Metacognition key concepts

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Questions and Answers

What does metacognition primarily involve?

Understanding the mechanics of the brain

Evaluating sensory stimulations

Awareness of others' thoughts

Awareness of one's own thought processes (correct)

Which term refers to the ability to distinguish between correct and incorrect decisions?

Metacognitive bias

Meta-d' (correct)

M-ratio

Metacognitive efficiency

How does metacognitive efficiency relate to performance?

It assesses external factors affecting performance

It compares metacognitive sensitivity with decision-making time

It combines metacognitive sensitivity with performance levels (correct)

It is the same as performance measure

Which approach suggests that metacognitive research may help explain the hard problem of consciousness?

Metacognition as a Step Toward Explaining Phenomenology Signup and view all the answers

What does retrospective confidence judgment refer to?

Confidence evaluations made after a decision is completed Signup and view all the answers

What key concept challenges the Mechanical Philosophy by demonstrating that causes don't always need physical contact?

Action at a Distance Signup and view all the answers

Which technique assesses metacognition by allowing animals to bet on their choices?

Post-Decision Wagering Signup and view all the answers

How does broadcasting operate within metacognition?

By sharing confidence levels with others verbally or nonverbally Signup and view all the answers

What defines metacognitive bias?

An overall tendency to misjudge performance Signup and view all the answers

What condition is characterized by visual abilities without conscious visual awareness?

Blindsight Signup and view all the answers

What is the 'Hard Problem of Consciousness' concerned with?

The gap between objective measures and subjective experience Signup and view all the answers

What does Theory of Mind (ToM) emphasize in social cognition?

Understanding that others have distinct beliefs and intentions Signup and view all the answers

Which concept refers to the idea that a mental state is defined by its interactions with other factors?

Functionalism Signup and view all the answers

What do prospective confidence judgments evaluate?

Certainty about the reliability of knowledge before a decision Signup and view all the answers

How is discrimination defined in the context of metacognition?

Distinguishing between types of metacognitive input Signup and view all the answers

What are qualia in relation to consciousness?

The subjective, first-person aspects of conscious experience Signup and view all the answers

What does the hypothesis of depressive realism propose about depressed individuals?

They make more realistic inferences about themselves and the world. Signup and view all the answers

How does insight correlate with mood in various psychological disorders?

Greater insight is associated with low mood and depression. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes a key aspect of metacognitive deficits in schizophrenia?

Inability to attribute symptoms to an illness. Signup and view all the answers

What do transdiagnostic abnormalities of confidence explore in relation to psychiatric disorders?

Symptom dimensions and cognitive functions. Signup and view all the answers

Which statement is true regarding compulsivity, intrusive thoughts, and confidence levels?

They are related to reduced objective accuracy but increased absolute confidence. Signup and view all the answers

What is often a characteristic of anxiety and depression in relation to confidence?

Systematically low confidence without accuracy impairments. Signup and view all the answers

What problem does the concept of the 'hard problem of consciousness' relate to?

The subjective experience of consciousness versus objective observations. Signup and view all the answers

What is a major challenge when assessing metacognitive deficits?

Recognizing the broad range of awareness deficits present in different disorders. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Lecture 1: Introduction to Metacognition

Metacognition: Thinking about thinking, knowing about knowing. Awareness of cognitive processes (strengths, weaknesses, strategies).
Metacognitive Knowledge: Knowledge about cognition, encompassing learner variables (self-knowledge), task variables (task demands), and strategy variables (learning strategies).
Metacognitive Regulation: Ability to control and adjust cognitive processes, strategies, and behaviors to improve learning and performance.
Metacognitive Experiences: Feelings and judgments related to cognitive processes. (Knowing, confidence, confusion).
Miscalibrated Metacognition: Inaccuracies in self-assessment of performance. Can lead to overconfidence or underconfidence.
Better-Than-Average Effect: Most individuals rate themselves as above average compared to peers.
Dunning-Kruger Effect: Individuals with low competence unaware of their shortcomings; inflate self-assessments.
Regression to the Mean: Extreme scores tend to move closer to average on subsequent measurements.
Bayesian Shrinkage: Statistical approach; adjusts estimates based on prior knowledge or beliefs.
First-Order Performance: Actual performance/ability on a task.

