Final answer:
Higher-level cognitive abilities involve alertness, language, memory, constructional ability, and abstract reasoning. These abilities contribute to our distinctiveness as a species and impact our thinking and problem-solving skills.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term that describes alertness, language, memory, constructional ability, and abstract reasoning is higher level cognitive abilities. These abilities are part of our distinctiveness as a species and contribute to our thinking and problem-solving skills. They involve the ability to think abstractly, make judgments, and reason in a complex manner.