Table Of ContentMETACOGNITION
Process, Function and Use
METACOGNITION
Process, Function and Use
edited by
Patrick Chambres
Marie Izaute
Pierre-Jean Marescaux
Universite Blaise Pascal
Clermont-Ferrand, France
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Metacognition: process, function, and use / edited by Patrick Chambres, Marie Izaute,
Pierre-Jean Marescaux.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 978-1-4613-5394-2 ISBN 978-1-4615-1099-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-1099-4
I. Metacognition. I. Charnbres, Patrick, 1955-II. Izaute, Marie, 1965-III. Marescaux,
Pierre-Jean, 1958-
BF311 .M44892 2002
153-dc21
2002075420
Copyright © 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2002
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2002
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without the written
permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied
specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system,
for exclusive use by the purchaser ofthe work.
Permission for books published in Europe: [email protected]
Permission for books published in the United States of America: [email protected]
Printed on acid-free paper.
Contents
ListofContributors vii
Foreword NewTheoryand DataonMetacognitiveMonitoringand
ControlinDifferentContextsand byDifferentIndividuals
Thomas 0. Nelson ix
Preface
PatrickChambres, Pierre-JeanMarescauxandMarieIzaute xi
Acknowledgments xvii
Section I
IS METACOGNITION ADIVERSE DOMAIN?
Chapter1 MetacognitiveJudgmentsand theirAccuracy
AsherKoriatandRachelShitzer-Reichert
Chapter2 TheSystemicNatureofMetacognitveExperiences
AnastasiaEfklides 19
Chapter3 MetacognitiveProcessesatEncoding
Chris1.A. Moulin, Timothy1. PerfectandFionaFitch 35
Chapter4 ComparingProcessing-based,Stimulus-based,andSubject
basedFactorsinMetacognition
CharlesA. Weaver, IIIandWilliam L. Kelemen 49
Section II
WHAT IS METACOGNITION IN RELATION TO
COGNITION?
Chapter1 Metacognition inStrategySelection
MelanieCaryandLynneM Reder 63
Chapter2 FeelingofFamiliarity
SachikoKinoshita 79
Chapter3 Familiarityand theRetrievalofMemoryTraces
GuyLories 91
VI
Section III
WHEN AND HOW IS METACOGNITION EFFECTIVE?
Chapter1 When isMetacognitionHelpful,Debilitating,orBenign?
ScottG. Paris 105
Chapter2 TheRoleofMetatextualKnowledge inTextComprehension
Jean-Fram;oisRouetandElsaEme 121
Chapter3 An EcologicalApproach toMetacognitiveRegulation in the
Adult
Claude Valot 135
Chapter4 MetacognitionTriggered byaSocialAspectofExpertise
PatrickChambres, DelphineBonin, MarieIzauteandPierre-JeanMarescaux 153
Section IV
WHAT CAN NONEXPERTS IN METACOGNITION
OFFERTO METACOGNITIVE RESEARCH?
Whatcan metacognition offerto them?
Chapter1 TheMetacognitveImplicationsofthe Implicit-Explicit
Distinction 171
ZoltanDienesandJosefPerner
Chapter2 HowImplicitisImplicityAcquiredKnowledge
Pierre-JeanMarescaux, MarieIzauteandPatrickChambres 191
Chapter3 CalibrationofConfidenceamongEyewitnessesand
Earwitnesses
Nils OlssonandPeterJuslin 203
Chapter4 UsingStateofAwarenessJudgementstoImprove
EyewitnessConfidence-AccuracyJudgements
Florence V SeemungalandSarah V Stevenage 219
VariedSituationsand Accuracy: ConcludingRemarks
MarieIzaute, PatrickChambres, Pierre-JeanMarescauxand
LaurencePaire-Ficout 233
References 239
AuthorIndex 269
SubjectIndex 279
Contributors
Delphine BONIN, Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale de laCognition (UMR CNRS
6024), Universite Blaise Pascal, 34, avenue Carnot, F-63037 Clermont-Ferrand
cedex,France
Melanie CARY,Department ofPsychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg,
PA15213,USA
Patrick CHAMBRES, Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale de la Cognition (UMR
CNRS 6024), Universite Blaise Pascal, 34, avenue Carnot, F-63037 Clermont
Ferrandcedex,France
Zoltan DIENES, Department of Experimental Psychology, Sussex University,
Brighton,Sussex,BNl 9QG,England
Anastasia EFKLIDES, School ofPsychology, Aristotle University ofThessaloniki,
G-54006Thessaloniki,Greece
Elsa EME, Laboratoire Language et Cognition (UMR CNRS 6096) - MSHS,
Universite de Poitiers, BP632, 99 avenue du Recteur Pineau, F-86022 Poitiers
Cedex, France
Fiona FITCH, Research Institute for the Care ofthe Elderly, St. Martin's Hospital,
Bath,BA2 5RP,England.
