The term ‘cognitive strategies’ is problematic and needs clarification. Although it has been used in various studies in psychology and education, there is little agreement as to what is meant by ‘cognitive strategy.’ There is no clear-cut differentiation in the literature between ‘cognitive strategies,’ ‘metacognition,’ ‘skills,’ ‘schemas,’ ‘tasks,’ and other related concepts. Some researchers assume that people know and are aware or conscious of what strategies they are using, while others emphasize involuntary and unconscious aspects of strategies. In this article, paradigms which are involved in studies of cognitive strategies are considered. Because use of this concept is problematic and vague, the study of cognition is less focused than is desirable, and important problems in the field are overlooked.
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