Metacognitive Judgments Research Articles

Exploring University Students’ Justifications for Making Metacognitive Judgments of Learning

The accuracy of students’ judgments has important implications for their learning and performance in educational settings. However, little is known about how students make these judgments. This study explored university students’ justifications for making their judgments of learning in a developmental psychology course. Two independent samples were involved, including a total number of 115 senior sport students. Participants responded to a knowledge test and provided their judgments at the local (Sample 1) or at the global level (Sample 2) and then provided their justifications for making these judgments. Students’ justifications for making their judgments were classified in ten categories, including the study of the learning materials, the confidence for answering (or not) correctly, the memory, the general knowledge, the knowledge of the answer and a general reference to common sense, experience, lectures, and judgment. Variations in the frequency of these justifications were found across the local and the global level, low and high accurate students, and low and high performers. These results are discussed regarding their theoretical and practical implications for undergraduate students’ learning.

Objects’ perceived meaningfulness predicts both subjective memorability judgments and actual memory performance

ABSTRACT Memorability studies have revealed a limitation in our ability to accurately judge which images are memorable. Conversely, metacognitive research suggests that individuals can utilize cues to reliably assess their memory performance. Here, we investigated two important stimulus cues potentially underlying subjective memorability, and their relation to actual memory performance. Participants encoded 200 real-world object images while providing Judgements of Learning (JOLs), in which they estimated the likelihood of remembering each image. Subsequently, they completed an old/new memory recognition test on these stimuli. All stimuli were priorly rated by an independent group of participants for their perceived meaningfulness and visual complexity. Results indicated that participants' metacognitive judgements exhibited a relatively good resolution, allowing them to distinguish well-remembered from less-remembered images. Furthermore, analyses conducted at the image level demonstrated that JOLs significantly predicted memory performance, with the meaningfulness of the images emerging as a crucial factor associated with JOLs of both participants and their actual memory performance. The visual complexity factor was correlated only with the actual memory performance. Collectively, these findings suggest that memory performance is closely associated with the meaning of objects. Critically, individuals possess a subjective sense of images' memorability, which is at least partially mediated by perceived meaningfulness.

Metacognitive judgments during visuomotor learning reflect the integration of error history.

People form metacognitive representations of their own abilities across a range of tasks. How these representations are influenced by errors during learning is poorly understood. Here, we ask how metacognitive confidence judgments of performance during motor learning are shaped by the learner's recent history of errors. Across four motor learning experiments, our computational modeling approach demonstrated that people's confidence judgments are best explained by a recency-weighted averaging of visually observed errors. Moreover, in the formation of these confidence estimates, people appear to reweight observed motor errors according to a subjective cost function. Confidence judgments were adaptive, incorporating recent motor errors in a manner that was sensitive to the volatility of the learning environment, integrating a shallower history when the environment was more volatile. Finally, confidence tracked motor errors in the context of both implicit and explicit motor learning but only showed evidence of influencing behavior in the latter. Our study thus provides a novel descriptive model that successfully approximates the dynamics of metacognitive judgments during motor learning.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study examined how, during visuomotor learning, people's confidence in their performance is shaped by their recent history of errors. Using computational modeling, we found that confidence incorporated recent error history, tracked subjective error costs, was sensitive to environmental volatility, and in some contexts may influence learning. Together, these results provide a novel model of metacognitive judgments during motor learning that could be applied to future computational and neural studies at the interface of higher-order cognition and motor control.

