Metacognitive Judgments Research Articles

Measuring secondary school students’ L2 writing self‐regulated strategies in the Korean EFL context

AbstractThis study examined the evidence for the reliability and validity of the Self‐Regulatory Writing Strategy Questionnaire (SRWSQ) and its suitability for the Korean English as a foreign language (EFL) context. The results indicated that the six dimensions of self‐regulated learning (SRL) strategies (writing planning, goal‐oriented monitoring, goal‐oriented evaluation, emotional control, metacognitive judgment, and memorization strategies) were closely but independently related to each other, falling under the overarching construct of self‐regulation. However, certain items require revision to ensure a more culturally sensitive measurement of SRL strategies in the Korean EFL context. The study observed differences in the use of SRL strategies based on gender and grade level. Furthermore, the use of SRL strategies significantly influenced students’ writing achievement. The study underscores the importance of SRL writing strategies in EFL contexts and discusses implications for teachers and future research.

Measuring the perception and metacognition of time.

The ability of humans to identify and reproduce short time intervals (in the region of a second) may be affected by many factors ranging from the gender and personality of the individual observer, through the attentional state, to the precise spatiotemporal structure of the stimulus. The relative roles of these very different factors are a challenge to describe and define; several methodological approaches have been used to achieve this to varying degrees of success. Here we describe and model the results of a paradigm affording not only a first-order measurement of the perceived duration of an interval but also a second-order metacognitive judgement of perceived time. This approach, we argue, expands the form of the data generally collected in duration-judgements and allows more detailed comparison of psychophysical behavior to the underlying theory. We also describe a hierarchical Bayesian measurement model that performs a quantitative analysis of the trial-by-trial data calculating the variability of the temporal estimates and the metacognitive judgments allowing direct comparison between an actual and an ideal observer. We fit the model to data collected for judgements of 750ms (bisecting 1500ms) and 1500ms (bisecting 3000ms) intervals across three stimulus modalities (visual, audio, and audiovisual). This enhanced form of data on a given interval judgement and the ability to track its progression on a trial-by-trial basis offers a way of looking at the different roles that subject-based, task-based and stimulus-based factors have on the perception of time.

Probing the effect of perceptual (dis)fluency on metacognitive judgments.

Despite research showing that perceptually fluent stimuli (i.e., stimuli that are easier to process) are given higher judgment of learning (JOL) ratings than perceptually disfluent stimuli, it remains unknown whether the influence of perceptual fluency on JOLs is driven by the fluent or disfluent items. Moreover, it is unclear whether this difference hinges on relative differences in fluency. The current study addressed these unanswered questions by employing (Fiacconi et al., Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 46:926-944, 2020), Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 46[5], 926-944) letter set priming procedure. In this procedure, participants are first exposed to words containing only a subset of letters. Following this exposure, JOLs to new words composed of the same letters (i.e., fluent), and new words composed of nonexposed letters (i.e., disfluent) are compared with isolate the contribution of perceptual fluency. Because this procedure does not rely on parametric variations in perceptual features, we can directly assess the potential benefit and/or cost of fluent and disfluent items, respectively, by including neutral baseline conditions. Moreover, implementing both a mixed- and pure-list design allowed us to assess the comparative nature of perceptual fluency on JOLs. Counter to previous assumptions, our results are the first to demonstrate that perceptual disfluency decreases JOLs. Moreover, we found that the influence of perceptual disfluency on JOLs hinges on the relative differences in fluency between items even in the absence of a belief about the mnemonic impact of the fluency manipulation. These findings have important implications as they provide evidence that the difficulty, rather than ease, of information form the basis of individuals metacognitive judgments.

The effect of emotional valence and font size on metacognition and memory

ABSTRACT Predictions about memory involve the use of metacognition, and metacognition can rely on various cues. The present study investigated metacognition and recall performance when to-be-remembered words differed in font size and emotional valence, to determine what cues are utilised when making metacognitive judgments. Participants were presented with lists of words varying in font size (small and large) and emotional valence (negative and neutral) and were asked to remember as many words as possible for a later recall test while engaging in item-level metacognitive assessments. Specifically, after studying each word, participants either made only judgments of learning (JOLs, Experiment 1) or both JOLs and restudy judgments (Experiment 2). Across experiments, results revealed that while JOLs were sensitive to both font size and emotional valence, restudy judgments were mostly sensitive to emotional valence, and participants’ metacognitive assessments mapped onto memory performance generally for emotional words. Additionally, we found that the effect of font size on metacognition and memory was robust to experience-based learning. Together, the current study extends our understanding of how emotion and font size affect metacognition (monitoring and control) and memory and suggests that when presented with multiple cues, certain diagnostic cues can be harnessed to mitigate metacognitive illusions.