Marie lZAUTE, Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale de la Cognition (UMR CNRS
6024), Universite Blaise Pascal, 34, avenue Carnot, F-63037 Clermont-Ferrand
cedex,France
Peter JUSLIN, Department of Psychology, Umea University, SE-90187, Uppsala,
Sweden.
William L. KELEMEN, Department ofPsychology, University ofMissouri at St.
Louis, 316 Stadler Hall, 8001 Natural Bridge Road, SaintLouis, MO 063121
4499,USA
Sachiko KINOSHITA, Department of Psychology and Macquarie Centre for
Cognitive Science (MACCS), Macquarie University, Sydney, New South
Wales, A-2I09Australia
Asher KORIAT, Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, 1-31905 Haifa,
Israel
GuyLORIES, Unite de PsychologieCognitive,Universite Catholique deLouvain, 10
Placedu CardinalMercier,B-1348Louvain-La-Neuve,Belgique
Pierre-Jean MARESCAUX, Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale de la Cognition
(UMR CNRS 6024), Universite Blaise Pascal, 34, avenue Carnot, F-63037
Clermont-Ferrandcedex,France
viii
Chris J. A. MOULIN, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of
Bristol,8Woodland Road, BristolBS8 ITN,England
Thomas O. NELSON, Department ofPsychology, University ofMaryland, College
Park,MD20742,USA
Nils OLSSON,Department ofPsychology, UppsalaUniversity, Box 1225, SE-75142
Uppsala, Sweden.
Laurence PAffiE-FICOUT, Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale de la Cognition
(UMR CNRS 6024), Universite Blaise Pascal, 34, avenue Carnot, F-63037
Clermont-Ferrandcedex,France
Scott G. PARIS, Department of Psychology, 2008 East Hall, 525 East
UniversityAvenue,UniversityofMichigan,AnnArbor,MI48109,USA
Timothy J. PERFECT, Department ofPsychology, University ofPlymouth, Drake
Circus,Plymouth,PL48AA, England.
Josef PERNER, Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, 34
HellbrunerStrasse,A-5020Salzburg,Austria
Lynne M. REDER, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University,
Pittsburg,PA 15213,USA
Jean-Fran~ois ROUET, Laboratoire Language et Cognition (UMR CNRS 6096)
MSHS, Universite de Poitiers, BP 632, 99 avenue du Recteur Pineau, F-86022
PoitiersCedex,France
Florence V. SEEMUNGAL, University ofOxford, CenterofCriminological Research
andProbationStudies, 12BevingtonRoad,Oxford0X26LH,England
Rachel SHITZER-REICHERT, Department ofPsychology, University ofHaifa, 1
31905Haifa, Israel
Sarah V. STEVENAGE, Department of Psychology, University of Southampton,
Southampton,SO17 1BJ,England
Claude VALOT, Institut de Medecine Aerospatiale, Service de Sante des Armees
(IMASSA-CERMA), Departement de Sciences Cognitives et Ergonomie, BP
73,F-91223BretignysurOrge,France
Charles A. WEAVER III, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor
University,CampusBox97334,Waco,TX76798-7334,USA
Foreword
New Theory and Data on Metacognitive Monitoring
and Control in Different Contexts and by Different
Individuals
ThomasO. Nelson
UniversityofMary/and. USA
This book, divided into several sections (each containing several chapters), is
timely in reportingnew theoryand datathathelp refine whatisalready known about
metacognition (defined as people's cognitions abouttheirowncognitions). New data
are reported about metacognition during learning (especiallyjudgments oflearning
that occur soon after studying new items) not only in traditionally examined people
suchas college students butalso inchildren and in Alzheimerpatients. Dataarealso
reported about metacognitive monitoring during the reading of text, not only in
collegestudentsbutalso inchildren. Theabovesituationsfocus onthe acquisitionof
new items from lists or from texts. However, the book also includes a chapter
reportingdataaboutmetacognitionduringproblemsolving.