Assessing the Accuracy of Students’ Metacognitive Awareness of Psychology Concepts

The present study explored the accuracy of participants’ (N = 317) metacognitive awareness (self-reported difficulty and confidence) of psychology concepts and the moderating effects of their psychology background (academic major, number of psychology courses completed, and overall psychology course grades). Participants first rated the difficulty of and their confidence in their knowledge of concepts from seven different subareas of psychology. They then completed a multiple-choice assessment testing their knowledge of the concepts they had previously rated. The results showed that both participants’ metacognitive awareness and experience in psychology predicted their accuracy on the assessment. A more extensive background in psychology was associated with a stronger relationship between metacognitive awareness and accuracy. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that metacognitive awareness contributed unique variance in predicting accuracy after accounting for students' psychology background. A parallel mediation analysis investigated the relationship between psychology background and metacognitive awareness on accuracy. This analysis revealed that confidence mediated the relationship between participants’ psychology background and their performance on the assessment. The results of the present study demonstrate that participants’ metacognitive awareness of psychology concepts increases with increasing psychological knowledge and experience. These findings suggest that psychology instructors should adjust their instructional and assessment strategies according to their students’ experience and knowledge levels and that more experienced psychology students should rely more on their metacognitive judgments to self-regulate their learning.

Facial mimicry and metacognitive judgments in emotion recognition are distinctly modulated by social anxiety and autistic traits

Facial mimicry as well as the accurate assessment of one's performance when judging others’ emotional expressions have been suggested to inform successful emotion recognition. Differences in the integration of these two information sources might explain alterations in the perception of others’ emotions in individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder and individuals on the autism spectrum. Using a non-clinical sample (N = 57), we examined the role of social anxiety and autistic traits in the link between facial mimicry, or confidence in one’s performance, and emotion recognition. While participants were presented with videos of spontaneous emotional facial expressions, we measured their facial muscle activity, asked them to label the expressions and indicate their confidence in accurately labelling the expressions. Our results showed that confidence in emotion recognition was lower with higher social anxiety traits even though actual recognition was not related to social anxiety traits. Higher autistic traits, in contrast, were associated with worse recognition, and a weakened link between facial mimicry and performance. Consequently, high social anxiety traits might not affect emotion recognition itself, but the top-down evaluation of own abilities in emotion recognition contexts. High autistic traits, in contrast, may be related to lower integration of sensorimotor simulations, which promote emotion recognition.

Metacognitive Cues, Working Memory, and Math Anxiety: The Regulated Attention in Mathematical Problem Solving (RAMPS) Framework.

Mathematical problem solving is a process involving metacognitive (e.g., judging progress), cognitive (e.g., working memory), and affective (e.g., math anxiety) factors. Recent research encourages researchers who study math cognition to consider the role that the interaction between metacognition and math anxiety plays in mathematical problem solving. Problem solvers can make many metacognitive judgments during a math problem, ranging from global judgments such as, "Do I care to solve this problem?" to minor cue-based judgments such as, "Is my current strategy successful in making progress toward the correct solution?" Metacognitive monitoring can hinder accurate mathematical problem solving when the monitoring is task-irrelevant; however, task-relevant metacognitive experiences can lead to helpful control decisions in mathematical problem solving such as checking work, considering plausibility of an answer, and considering alternate strategies. Worry and negative thoughts (i.e., math anxiety) can both interfere with the accuracy of metacognitive experiences as cues in mathematical problem solving and lead to avoidance of metacognitive control decisions that could otherwise improve performance. The current paper briefly reviews and incorporates prior literature with current qualitative reports (n = 673) to establish a novel framework of regulated attention in mathematical problem solving (RAMPS).

The Impact of Item Difficulty on Judgment of Confidence-A Cross-Level Moderated Mediation Model.

The factors that influence metacognitive judgments often appear in combination, rather than in isolation. The multi-cue utilization model proposes that individuals often make use of multiple cues when making judgments. Previous studies have focused on the integration of intrinsic and extrinsic cues, while the current investigation examines the integration and influence of intrinsic cues and mnemonic cues. Judgment of confidence is a common form of metacognitive judgment. In this study, 37 college students completed Raven's Progressive Matrices and made judgments of confidence. We used the cross-level moderated mediation model to explore the impact of item difficulty on confidence judgments. Our results indicated that item difficulty negatively predicts the level of confidence. Item difficulty has an impact on the confidence evaluation by altering the processing fluency of intermediate variables. The joint effect of intrinsic cue item difficulty and mnemonic cue processing fluency influences confidence judgments. Additionally, we found that intelligence moderates the effect of difficulty on processing fluency across levels. Specifically, individuals with higher intelligence exhibited lower fluency on difficult tasks and higher fluency on simple tasks than individuals with lower intelligence. These findings expand on the multi-cue utilization model and integrate the influence mechanism of intrinsic and mnemonic cues on confidence judgments. Finally, we propose and verify a cross-level moderated mediation model that explains how item difficulty affects confidence judgments.

