Metacognition

Whenever one thinks about what one’s occurrent thoughts — for example, wondering why one decides to do one thing as opposed to another, or wondering why one cannot recall the name of the person one just ran into — one performs an act of metacognition, in other words, having thoughts about one’s own thoughts or cognitions. One ‘metacognizes’ or ‘metathnks. Typically unaware of it, we metacognize frequently.

Metacognition does not subsume a unitary concept.

• One can metacognize about one’s knowledge or beliefs recalled from long term memory, whether correct or incorrect. One can think, “I needn’t exercise; I get enough just doing housework.”
• One can metacognize by monitoring one’s thinking, trying to decide, say, whether one has considered all factors relevant to the thought task at hand “Let’s see; what have I forgotten?”
• One can metacognize by controlling or in some way regulating one’s thinking: “I’m not going to pursue this line of thought, as it seems to lead nowhere, or I’m finding depressing, or I’ll have to tell my confessor.”
• One may metacognize for purposes of strategizing future activities: “Okay, here’s my plan, but is it a good one.?”
• One can metacognize to try to determine why one has a certain world view: “Why do I think of myself as a slave; aren’t I as much a human being as my master?”

One can extend this list, which serves only to demonstrate that different classes of metcognition exist, and that the activity of metacognizing occurs as a natural cognitive phenomenon, typically considered a conscious phenomenon, but not necessarily according to some scholars.

Metacognition qualifies as an academic discipline, a subdiscipline of Cognitive Science. In conjunction with this article under development, the reader might consult....