metacognition

American  

[met-uh-kog-nish-uhn] / ˌmɛt ə kɒgˈnɪʃ ən /

noun

Psychology.

1. higher-order thinking that enables understanding, analysis, and control of one’s cognitive processes, especially when engaged in learning.

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metacognition British  

/ ˌmɛtəkɒɡˈnɪʃən /

noun

1. psychol thinking about one's own mental processes

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Other Word Forms

• metacognitive adjective

Etymology

Origin of metacognition

First recorded in 1975–80; meta- + cognition

Example Sentences

"Our study may be the first to demonstrate that a different kind of cognitive ability, known as metacognition and mentalizing, might be much more influenced by environment."

From Science Daily

When I did my PhD, I was interested in metacognition in Alzheimer's disease.

From Salon

“He was not somebody who loved delving deeply into the metacognition of a children’s book,” says her older sister, Polly Stone, a teacher and school librarian in Vermont.

From Washington Post

But it’s actually the opposite — it’s more about metacognition or “thinking about thinking,” as my elementary school students have been learning lately.

From Washington Post

Imagine you have been challenged to teach a three-year-old child something about metacognition in fewer than 300 words.

From Scientific American