Metacognitive Dimensions Research Articles

The Metacognitive Anger Processing (MAP) Scale: Preliminary Testing.

Few studies have explored the metacognitive components of anger, and at present there is no metacognitive framework on anger incorporating both positive and negative beliefs about anger and distinct maladaptive processing routines, such as rumination. The aim of the present preliminary studies was to apply a metacognitive framework to anger and put forward a new anger self-report scale, the Metacognitive Anger Processing (MAP) scale, intended as a supplement to existing measures of anger disposition and to enhance anger treatment targets. The new measure was tested in a nonclinical and a clinical sample together with measures of anger and metacognition to establish factor structure, reliability, concurrent, and convergent validity. The MAP showed a reliable factor structure with three factors - Positive Beliefs about anger, Negative Beliefs about anger, and Rumination; good internal reliability, and test-retest reliability. The subscales showed positive correlations with anger and the pattern of correlation with the general metacognitive measure supported the idea that the MAP represents dimensions of metacognition as it relates to anger. The present data indicate that positive as well as negative beliefs are involved in the tendency to ruminate about angry emotions. Clinical interventions may benefit from an exploration of the patient´s experience of anger, as structured by the MAP's factors and their interrelationships. The psychometric properties of the MAP should be further investigated in clinical samples using larger test batteries and objective measures of aggression.

New Generation of Students Information Abilities: Metacognitive and Cognitive Thinking Dimension

The paper analyses the basic school students (8th grade students) information literacy according to the theoretical SCONUL which encompass seven literacy components (seven pillars): 1) Determining the goals and the need for information (manages to determine the need for information); 2) projecting process of searching information (manages to assess current knowledge and identify gaps); 3) planning (manages to construct strategies for determining sources of information); 4) collecting and storing of the information (manages to identify sources and access the needed information); 5) assessing the information (manages to review, compare and assess the information); 6) managing the information (manages to deal with the information in professional and ethical manner); 7) presentation of the information (manages to apply gained knowledge: present results of researches, summarise new and old information, develop and spread new knowledge).
 It is identified that the information literacy of new generation is expressed by the ability to determine the goals and the need for information, the ability to project the process of information search, the ability to collect and store the information, the ability to deal with the information in professional and ethical manner when achieving the intended objectives. The levels of these skills are not the same quantitatively. The ability of determining the goals and the need for information is mostly expressed whereas the ability of collecting and storing of the information is weakest.
 Blocked-data ANOVA shows that the various information abilities under SCONUL evaluation model differ significantly (p = 0.000 for α = 0.05). The ability of determining the goals and the need for information and the ability of projecting process of searching information are based on metacognitive thinking skills whereas the ability of collecting and storing of the information and the ability to deal with the information in professional and ethical manner are based on cognitive thinking skills. The metacognitive abilities of new generation based on the information are better expressed than cognitive ones.
 The statistical significance of the difference has been confirmed by blocked-data ANOVA.

Early trauma, negative affect, and anxious attachment: the role of metacognition

Background and Objectives: Metacognition is linked to the etiology and maintenance of negative emotions and psychological disorder in the Self-Regulatory Executive Function Model. Although there is significant evidence supporting the model, little is currently known about the situational factors for developing dysfunctional metacognitions. The current study explored the hypothesis that early aversive experiences might be important and also tested if metacognitions could mediate the relationship between such experiences and psychological symptoms. Design and Methods: Three hundred and fifty non-clinical adults completed a retrospective early trauma measure, as well as measures of current metacognitive beliefs, negative affect, and anxious attachment. Results: Early emotional abuse positively and significantly correlated with several metacognitive belief dimensions but other forms of early trauma did not. Metacognition fully mediated the relationship between emotional abuse and negative affect. Anxious attachment was also positively and significantly associated with metacognitive beliefs and specific relationships remained after controlling for early emotional abuse and current negative affect. Conclusions: Findings are consistent with the ideas that: (i) early negative experiences, and emotional abuse in particular, could be a factor in the formation of problematic metacognitions and (ii) these metacognitions may be important in determining the effects of abuse on subsequent psychological symptoms.

