report uses attention, pattern recognition and logical reasoning.
- Learning new software uses working memory, long-term memory and cognitive flexibility.
- Handling a busy customer queue uses processing speed, divided attention and response inhibition.
- Planning a project timeline uses working memory and logical reasoning.
When you describe them on a CV or in an interview, it is more convincing to give a real example than to list the skill. “Found a recurring billing error by comparing three months of invoices” shows attention to detail and pattern recognition far better than the words alone.
Can you improve cognitive skills?
Some skills, such as processing speed, are fairly stable for most adults. But your performance on the tasks that use them improves with familiarity and a good method. That is especially true of tests: knowing the formats, practising against the clock and learning from mistakes help your score reflect your real ability. Our guide on how to pass a cognitive ability test covers how to prepare.
To see which skills come most easily to you, take a timed cognitive ability practice test and look at your result by section.
