Abstract: The human brain has a remarkable capacity to monitor and think about its own mental states – what psychologists refer to as “metacognition”. Metacognition enables us to recognise gaps in our knowledge and collaborate effectively. Conversely, problems with metacognition are linked to maladaptive behaviours, such as endorsing false beliefs or being unaware of our own limitations. In my talk I will review the development of experimental and modelling tools that allow us to isolate how metacognitive capacity relates to human brain function and supports a rich awareness of our skills and capabilities. I will explore the psychological structure of metacognition across different tasks and cognitive domains, and ask how self-evaluative judgment contributes to belief formation and decision-making. I will focus on the role of metacognition in guiding the search for new information, and ask how distortions in metacognitive control sensitivity – the link between confidence and search – may lead to overly rigid or dogmatic beliefs. I’ll end by considering the implications of a science of metacognition for education and AI.

Webex: https://fu-berlin.webex.com/fu-berlin-en/j.php?MTID=m606b0aecb2a972d9df17c249adc1711b