Thinking about thinking: changes in first-year medical students’ metacognition and its relation to performance

BackgroundStudies have shown the importance of metacognition in medical education. Metacognitive skills consist of two dimensions: knowledge of metacognition and regulation of metacognition.AimThis study hypothesizes that the knowledge and regulation of metacognition is significantly different at the beginning and end of the academic year, and a correlation exists between the two dimensions of metacognitive skills with academic performance.MethodsThe Metacognitive Skills Inventory comprising 52 Likert-scale items was administered to 159 first-year medical students at the University of Malaya. Students’ year-end results were used to measure their academic performance.ResultsA paired sample t-test indicated no significant difference for knowledge of metacognition at the beginning and end of the academic year. A paired sample t-test revealed significant difference for regulation of metacognition at the beginning and end of the academic year. A very strong correlation was found between the two dimensions of metacognition. The correlation between knowledge and regulation of metacognition with students’ academic result was moderate.ConclusionsThe improvement in students’ metacognitive regulation and the moderate correlation between knowledge and regulation of metacognition with academic performance at the end of the academic year indicate the probable positive influence of the teaching and learning activities in the medical program.

Development and Validation of a New Behavioral-Cognitive-Metacognitive Model for Explanation of SPD

The purpose of the present study is to provide an overview of the disorder and develop a new behavioral-cognitive-metacognitive model to explain it. The present study is a descriptive-correlational research which uses the structural equation model. In this study, at first, a comprehensive and detailed explanation of skin picking disorder is presented. Then the conceptual model is presented and finally, the model which is developed by using structural equation model is tested by Amos Graphics. The results of the structural equation model showed that the developed model in this study is able to explain skin picking disorder. Also the results of the overall fit indices for structural equation modeling show that the developed model has good fit to the sample data and is closely associated with the theoretical assumptions. Since the model presented in this study is multi-dimensional and takes into consideration all of the three behavioral, cognitive, metacognitive dimensions and these three dimensions are considered interdependent and not dependent and contradictory, it is considered as a new explanatory model. The model may prompt future researches into skin picking disorder and facilitate clinical treatments and case formulations associated with this disorder.

Defining and Operationalizing Appropriation for Science Learning

The goal of this article is to contribute to understanding the interplay between students' disciplinary engagement and their identity construction. The term appropriation, borrowed from scholars in linguistics and education, was chosen to capture this broader sense of productive learning that sits at the nexus of disciplinary engagement and identity. Appropriation implies deep conceptual understanding, but it also involves a reflexive process of transforming scientific discourse in a way that is authentic and personal. The core aim of this article is to turn the term appropriation into a theoretical construct by means of an analytic process of defining, operationalizing, and testing the definition against student interview and classroom data. Five discourse markers for operationalizing appropriation were discovered through this process. Appropriation, in our study, implies students’ discourse is (A) an expression of a personal “signature“ idea, (B) grounded in the discipline, (C) thick, in that it involves a metacognitive and epistemological dimension, (D) non-incidental, in the sense of being consistently used throughout classroom activities, and (E) a carrier of social relationships, in that it positions the student within classroom. The study is grounded in an extended intervention on thermodynamics in an Italian secondary school class (grade 12).

P.1.j.017 Metacognition in individuals with a lifetime history of anorexia nervosa: a voxel based morphometry study

The short form of the Metacognitions Questionnaire is a brief multidimensional measure of a range of metacognitive processes and metacognitive beliefs about worry and cognition relevant to vulnerability to and maintenance of emotional disorders. The aim of the study was adapt and validate a Spanish version of the short form of the Metacognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30) and to evaluate its psychometric properties in clinical and nonclinical samples.The MCQ-30 was administered to a sample of 316 patients with psychiatric disorders (anxiety, depression, and eating disorders) and to a sample of 169 individuals belonging to the general population. Instrument reliability (internal consistency), construct validity (confirmatory factor analysis [CFA], convergent validity, known groups) and responsiveness were measured.The clinical sample scored the highest on all factors when compared to nonclinical sample. The exploratory factor analysis supported the MCQ׳s original five-factor solution. The CFA suggested a good fit of the model. Correlation with measure of worry demonstrated convergent validity. Known-groups validity was supported by significant differences in the MCQ-30 mean scores according to certain variables, such as educational level and employment status.This study did not assess the test–retest reliability.The MCQ-30 has good psychometric properties and can be used to evaluate several dimensions of metacognition in both clinical and nonclinical samples.

Measuring metacognition in cancer: validation of the Metacognitions Questionnaire 30 (MCQ-30).