Metamnemonic predictions of lineup identification

ABSTRACT After a crime is committed, investigators may query witnesses about whether they believe they will be to identify the perpetrator. However, we know little about how such metacognitive judgments are related to performance on a subsequent lineup identification task. The extant research has found the strength of this relationship to be small or nonexistent, which conflicts with the large body of literature indicating a moderate relationship between predictions and performance on memory tasks. In Studies 1–3, we induce variation in encoding quality by having participants watch a mock crime video with either low, medium, or high exposure quality, and then assess their future lineup performance. Calibration analysis revealed that assessments of future lineup performance were predictive of identification accuracy. This relationship was driven primarily by poor performance following low assessments. Studies 4 and 5 showed that these predictions are not based on a witness’s evaluation of their encoding experience, nor on a contemporaneous assessment of memory strength. These results reinforce the argument that variation in memory quality is needed to obtain reliable relationships between predictions and performance. An unexpected finding is that witnesses who made a prediction shortly after encoding evinced superior memory compared to those who made a prediction later.

How do learners perceive task repetition? Distributed practice effects on engagement and metacognitive judgment

AbstractWhile task repetition is effective for improving oral fluency, some teachers are reluctant to use it in their classrooms due to the alleged negative perceptions of learners toward repetitive practice. To address this concern, the participants in the current study completed a posttask questionnaire probing their perceptions toward task repetition practice, focusing on metacognitive judgment (i.e., the number of task repetitions considered effective) and emotional engagement (i.e., enjoyment and concentration). Prior to taking the survey, 64 second language learners individually performed the same picture‐description task six times under one of the three repetition schedules (massed, short‐spaced, and long‐spaced condition). Their posttask questionnaire results indicated that task repetition was perceived as an effective and engaging activity (about four to five performances were deemed to be most optimal). Relative to massed task repetition, short‐ and long‐spaced schedules led to higher perceived effectiveness and emotional engagement. Moreover, while the short‐spaced group made accurate metacognitive judgment of their fluency gains, learners in the massed practice condition overestimated their fluency gains, possibly due to enjoyment and illusion of high competence. These findings indicate that spacing between task repetitions can influence learners’ engagement in the task, which can impact their fluency development.

Differences in the detail: Metacognition is better for seen than sensed changes to visual scenes

Metacognition is the process by which we know what we know. Knowing has both declarative and sensed components. Differences exist in the information that moves to our conscious awareness and how it is synthesised with existing knowledge. The current study measured metacognition by extending a visual change detection paradigm that promoted explicit or implicit detection by either a local or global manipulation of a scene. A within-subjects design was used to investigate how 91 participants detected change and made metacognitive judgements. Cognitive modelling, based on confidence judgements, estimated the relative contributions of discrete and continuous cognitive processes to change detection, and to metacognition. Metacognition was sensitive to both the discrete and continuous processes underlying change detection, but was more sensitive to the discrete process. These results demonstrate that metacognition attunes confidence differentially to explicit and implicit processes, and support direct-access theories for discrete processing and meta-representation theories for continuous processing.