Metacognition and Confidence: A Review and Synthesis.

Determining the psychological, computational, and neural bases of confidence and uncertainty holds promise for understanding foundational aspects of human metacognition. While a neuroscience of confidence has focused on the mechanisms underpinning subpersonal phenomena such as representations of uncertainty in the visual or motor system, metacognition research has been concerned with personal-level beliefs and knowledge about self-performance. I provide a road map for bridging this divide by focusing on a particular class of confidence computation: propositional confidence in one's own (hypothetical) decisions or actions. Propositional confidence is informed by the observer's models of the world and their cognitive system, which may be more or less accurate-thus explaining why metacognitive judgments are inferential and sometimes diverge from task performance. Disparate findings on the neural basis of uncertainty and performance monitoring are integrated into a common framework, and a new understanding of the locus of action of metacognitive interventions is developed.

Influences on Recognizing Style from Brief Glances at Piano Scores: A Commentary on Huovinen & Rinne (2023)

The study by Huovinen and Rinne (2023) examines the information derived from experts' brief glances at a piano score, using both quantitative and qualitative measures. Evidence for quick extraction of information using an intuitive route was presented. In this commentary, I offer some additional perspectives on how choice of composer may have influenced some aspects, potential involvement of subtle finger movements, changes that might differ over levels of musical experience, and how metacognitive judgments could be included in future work.

Executive functions, listening comprehension, and metacognitive processes in childhood: Developmental profiles

Despite the established interplay between executive functioning and metacognition, evidence remains limited regarding children’s metacognitive monitoring in the form of offline performance estimates of their executive efficiency. Moreover, we know little about the relations among listening comprehension, executive functions, and metalinguistic awareness in childhood. The present study constitutes a first exploration of developmental profiles related to executive functioning, listening comprehension, and corresponding metacognitive-metacomprehension monitoring in periods marking their emergence and interplay. Participants were 95 preschoolers (Mage 5.5), and 109 second graders (Mage = 7.5). Executive function (i.e., working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility) and a listening comprehension task were administered, along with offline performance estimates following completion of each task. Fluid and crystalized intelligence tests were also administered. Cluster analyses were applied. Across ages, one cluster was characterized by lower cognitive performance, but overestimated metacognitive judgements, while a second cluster demonstrated the exact opposite pattern. Older children performed at a higher cognitive level. Yet, metacognitive monitoring did not improve as a function of age, in the sense that a third, metacognitively accurate cluster did not emerge among second graders. Working memory and listening comprehension, along with their metacognitive-metacomprehension estimates, demonstrated the greatest contribution to the cluster solution in both age groups. The inhibition-metainhibition measures proved stronger profile determinants in the older group. The fluid intelligence measure showed a reduced contribution with age and vocabulary proved to be a weak and insignificant distinctive characteristic of the profiles emerging among preschoolers and second graders, respectively. Findings are discussed in relation to relevant research data and theoretical suggestions regarding cognitive and metacognitive development.

Metacognitive effects of instructional visuals: the role of cue use and judgment type

Prior research suggests most students do not glean valid cues from provided visuals, resulting in reduced metacomprehension accuracy. Across 4 experiments, we explored how the presence of instructional visuals affects students’ metacomprehension accuracy and cue-use for different types of metacognitive judgments. Undergraduates read texts on biology (Study 1a and b) or chemistry (Study 2 and 3) topics, made various judgments (test, explain, and draw) for each text, and completed comprehension tests. Students were randomly assigned to receive only texts (text-only condition) or texts with instructional visualizations (text-and-image condition). In Studies 1b, 2 and 3, students also reported the cues they used to make each judgment. Across the set of studies, instructional visualizations harmed relative metacomprehension accuracy. In Studies 1a and 2, this was especially the case when students were asked to judge how well they felt they could draw the processes described in the text. But in Study 3, this was especially the case when students were asked to judge how well they would do on a set of comprehension tests. In Studies 2 and 3, students who reported basing their judgments on representation-based cues demonstrated more accurate relative accuracy than students who reported using heuristic based cues. Further, across these studies, students reported using visual cues to make their draw judgments, but not their test or explain judgments. Taken together, these results indicate that instructional visualizations can hinder metacognitive judgment accuracy, particularly by influencing the types of cues students use to make judgments of their ability to draw key concepts.

