Incognition is a brain-based theory first proposed by Dr. Steve Bunce in 2006. Unlike metacognition, where the emphasis is on 'thinking about thinking', Incognition is unconscious thinking. For example, a person may have a seminar or presentation to give about an topic which is new to them. They might research the topic and then not look at the material for a week; during that week they may not consciously think about the topic. However, when they return to the topic and their preparation, their understanding has improved i.e. they have internalised and developed their overall understanding has moved forward. Another analogy would be the background processes of a computer where the screen may not be displaying a software program on the screen, but complex processes are still continually running.
The subtle difference to other research on unconscious thinking is that their research is based upon actively trying to make the user not think about a topic and then testing their decision making. Incognition is the realisation that upon rethinking about an issue or topic, especially a difficult concept, the user has moved forwards with their thinking without consciously knowing it.
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