Lecture 2: Measuring Metacognition

Metacognitive Accuracy: Group-level characteristic ("better-than-average effect"). Doesn't reflect individual differences.
Confidence Ratings: Quantifies individual metacognitive ability. How closely confidence ratings match actual performance.
Metacognitive Performance: Composed of sensitivity (discriminate between correct/incorrect) and bias (overestimate/underestimate performance).
Signal Detection Theory (SDT): Framework for understanding decision-making under uncertainty. Separates sensitivity from criterion (threshold).
Type-1 SDT: Focuses on stimulus representation and behavior in decisions.
Type-2 SDT: Applies SDT principles to metacognitive judgments.
Meta-d' Model: Extends SDT to metacognitive judgments. Separates bias from sensitivity. Allows comparison of type 1 and type 2 performance.
Metacognitive Efficiency: Ratio of meta-d' to d'. A value of 1 represents perfect efficiency.
2-Alternative Forced Choice (2-AFC): Paradigm. Participants choose between two options.
Reverse Engineering of Metacognition (ReMeta): New approach; overcomes limitations of meta-d' model. Aim to measure metacognitive sensitivity and bias independent of type 1 performance.
Metacognitive Information Theory (Meta-I): A new approach to quantify information about decision accuracy contained in confidence ratings. Non-parametric; doesn't rely on specific modeling assumptions.

Lecture 3: Metacognition & Psychopathology

Anosognosia: Lack of awareness/insight in neuropsychiatry. Failure to recognize illness or deficits.
Depressive Realism: Depressed individuals have more realistic inferences about themselves and the world than non-depressed individuals.
Insight: Insight can be preserved in some domains but impaired in others. Correlation with low mood, and improves treatment adherence.
Lack of Insight in Schizophrenia: Common in Schizophrenia; inability to recognize illness, compliance with treatment; incorrect attribution of symptoms to non-illness factors (delusions).
Metacognitive Deficits: Key role in various psychiatric disorders. Include lack of awareness of disorder, specific symptoms, and impaired self-evaluation.

Lecture 4: Metacognition & Belief Structures

Metacognitive Sensitivity: Accurately assessing the quality of one's knowledge & judgments.
Metacognitive Bias: Systematic errors in metacognitive judgments (overconfidence or underconfidence).

Lecture 5: Neural Correlates of Metacognition

Neural Correlates: Specific brain regions/activity patterns associated with specific cognitive functions, including metacognition.
Lesion Studies: Examining cognitive abilities of individuals with brain damage (lesions) to infer the role of brain regions.
Neuroimaging: Techniques (fMRI, EEG, MEG) to visualize/measure brain activity.
fMRI: Measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow. Good spatial resolution; poor temporal resolution.
EEG: Measures brain activity by recording electrical signals from the scalp. Excellent temporal resolution, limited spatial resolution.
MEG: Measures brain activity by detecting magnetic fields produced by electrical currents in the brain. Good balance of spatial/temporal resolution.
TMS: Non-invasive technique; uses magnetic pulses to stimulate/inhibit specific brain regions.
Prefrontal Cortex (PFC): Higher-level cognitive functions (planning, decision-making, working memory). Implicated in metacognition.

Lecture 6

Intrapersonal: Within the individual.
Suprapersonal: Beyond the self or interactions with others.
Cultural Origins Hypothesis: Development through cultural learning and interactions, not solely genetic inheritance.

Lecture 7 - 8

Lack of detail here (page numbers not included).
Focus on specifics rather than summarizing the text overall.

Lecture 9: Improving Metacognition

Metacognition: Monitoring and controlling cognitive processes.
Metacognitive Sensitivity: Accuracy in judging performance.
Metacognitive Bias: Tendency to overestimate or underestimate.
Metacognitive Efficiency: Combines sensitivity and performance, guiding behavior.
Cognitive-Attentional Syndrome (CAS): Maladaptive cognitive processes contributing to distress.
Metacognitive Therapy (MCT): Therapy focusing on modifying maladaptive beliefs and attention.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Focuses on identifying/changing maladaptive thought patterns.
Focused Attention Meditation: Maintaining attention on a single object/sensation.
Noradrenaline: Neurotransmitter involved with attention, arousal, and memory.
Propranolol: Medication blocking noradrenaline effects.

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Learn about cognitive processes, metacognitive knowledge, and the regulation of your thought processes. Understand concepts like the Dunning-Kruger effect and the role of self-assessment in learning.