Common computations formetacognition andmeta-metacognition.

Recent evidence shows that people have the meta-metacognitive ability to evaluate their metacognitive judgments of confidence. However, it is unclear whether meta-metacognitive judgments are made by a different system and rely on a separate set of computations compared to metacognitive judgments. To address this question, we asked participants (N = 36) to perform a perceptual decision-making task and provide (i) an object-level, Type-1 response about the identity of the stimulus; (ii) a metacognitive, Type-2 response (low/high) regarding their confidence in their Type-1 decision; and (iii) a meta-metacognitive, Type-3 response (low/high) regarding the quality of their Type-2 rating. We found strong evidence for the existence of Type-3, meta-metacognitive ability. In a separate condition, participants performed an identical task with only a Type-1 response followed by a Type-2 response given on a 4-point scale. We found that the two conditions produced equivalent results such that the combination of binary Type-2 and binary Type-3 responses acts similar to a 4-point Type-2 response. Critically, while Type-2 evaluations were subject to metacognitive noise, Type-3 judgments were made at no additional cost. These results suggest that it is unlikely that there is a distinction between Type-2 and Type-3 systems (metacognition and meta-metacognition) in perceptual decision-making and, instead, a single system can be flexibly adapted to produce both Type-2 and Type-3 evaluations recursively.

Evidence of a metacognitive illusion in judgments about the effects of music on cognitive performance

Two experiments serve to examine how people make metacognitive judgments about the effects of task-irrelevant sounds on cognitive performance. According to the direct-access account, people have direct access to the processes causing auditory distraction. According to the processing-fluency account, people rely on the feeling of processing fluency to make heuristic metacognitive judgments about the distracting effects of sounds. To manipulate the processing fluency of simple piano melodies and segments of Mozart’s sonata K. 448, the audio files of the music were either left in their original forward direction or reversed. The results favor the processing-fluency account over the direct-access account: Even though, objectively, forward and backward music had the same distracting effect on serial recall, stimulus-specific prospective metacognitive judgments showed that participants incorrectly predicted only backward music but not forward music to be distracting. The difference between forward and backward music was reduced but not eliminated in global retrospective metacognitive judgments that participants provided after having experienced the distracting effect of the music first-hand. The results thus provide evidence of a metacognitive illusion in people’s judgments about the effects of music on cognitive performance.

How multiple levels of metacognitive awareness operate in collaborative problem solving

Metacognitive awareness is knowing about learners’ own thinking and learning, facilitated by introspection and self-evaluation. Although metacognitive functions are personal, they cannot be explained simply by individual conceptions, especially in a collaborative group learning context. This study considers metacognitive awareness on multiple levels. It investigates how metacognitive awareness at the individual, social, and environmental levels are associated with collaborative problem solving (CPS). Seventy-seven higher education students collaborated in triads on a computer-based simulation about running a fictional company for 12 simulated months. The individual level of metacognitive awareness was measured using the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory. The social level of metacognitive awareness was measured multiple times during CPS through situated self-reports, that is, metacognitive judgements and task difficulty. The environmental level of metacognitive awareness was measured via a complex CPS process so that group members’ interactions were video recorded and facial expression data were created by post-processing video-recorded data. Perceived individual and group performance were measured with self-reports at the end of the CPS task. In the analysis, structural equation modelling was conducted to observe the relationships between multiple levels of metacognitive awareness and CPS task performance. Three-level multilevel modelling was also used to understand the effect of environmental-level metacognitive awareness. The results reveal that facial expression recognition makes metacognitive awareness visible in a collaborative context. This study contributes to research on metacognition by displaying both the relatively static and dynamic aspects of metacognitive awareness in CPS.

Learners' Perceptions of Task Repetition: Distributed Practice Effects on Engagement and Metacognitive Judgement

This study delves into an underexplored area of language education, investigating how task repetition and distributed practice influence learners' engagement and metacognitive judgement in the context of English language learning in the United Kingdom. Utilizing a robust mixed-methods research design that includes surveys, think-aloud protocols, and semi-structured interviews, the study scrutinizes the experiences and perspectives of 150 English language learners. One of the key findings is the overwhelmingly positive perception of task repetition among the participants. Not only do learners believe that repeating tasks aids in consolidating their learning, but they also view it as a catalyst for increased language proficiency, thereby enriching their overall learning experience. Additionally, when contrasting distributed practice with massed practice, the study unveils a remarkable improvement in learners' engagement levels and their ability to make metacognitive judgments about their own learning process. This suggests that spacing task repetitions over intervals of time— rather than cramming them into one session—offers a more effective strategy for language instruction. Importantly, these findings carry significant implications for educators and curriculum designers. By taking into account the learners' favorable views on task repetition and the demonstrable benefits of distributed practice, educators have a compelling rationale to incorporate these elements into pedagogical planning and practice, with the ultimate aim of optimizing language learning outcomes.