ObjectiveThe Metacognitions Questionnaire 30 assesses metacognitive beliefs and processes which are central to the metacognitive model of emotional disorder. As recent studies have begun to explore the utility of this model for understanding emotional distress after cancer diagnosis, it is important also to assess the validity of the Metacognitions Questionnaire 30 for use in cancer populations.Methods229 patients with primary breast or prostate cancer completed the Metacognitions Questionnaire 30 and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale pre-treatment and again 12 months later. The structure and validity of the Metacognitions Questionnaire 30 were assessed using factor analyses and structural equation modelling.ResultsConfirmatory and exploratory factor analyses provided evidence supporting the validity of the previously published 5-factor structure of the Metacognitions Questionnaire 30. Specifically, both pre-treatment and 12 months later, this solution provided the best fit to the data and all items loaded on their expected factors. Structural equation modelling indicated that two dimensions of metacognition (positive and negative beliefs about worry) were significantly associated with anxiety and depression as predicted, providing further evidence of validity.ConclusionsThese findings provide initial evidence that the Metacognitions Questionnaire 30 is a valid measure for use in cancer populations.

An Exploration of Metacognition in Asynchronous Student-Led Discussions: A Qualitative Inquiry

Research is limited on how metacognition is facilitated and manifested in socially situated online learning environments such as online discussion forums. We approached metacognition as the phenomenon of interest partly through a methodological objective to evaluate the relevance of a metacognition construct and partly through a content objective to study student-led facilitation of discussions as a strategy in promoting metacognition. Results revealed that the metacognition construct was useful in helping us understand and organize the data and student-led online discussions can be an effective strategy for helping students develop dimensions of metacognition including knowledge, monitoring, and regulation. However, in order for students to use these skills effectively, instruction, motivation, and guidance are needed particularly related to regulation of metacognition and co-construction of meaning.

Adaptation and validation of the metacognition questionnaire (MCQ-30) in Spanish clinical and nonclinical samples

BackgroundThe short form of the Metacognitions Questionnaire is a brief multidimensional measure of a range of metacognitive processes and metacognitive beliefs about worry and cognition relevant to vulnerability to and maintenance of emotional disorders. The aim of the study was adapt and validate a Spanish version of the short form of the Metacognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30) and to evaluate its psychometric properties in clinical and nonclinical samples. MethodThe MCQ-30 was administered to a sample of 316 patients with psychiatric disorders (anxiety, depression, and eating disorders) and to a sample of 169 individuals belonging to the general population. Instrument reliability (internal consistency), construct validity (confirmatory factor analysis [CFA], convergent validity, known groups) and responsiveness were measured. ResultsThe clinical sample scored the highest on all factors when compared to nonclinical sample. The exploratory factor analysis supported the MCQ׳s original five-factor solution. The CFA suggested a good fit of the model. Correlation with measure of worry demonstrated convergent validity. Known-groups validity was supported by significant differences in the MCQ-30 mean scores according to certain variables, such as educational level and employment status. LimitationsThis study did not assess the test–retest reliability. ConclusionsThe MCQ-30 has good psychometric properties and can be used to evaluate several dimensions of metacognition in both clinical and nonclinical samples.

Learning Styles as a Predictor of Meta-Cognition Among Undergraduate Students at Albalaq’a Applied University

The purpose of this study was to examine if learning styles (concreteness, reflectiveness, abstractness and experimentation) predict meta-cognition (knowledge of cognition, regulation of cognition and cognition processing). Participants of the study consisted of 715 students (males and females) selected randomly from different faculties of Albalaq’a Applied University. Two questionnaires on learning styles and meta-cognition were administered to members of the sample during academic year 2013/2014. Regression and correlation analyses were used for data. Results indicate that there is significant positive correlation between the dimensions of learning styles and meta-cognition. Results also indicate that learning styles significantly explain and predict all sub-dimensions of meta-cognition.

The Role of Meta-cognition in Students' Addiction Potential Tendency.