Besides the chapters on monitoring information in anticipation of future
performance (sometimes calledprospective monitoring), a chapter is included that
offers dataabout the metacognitive monitoring ofthe retrieval ofinformation from
memory, where the emphasis is on the accuracy of retrospective confidence
judgments notonly inadults butalso inchildren. Thistopic isofwidespread interest
both in traditional domains ofcognitive psychology and in applications to domains
suchasforensics, whereeyewitnessreportsarecrucialtojudicialdecisions.
Theabove topics pertainto aspectsofmetacognition involvingthe monitoringof
one's own cognitions. Two chapters also report new data about metacognitive
control, both interms ofstrategy selectionand in termsofthe metacognitive control
ofcomplexsystems.
Besides the many new sets ofdata, several chapters focus on refinements of
theories aboutmetacognition. Particularemphasis seems to occur in several chapters
on the role ofcontext effects on metacognitive activity. This includes contexts in
which people deliberately initiate metacognitive activity, contexts in which
metacognition has afunctional (i.e., instrumental) role inaffecting performance, and
x
a chapter on the unusual topic ofusing metacognitive knowledge to facilitate the
flying ofcombataircraft. Acouplechapters focus onthe implicit/explicitdistinction
to examine the interplay between metacognition and implicit/explicit memory and
implicit/explicitknowledge.
New methodological contributions are offered by at least two chapters. One
chapter examines the important but elusive topic of individual differences in
metacognitive accuracy. The other chapter re-examines the confidence-accuracy
relation in forensics and proposes a new measure of the confidence-accuracy
relationship.
Thus the chapters contained herein offer both new theory and new data on the
burgeoning field ofmetacognition. The contexts under investigation should help
extend ideas about metacognition away from laboratory settings (although those are
not disregarded) toward several useful domains of application. As such,
metacognition is treated notonly as an interesting intellectual topic but also as one
that will help increase our understanding of applied situations where people are
monitoringandcontrollingtheirowncognitiveactivity.
This wide scope ofthe book can be expected to generate widespread interest
from readers in diverse domains and will also give traditional researchers of
metacognition alargerperspectiveonthe range ofapplicabilityto which ideas about
metacognition can usefully be extended. This demonstrates that in contrastto some
psychological phenomena that seem predominantly to be curiosities of the
laboratory, metacognition has ramifications for diverse everyday settings and is
thereforebothoftheoreticalandappliedinterest.
Preface
PatrickChambres, Pierre-JeanMarescaux, andMarie Izaute
UniversiteBlaisePascal, Clermont-Ferrand, France
While strictboundaries between research problems can certainly be identified in
science, the boundaries are often more apparent than real. Doing research in a
theoretical perspective is necessarily achieved within a specific pragmatic context.
Inversely, an effective and valid study with a pragmatic aim cannot be conducted
withoutsome sortoftheoretical framework, no matter how minimal. It follows that
these two research approaches will overlap at some point. In the first case,
knowledge ofprocesses gained through theoretical researchsheds lighton behavior;
in the second, the study of behavior can supply useful information for grasping
psychological mechanisms. Added to this opportunity for mutual exchange between
approaches, are studies which -although conducted outside the "official" field- use
the knowledge acquired therein as a supplemental instrumentfor investigatingsome
otherspecificarea.
This book was designed to show how the conceptofmetacognition is used
and studied from many different but complementary angles. Despite the common
misconception that research dealing with the definitions and processes of
metacognition is somehow separate from studies on its functions and roles, it is
demonstrated throughout this book that many interesting connections can be made
between the different perspectives. Going one step further, the book also strives to
show that research in domains that are considered unrelated to metacognition but
that use it as a sort of"tool", can afford interesting information for understanding
metacognitive processes. The fifteen chapters in this book were brought together
here for the purpose of highlighting these interconnections. The collaborating
authors havetaken thetrouble to broadenthe scope oftheirchaptersto encompass a
variety oftopics in metacognitive research (e.g., Paris, Section4 Chapter I; Dienes
& Perner, Section4Chapter 1).This "openingup" is so greatincertain chaptersthat
it is even difficultto unambiguously determine their main field ofresearch. A good
illustration of this is the chapter on retrieval mechanisms by Lories (Section 2
Chapter3). Thetitleofhischaptermentions retrieval ofmemory traces(the focus is
on memory), and the first subtitle deals with metacognition and control (focus on
metacognition); then the second partofthe chapterdiscusses retrieval and feeling of