Metacognitive judgements in the learning of cellular theory in elementary school students

ABSTRACT Understanding the role of metacognitive judgements in science learning can significantly contribute to the qualification of both teaching and learning processes. We present some of the existing relationships between two important theoretical categories in education: metacognitive judgements and cellular theory learning. The research was conducted with sixth graders from a public school in the city of Pereira, Colombia through a mixed research design. The results show that as the didactic unit was developed, students qualified their explanatory models about the cell and cellular theory. Their arguments were stronger and more coherent, while their metacognitive judgements displayed different levels of confidence, which improved over the course of time.

Cognitive load patterns affect temporal dynamics of self-regulated learning behaviors, metacognitive judgments, and learning achievements

This study investigated how students' cognitive load patterns related to their self-regulated learning (SRL) and performance. One hundred and eleven medical students were required to accomplish a diagnostic task in a computer-based learning environment. The metacognitive aspects of SRL were reported by students at different points during the task, and cognitive load was rated after students finished the task. We extracted SRL behaviors from system logfiles, and students' performance was measured as diagnostic accuracy, which indicated whether they achieved an accurate diagnosis. A two-step cluster analysis was conducted to identify students’ cognitive load patterns based on their perceived intrinsic, extraneous, and germane load. We found three cognitive load patterns: knowledge builders with a low-level intrinsic and extraneous load but high-level germane load, task-loaded learners with a high-level intrinsic and extraneous load but low-level germane load, and overloaded learners with high-level intrinsic, extraneous, and germane load. Moreover, we performed epistemic network analyses to compare the SRL behavior networks of the three clusters. The results showed that knowledge builders exhibited stronger connections associated with monitoring behaviors, while task-loaded and overloaded learners constructed more connections associated with help-seeking behaviors. The transitions between evaluation and solution elaboration behaviors were more frequent for knowledge builders than for the other clusters. Furthermore, knowledge builders reported higher scores in two types of metacognitive judgments: ease-of-learning and judgment-of-learning. Knowledge builders also achieved significantly higher diagnostic accuracy than task-loaded and overloaded students. These findings contributed to a more comprehensive understanding of how cognitive load interacts with SRL.

INTRINSIC, EXTRINSIC AND MNEMONIC FACTORS OF METACOGNITIVE MONITORING ACCURACY

The paper reports upon an investigation of metacognitive monitoring accuracy factors in learning tasks of university students. The experiment explores the contribution of some intrinsic, extrinsic and mnemonic factors such as type of learning material, task type, task complexity, and ease / difficulty of performing to metacognitive monitoring accuracy. The study was conducted among 233 university students. The empirical results show the predominance of metacognitive monitoring accuracy, while underconfidence is a downward trend. MMA (+ +) rates of metacognitive monitoring accuracy can be found in the easiest tasks on recollecting pairs of words and MMA (– –) rates – in general knowledge questions of medium difficulty. Overconfidence appears in the most difficult tasks on the deduction inferences and on the logical analogies. The results confirm the dependence of metacognitive monitoring accuracy on the level of ease / complexity of tasks and ease / difficulty of performing; the level of task complexity affects higher rates of metacognitive judgments’ inaccuracies, in particular, in the form of overconfidence. In open-answer questions there is a predominance of MMA (+ +) and MMA (– –) rates of metacognitive monitoring accuracy; underconfidence and overconfidence rates are also higher in openanswer questions. The more complex the task is, the greater is the confidence in the difficulty of performing. The results can be significant in the process of understanding the relationship between metacognitive monitoring accuracy and learning performance of university students.

Remembering what to do when the time comes: The effects of offloading in a complex prospective memory task.