Background:Addiction for narcotics is a dangerous reality, especially in teenagers and young persons, and is one of the most important socioeconomic and health problems, threatens the human society and leads to social stagnancy in various aspects.Objectives:The present study aimed at determining Meta-cognitive relationship with addiction potential tendency in students and determining the distribution of each Meta-cognitive dimension in predicting addiction potential tendency.Materials and Methods:The descriptive-correlative method was used for conducting this research. The research target population included all students of Ardebil Mohaghegh University. A sample of 380 subjects was selected randomly from this demographic population by cluster multistage sampling. We used Weed and colleagues’ questionnaire of addiction to assess addiction potential tendency, and the Meta-cognitive scale of Wells and colleagues for evaluating Meta-cognition. Data gathered were analyzed by multifold Regression via simultaneous entrance method.Results:The rate of students’ addiction potential tendency can be predicted by having characteristics of their Meta-cognition. It also appeared that among the five parameters of Meta-cognition, the role of three parameters required for controlling thoughts, uncontrollability and risk, and positive beliefs about anxiety were of great importance in predicting addiction potential tendency in students.Conclusions:The results of this research have important implications regarding the attention of students’ counselors to Meta-cognitive dimensions in order to prevent students’ tendency for addiction.

Metacognitive Scaffolding Agent Based on BDI Model for Interactive Learning Environments

This article is based on doctoral research in progress whose main objective is the integration of metacognitive dimension in the design of interactive learning environments. We conducted a theoretical analysis with the aim of defining the pedagogical functions must ensure that our ILE so it can provide scaffolding for metacognitive learners. A literature review has allowed us to define the structure of an activity of self-regulated learning and the ways in which metacognitive scaffolding can be integrated into an activity supported by an ILE. Thus, through this work we propose the model of self-regulated learning activity integrating metacognitive scaffolding based on BDI, a theory for describing behavior of individual.

Developing intercultural competence through global link experiences in physical education

Background: Recognition of the importance of the development of intercultural competence (ICC) has placed intense pressure on teacher education programs to infuse a global perspective into their programs. Several studies have proposed integration of global elements into teacher education programs. Although the use of online tools for telecollaboration with students and teacher educators from other countries has positively influenced certain aspects of students' ICC, there have been limited research studies which have focused on promoting ICC in physical education (PE).Purpose: This study was designed to examine the development of the ICC of PE graduate students after completion of a seven-week global link with Korean students. Deardorff's Process Model of ICC served as the foundation for gaining understanding of the development of ICC. Student responses were examined in terms of the following: types of learning, perspectives toward partners and their cultures, influences on teaching practices, and presence of the elements included in the Process Model of ICC.Participants and setting: The 14 Caucasian Americans (F = 5, M = 9) were participated in this study. They were enrolled in one distance education graduate course focusing on professional issues in PE offered by one of the higher education institutions in the USA. Participants were engaged in a global link project in which each participant was matched with one Korean student. All participants held a teacher license, and 10 participants were teachers with 2–11 years of K-12 teaching experience. The four remaining participants were employed in university graduate assistance (N = 2) or community youth sport programs (N = 2).Data collection: Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Qualitative data included open-ended questionnaires, which were collected twice, and reflection reports, which were collected at the end of the global experience. Quantitative data were collected prior to and after the global link project using the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS). The global link project consisted of five weeks of individualized interactions and two weeks of group video conferencing. Participants were engaged in individualized interactions with their partners through technology tools (e.g. email, social networking, etc.) and via presentations that focused on particular educational issues in PE through video conferencing.Data analysis: Qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed by using content analysis and multivariate analysis of variance, respectively. Triangulation across data sources and between the investigators, peer review and debriefing, and member checking between investigators and participants were utilized to maintain trustworthiness and credibility of the findings.Findings: Four themes emerged from the qualitative findings: (a) openness to other cultures, (b) expanding cultural knowledge, (c) clarifying cultural views, and (d) accommodating behaviors. The CQS data showed improvement in all dimensions (e.g. motivation, knowledge, and behavior) except the metacognitive dimension and significant improvement in the behavior dimension after the seven weeks of global link experiences.Discussion: The global link experiences promoted development of ICC including critical elements of ICC such as: attitude, knowledge/skills, and behaviors. This study recommends university teacher educators actively revise their program to incorporate a global view.

Do depression and anxiety mediate the relationship between meta-cognitive beliefs and psychological dimensions of auditory hallucinations and delusions in schizophrenia?

