What does the lexicon refer to in cognitive psychology?

In cognitive psychology, the lexicon represents a mental repository of all the words an individual knows, functioning much like a dictionary. This stored collection includes not only the meanings of words but also their pronunciations, grammatical functions, and relationships to other words. Understanding the lexicon is crucial because it underpins language comprehension and production; when we communicate, we draw upon our lexicon to retrieve the appropriate words for expressing thoughts and ideas.

The other options touch on various cognitive concepts but do not define the lexicon accurately. For instance, while sorting emotions is related to emotional processing, it does not pertain to the understanding of language and vocabulary. Similarly, a method for organizing information could refer to various cognitive strategies or frameworks but does not specifically address the aspect of known words. Lastly, a technique for improving attention generally relates to focus and concentration but is not connected to the concept of words and language that the lexicon entails. Thus, the definition of the lexicon as a stored collection of known words is central to both cognitive psychology and language studies.