Comparing Mental Effort, Difficulty, and Confidence Appraisals in Problem-Solving: A Metacognitive Perspective

It is well established in educational research that metacognitive monitoring of performance assessed by self-reports, for instance, asking students to report their confidence in provided answers, is based on heuristic cues rather than on actual success in the task. Subjective self-reports are also used in educational research on cognitive load, where they refer to the perceived amount of mental effort invested in or difficulty of each task item. In the present study, we examined the potential underlying bases and the predictive value of mental effort and difficulty appraisals compared to confidence appraisals by applying metacognitive concepts and paradigms. In three experiments, participants faced verbal logic problems or one of two non-verbal reasoning tasks. In a between-participants design, each task item was followed by either mental effort, difficulty, or confidence appraisals. We examined the associations between the various appraisals, response time, and success rates. Consistently across all experiments, we found that mental effort and difficulty appraisals were associated more strongly than confidence with response time. Further, while all appraisals were highly predictive of solving success, the strength of this association was stronger for difficulty and confidence appraisals (which were similar) than for mental effort appraisals. We conclude that mental effort and difficulty appraisals are prone to misleading cues like other metacognitive judgments and are based on unique underlying processes. These findings challenge the accepted notion that mental effort appraisals can serve as reliable reflections of cognitive load.

The reverse Mozart effect: music disrupts verbal working memory irrespective of whether you like it or not

ABSTRACT People believe most background sounds to disrupt their cognitive performance. An exception is music they like which is believed to improve cognitive performance. To examine the objective effects of music on cognitive performance, the serial-recall paradigm was used. Mozart’s sonata K. 448 – the music piece used in classical studies on the Mozart effect – caused distraction. However, with ongoing exposure to the music participants were able to adapt to some degree to the distracting effect of the music under conditions that increased the predictability of the sounds, suggesting that the development of a predictive model of the unfolding auditory input helped to diminish distraction. Retrospective metacognitive judgements indicated that the more participants liked the music the more likely they were to judge that it had helped their performance. However, serial recall was disrupted by the music irrespective of whether the music was liked or not.

Initial judgment of solvability: integrating prior expectations with experience-based heuristic cues

Initial Judgment of Solvability (iJOS) is a metacognitive judgment that reflects solvers’ first impression as to whether a problem is solvable. We hypothesized that iJOS is inferred by combining prior expectations about the entire task with heuristic cues derived from each problem’s elements. In two experiments participants first provided quick iJOSs for all problems, then attempted to solve them. We manipulated expectations by changing the proportion of solvable problems conveyed to participants, 33%, 50%, or 66%, while the true proportion was the 50% for all. In Experiment 1 we used the non-verbal Raven’s matrices and examined nameability as the element-based heuristic cue. Unsolvable matrices were generated by switching locations of elements in original Raven’s matrices. In Experiment 2 we used the verbal Compound Remote Associate (CRA) problems and examined word’s frequency in the language as the element-based heuristic cue. Unsolvable CRAs were random word triads from the same word pool. The results were consistent in suggesting that quick iJOS integrates prior expectations and experience-based heuristic cues. Notably, iJOS was predictive for the subsequent solving attempt only for Raven’s matrices.

Metacognition in working memory: Confidence judgments during an n-back task

Metacognition in working memory (WM) has received less attention than episodic memory, and few studies have investigated confidence judgements while carrying out a verbal WM task. The present study investigated whether individuals are aware of their own level of performance while carrying out an ongoing verbal WM task, and whether judgments of confidence are sensitive to factors that determine WM performance. A verbal n-back task was adapted to obtain confidence judgments on a trial-by-trial basis. Memory load and lure interference were manipulated. Results showed that metacognition judgments were affected by memory load and levels of interference just as performance accuracy. Even when judgments were sensitive to memory factors, participants were overconfident and generally showed poor metacognitive accuracy at discriminating between erroneous and accurate responses. Results are discussed in terms of possible cues contributing to metacognitive judgements during an ongoing WM task and reasons for WM metacognitive accuracy.