We investigated if depression and anxiety mediate the relationship between meta-cognitive beliefs and psychological dimensions of delusions and hallucinations in schizophrenia subjects (n=74). Depression, but not anxiety, mediated the relationship between certain dysfunctional meta-cognitive beliefs and psychological dimensions of delusions. Although direct effects between hallucination dimensions and certain meta-cognitive beliefs were found, anxiety and depression did not serve as mediators in this relationship. The results suggest a significant pathway from meta-cognition to delusions through depression.

Motivating Williamson's Model Gettier Cases

Williamson has a strikingly economical way of showing how justified true belief can fail to constitute knowledge: he models a class of Gettier cases by means of two simple constraints. His constraints can be shown to rely on some unstated assumptions about the relationship between reality and appearance. These assumptions are epistemologically non-trivial but can be defended as plausible idealizations of our actual predicament, in part because they align well with empirical work on the metacognitive dimension of experience.

Can economic knowledge be created in classrooms? Some insights from epistemologically-oriented interaction analysis: Mathematical registers and metacognitive mediation

The semiotic and metacognitive dimensions of the Mathematics-Economics alliance are studied to understand the influence of the nature of Economic Education on the nature of Economic Knowledge. Along with the representational character of Mathematics in Economics, one of the features of this long-lasting relationship not explored enough so far, is that the way higher order thinking skills are applied in Mathematics for solving problems, could be used in Economics learning to develop the same sort of skills with direct reference to real-life situations. Being inherently relational, mathematical registers and knowledge structures enable the transferal of problem solving skilfulness from Mathematics to Economics through epistemologically-oriented classroom interaction. Semiotic conceptual thinking underpins this knowledge creation as a collective-meaning creation process. A model called the ‘Learning Hexagram’ emerges.

If only cultural chameleons could fly too

The article offers a critique of the concept of cultural intelligence (CQ) from a semiotic perspective. It addresses three assumptions that underpin the CQ concept: that CQ exists, that conflict and misunderstandings are antithetical to CQ and that metacognition involves a cultural dimension. The analysis focuses in particular on the dimension of cultural metacognition which has recently been claimed to be the CQ concept’s main contribution compared to earlier concepts such as cross-cultural or intercultural competence, a claim which is found to be overstated. The article uses the example of CQ training to illustrate the need for greater attention to context and motivation when CQ is deployed for business purposes, as well as to the role of experience in cultural learning processes. At a broader level, the article urges caution in assuming that all human attributes can be trained for business purposes, especially through short-term interventions.

APPLYING A METACOGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON THE INFLUENCE OF METACOGNITIVE DIMENSIONS ON ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS

This paper contributes to research on metacognitions which focuses on cognitive processes that enable entrepreneurs to create new ventures and to think beyond existing knowledge structures to become adaptable in an entrepreneurial context. Two streams of research, entrepreneurial intentions and metacognitions, jointly inform the hypotheses. Individuals with entrepreneurial intent apply some degree of conscious consideration to the possibility of starting a new business, where these intentions are the result of metacognitions. The empirical evidence ensuing from this study indicates that only the knowledge metacognitive dimension is a significant predictor of entrepreneurial intentions. The study makes a contribution in that the articulation and testing of metacognitive dimensions provides a meaningful categorization, where there are many opportunities for educators to develop skill building exercises that target metacognitions.

Empowering preadolescents with ABI through metacognition: Preliminary results of a randomized clinical trial

The aim of this randomized clinical trial study was to evaluate the efficacy of an intervention program based on social mediation, cooperative learning and metacognition (Metacognitive Dimension) in preadolescents with acquired brain injury (ABI). Participants were 29 ABI preadolescents: 14 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group (average age, 10.4 y.o.; average time of lesion, 5.3 years). Evaluations were conducted 3 months after the start of the intervention, using the Evaluation Scale of Elementary School Learning Strategies (ESESLS) to assess metacognitive strategies, Self-Concept Scale for Children (SCSC) and Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functions (BRIEF). The experimental group had superior outcomes to the control. The results of metacognitive strategies (ESESLS) and self-concept (SCSC) were better in the experimental than in the control group (p< 0.05). BRIEF did not reveal any significant differences between the groups, although we observed better results in the experimental group for 5 sub items of the scale, in the broader index and global executive composite score. Three months of an intervention based on cooperative learning helped preadolescents with acquired brain injury develop metacognitive strategies and improve self-concept, thereby helping empower the preadolescents in their social relationships.