Two experiments examined the effects of cognitive offloading on a complex prospective memory task. Participants underwent a simulated telehealth examination in which they learned about dry eye disease and its treatment. They were asked to email the experimenter at 7:00 p.m., 2 days later, at which point they attempted to recall the medical information about dry eye. Participants in the offload condition were instructed to set a reminder; participants in the internal condition were not. At 7:15 p.m., all participants received an email requesting them to complete the free-recall test, allowing for an assessment of memory performance even when participants failed to email the experimenter. Participants in the offload condition significantly outperformed participants in the internal condition, both in terms of emailing the experimenter on time and in terms of completing the second phase of the experiment at all. No differences were observed regarding performance on the memory test. Results related to rehearsals, metacognitive judgments, and conscientiousness are also reported. Overall, the study provides new insight into how reminders can affect performance on a complex prospective memory task and how reminders may have the potential to be used in medical contexts to optimize patient outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

When do we know that we do not know? An examination of metacognitive processes in visual working memory.

This work investigates how people make judgments about the content of their visual working memory (VWM). Some studies on long-term memory suggest that people base those metacognitive judgments on the outcome of a retrieval attempt. In contrast, Son and Metcalfe (2005) observed that people identify poorly remembered items immediately, presumably by the lack of familiarity for the retrieval cue. We tested these two hypotheses in the context of metacognition in VWM. In three experiments, we investigated participants' response behavior in a color reproduction task with a hidden color wheel. With this procedure, participants must search for the intended response, starting from a random color. We assumed that instant awareness of the inability to retrieve an information would be reflected in selecting the first, random color, rather than search for a particular color in the wheel. Although participants provided a substantial number of low-confidence responses, results of an adapted mixture modeling analysis yielded little evidence for quick guesses. Rather, participants consistently searched for a color (even with unfamiliar retrieval cues in Experiment 2), and only quickly guessed when being cued with objects at test that were not previously presented (Experiment 3). We conclude that people usually engage in retrieval attempts for providing judgments about their VWM, even when information is poorly remembered. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Effortful Tests and Repeated Metacognitive Judgments Enhance Future Learning

Effortful Tests and Repeated Metacognitive Judgments Enhance Future Learning

The influence of irrelevant emotionally negative stimuli on early and late retrospective metacognitive judgements.

It is well established that negative emotions influence a range of cognitive processes. How these emotions influence the metacognitive judgement individuals make about their own performance and whether this influence is similar depending on the conditions under which metacognition is assessed, however, is far less understood. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether exposure to emotional stimuli could influence metacognitive judgements made under short or long time constraints. A total sample of 144 young adults (aged 18-35 years) was recruited and asked to complete an arithmetic strategy selection task under emotional or neutral condition. Following each strategy selection trial, participants also provided a retrospective confidence judgement (RCJ). Both strategy selection and RCJ were collected under short or long time constraints (1,500 vs. 2,500 ms for strategy selection and 800 vs. 1,500 ms for RCJ). In addition to replicating previous findings showing lower rates of better strategy selection under negative emotions compared with neutral condition, an effect of negative stimuli on the accuracy of participants' confidence judgements was found, but only if participants had a short time limit to make their second-level evaluation. Such findings are consistent with the hypothesis that exposure to emotional stimuli disturbs early, but not late metacognitive processes and have important implications to further our understanding of the role of emotions on metacognition.

Test Experience, Direct Instruction, and Their Combination Promote Accurate Beliefs about the Testing Effect.

Practice testing is a highly robust learning strategy that promotes long-term retention, especially in comparison to more passive strategies such as restudying-a finding referred to as the testing effect. However, learners do not always appreciate the memorial benefits of practice testing over restudying, which could limit their use of practice testing during self-regulated learning. The current investigation explored the extent to which learners' metacognitive judgments about the testing effect can be improved via test experience, direct instruction, or a combination of both techniques. Prolific participants underwent two learning cycles. In the first cycle, participants were randomly assigned to either (a) experience a testing effect in their own memory performance (i.e., study unrelated word pairs, practice half the pairs through restudying and half through testing with correct-answer feedback, complete a critical test on the pairs, and receive feedback regarding their performance after using each strategy); (b) imagine they had to learn word pairs and read a passage on the purported benefits of practice testing; or (c) undergo both procedures. In the second cycle, all participants learned a novel set of word pairs. Across both learning cycles, participants estimated memory performance for material learned through testing versus restudying. Both test experience and direct instruction-independently and in combination-led to more accurate memory estimates across learning cycles, but no technique was more effective than the other. In summary, people can learn about the memorial benefits of practice testing when they experience a testing effect on their own memory performance and/or when they receive instruction about its benefits.