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

By contrast, metacognition looks at how well people understand and control their cognitive processes.

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2024

"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 • Apr. 18, 2024

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

From Salon • Oct. 15, 2023

Cognition, or the way we typically engage with the world around us, is first-order thinking, while metacognition is higher-order thinking.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

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 • Mar. 20, 2020