Metacognition
[7] Writings on metacognition date back at least as far as two works by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC): On the Soul and the Parva Naturalia.
The ability to become aware of distracting stimuli – both internal and external – and sustain effort over time also involves metacognitive or executive functions.
Examples of maladaptive metacognitive skills include worry based on inaccurate cognitive conceptions, rumination, and hypervigilance.
These can foster pervasive learned helplessness and impair the formation of executive functions, negatively affecting an individual's quality of life.
[27] The theory of metacognition plays a critical role in successful learning, and it's important for both students and teachers to demonstrate understanding of it.
Students who underwent metacognitive training including pretesting, self evaluation, and creating study plans performed better on exams.
[28] They are self-regulated learners who utilize the "right tool for the job" and modify learning strategies and skills based on their awareness of effectiveness.
Individuals with a high level of metacognitive knowledge and skill identify blocks to learning as early as possible and change "tools" or strategies to ensure goal attainment.
This "expansionist view" proposes that it is impossible to fully understand metacognition without considering the situational norms and cultural expectations that influence those same conceptions.
Incremental theorists react differently when faced with failure: they desire to master challenges, and therefore adopt a mastery-oriented pattern.
[38] These examples demonstrate that the metacognitive beliefs people hold about the self - which may be socially or culturally transmitted - can have important effects on persistence, performance, and motivation.
[39] Some metacognitive characteristics of attitudes include importance, certainty, and perceived knowledge, and they influence behavior in different ways.
[37] When it comes to making judgments about other people, implicit theories about the stability versus malleability of human characteristics predict differences in social stereotyping as well.
Holding an entity theory of traits increases the tendency for people to see similarity among group members and utilize stereotyped judgments.
Monkeys were presented with multiple images of common objects simultaneously and then a moving border appearing on the screen indicating the target.
Morgan and colleagues (2014) found a significant positive correlation between memory accuracy and risk choice in two rhesus monkeys.
Another finding is that the performance was better when they had chosen to take the test compared with if the rats were forced to make responses, proving that some uncertain trials were declined to improve the accuracy.
Therefore, Templer, Lee, and Preston (2017) utilized an olfactory-based delayed match to sample (DMTS) memory task to assess whether rats were capable of metacognitive responding adaptively.
To rule out other potential possibilities, they also manipulated memory strength by providing the sampled odor twice and varying the retention interval between the learning and the test.
Inman and Shettleworth's (1999) first experiment found that pigeons’ accuracies were lower and they were more likely to choose the safe key as the retention interval between presentation of stimuli and test increased.
[51] In addition to DMTS paradigm, Castro and Wasserman (2013) proved that pigeons can exhibit adaptive and efficient information-seeking behavior in the same-different discrimination task.
However, contrary to apes,[54] dogs did not show more checking behaviors when the delay between baiting the reward and selecting the fence was longer.
There is consensus that nonhuman primates, especially great apes and rhesus monkeys, exhibit metacognitive control and monitoring behaviors.
In addition to exploring the relationships between learner metacognition and performance, researchers are also interested in the effects of metacognitively-oriented strategic instruction on reading comprehension (e.g., Garner, 1994, in first language contexts, and Chamot, 2005; Zhang, 2010).
"), thinking aloud while performing a task, and making graphic representations (e.g. concept maps, flow charts, semantic webs) of one's thoughts and knowledge.
In the context of mental health, metacognition can be loosely defined as the process that "reinforces one's subjective sense of being a self and allows for becoming aware that some of one's thoughts and feelings are symptoms of an illness".
Adrian Wells' and Gerald Matthews' theory proposes that when faced with an undesired choice, an individual can operate in two distinct modes: "object" and "metacognitive".
There are targeted interventions unique of each patient, that gives rise to the belief that assistance in increasing metacognition in people diagnosed with schizophrenia is possible through tailored psychotherapy.
Narrative works of art, including novels, movies and musical compositions, can be characterized as metacognitive artifacts which are designed by the artist to anticipate and regulate the beliefs and cognitive processes of the recipient,[86] for instance, how and in which order events and their causes and identities are revealed to the reader of a detective story.
Metacognition serves to correct the wandering mind, suppressing spontaneous thoughts and bringing attention back to more "worthwhile" tasks.
