Mental functions and cognitive processes are terms often used interchangeably (although not always correctly so, the term cognitive tends to have specific implications - see cognitive and cognitivism) to mean such functions or processes as perception, introspection, memory, creativity, imagination, conception, belief, reasoning, volition, and emotion — in other words, all the different things that we can do with our minds.
A specific instance of engaging in a cognitive process is a mental event. The event of perceiving something is, of course, different from the entire process, or faculty, of perception — one's ability to perceive things. In other words, an instance of perceiving is different from the ability that makes it possible.
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