Question

Dr. sim asks questions about how humans assemble information from many sources as they reflect on their past, adapt to their present, and plan for their future. he is studying

Answer 1

I believe the answer is consciousness
From the description above, Dr. Sim is studying the part of the thought process that we conducted on purpose.
If Dr. sim studies activities thought process such as dreaming and how our perception is formed, we can conclude that Dr. Sims is studying the thought process that we conducted without our awareness or Sub-consciousness.