Think higher, gain more: the effect of making inference- and memory-based metacognitive judgments on text learning

Think higher, gain more: the effect of making inference- and memory-based metacognitive judgments on text learning

Metacognitive Judgment Skills and the Metacognitive Component of Self-Regulated Learning

Abstract: Metacognitive judgments as part of metacognitive monitoring can be measured using different methods and show individual differences. Moreover, metacognitive judgments are highly related to the metacognitive component of self-regulated learning (SRL-MC). Nevertheless, it is unclear how metacognitive judgments are related to different ways of measuring SRL-MC. Adopting a person-oriented, multimethod approach, we measured three metacognitive judgment forms in a sample of 99 college students. Latent profile analyses resulted in four groups with differing profiles of these metacognitive judgment measures. Linking the profiles to performance, we could contextualize them within the unskilled- and unaware-effect and extend previous research on this effect. Regarding their relationship to SRL-MC, we found no differences for questionnaire values, microanalysis results, and strategy knowledge scores. These results are discussed with regard to the conceptual overlap of metacognitive judgments and SRL-MC.

Metamemory judgments have dissociable reactivity effects on item and interitem relational memory.

Making metamemory judgments reactively changes item memory itself. Here we report the first investigation of reactive influences of making judgments of learning (JOLs) on interitem relational memory-specifically, temporal (serial) order memory. Experiment 1 found that making JOLs impaired order reconstruction. Experiment 2 observed minimal reactivity on free recall and negative reactivity on temporal clustering. Experiment 3 demonstrated a positive reactivity effect on recognition memory, and Experiment 4 detected dissociable effects of making JOLs on order reconstruction (negative) and forced-choice recognition (positive) by using the same participants and stimuli. Finally, a meta-analysis was conducted to explore reactivity effects on word list learning and to investigate whether test format moderates these effects. The results show a negative reactivity effect on interitem relational memory (order reconstruction), a modest positive effect on free recall, and a medium-to-large positive effect on recognition. Overall, these findings imply that even though making metacognitive judgments facilitates item-specific processing, it disrupts relational processing, supporting the item-order account of the reactivity effect on word list learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Advances in Understanding and Fostering the Accuracy of Metacognitive Judgments

Advances in Understanding and Fostering the Accuracy of Metacognitive Judgments

Can Monitoring Prompts Help to Reduce a Confidence Bias When Learning With Multimedia?

Abstract: Accurate monitoring is important, as it guides subsequent control of learning. With multimedia, learners often overestimate their learning. Retrieval practice provides insight into one’s understanding; still, it might not improve monitoring. In an online experiment with two groups, participants ( N = 146) performed retrieval practice while studying multimedia instructions. We investigated whether monitoring prompts affect metacognitive accuracy, subsequent learning behavior, and performance: One group repeatedly received prompts, whereas a control group did not. After studying, both groups provided metacognitive judgments for a subsequent posttest. As expected, learners in the control group were overconfident about their learning; however, unexpectedly, prompted learners were also overconfident and did not differ from the control group. Nevertheless, prompted learners provided longer answers to retrieval tasks, which increased their posttest performance (indirect mediation). We observed no mediation for learning time or retrieval performance, although retrieval performance did relate to posttest performance. The results suggest that monitoring prompts do not improve metacognitive accuracy per se but might improve learning outcomes by controlling subsequent learning.

Assessing the challenge of accented speech using effort discounting

The subjective ease of understanding accents that differ from a listener’s has typically been assessed using self-reports. This approach, however, relies on metacognitive judgments that are difficult to interpret and may not converge with objective measures of effort. To address this challenge, this study utilizes effort discounting, a paradigm borrowed from behavioral economics. In the experiment, participants are familiarized with one L1 English speaker and three L2-accented speakers. During the task, participants choose between listening to the L1-accented speaker for a smaller monetary reward or to one of the L2-accented speakers for a larger reward. By varying the reward offered for the easier option based on previous choices, the subjective value of the effort expended for each L2 speaker can be determined. Data collection is ongoing. We expect participants will remain willing to listen to highly intelligible L2-accented speakers. However, as speakers become less intelligible, participants will be less willing to expend the required additional effort and will choose the easier speaker. We also predict that participants who rate L2-accented speakers lower on an affect and attitudes questionnaire will be more likely to discount their reward to avoid the effort required by the L2-accented speech.