Cognitive theories

            Cognitive theories, as related to psychology, deal with "the mental process involved with thinking, knowing, perceiving, learning, and remembering; also, the contents of these processes" (Zimbardo G-3). The poem "Thinking," deals with some of the concepts of cognition and its personalities. The text asks questions about what our thinking really is, and if it could possibly me more or less than what we perceive it to be. The concept of cognition explains that our actions are influenced by the way in which we process information in our thinking. The poem examines the way we think and what it actually is.
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             The first stanza describes thinking as "mere dreamwork Wish fulfillment A potent personal power" (Olaoye 64). This stanza views thinking as wishful and dreamy, something that is inside us in which we can dream about our fantasies or goals. It makes thinking out to be something that is not tangible, but can possibly be attained. Thinking helps all of us "carve out the forms of daily and final destinies" (Olaoye 64). This ties into the concept of the "Locus of Control." Developed by Julian Rotter, the locus of control explains that "the way we act depends on our sense of personally power" (Zimbardo 437). A person can examine their own locus of control to see where his or her influences and motives originate. .
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             The second stanza also has an opinion on what thinking is. It explains that thinking, "is less than dreamwork Non-fulfillment A potent frustrating power" (Olaoye 64). The text explains how this kind of thinking cause frustration and confusion about the things we think about that lead to "non-fulfillment." This can be because the ideas are "already doomed to extinction," but they are things that we still think about to "justify our greed and pursuit of endless indulgences" (Olaoye 64). Freud's concept of the Id, shows us how we often have drive and desire for things in our unconscious.