Cognitive science speaks to the "common-sense" of chronic illness management.
We describe the parallels between findings from cognitive science and neuroscience and Common-Sense Models in four areas: (1) Activation of illness representations by the automatic linkage of symptoms and functional changes with concepts (an integration of declarative and perceptual and procedural knowledge); (2) Action plans for the management of symptoms and disease; (3) Cognitive and behavioral heuristics (executive functions parallel to recent findings in cognitive science) involved in monitoring and modifying automatic control processes; (4) Perceiving and communicating to "other minds" during medical visits to address the declarative and non-declarative (perceptual and procedural) knowledge that comprise a patient's representations of illness and treatment (the transparency of other minds).
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, 08901, USA. hleventhal@ifh.rutgers.edu
Howard
H
Leventhal
Elaine A
EA
Leventhal
Jessica Y
JY
Breland
D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D019336:Cognitive Science / Q000379:methods*; D019468:Disease Management; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D057285:Precision Medicine / Q000379:methods; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical / Q000379:methods