Metacognition: A Simple Introduction

Metacognition

Metacognition is the name given to the process of thinking about your thinking. It’s a specific form of self-awareness focused on though processes and decision making.

Metacognition allows people to not just understand their current thought processes, but also allows them to learn about how their thought processes form and develop, and the types of things that influence them.

Metacognition is a helpful skill because it can help people understand and overcome the cognitive biases they might have and the cognitive errors they might make. It’s increasingly important in a world where individuals and organisations set out to influence the decision making processes of others through activities such as nudging, choice architecture or simply persuasive techniques.

Learning More

Self-awareness is very important for both personal development and for leading and managing others in the world of work. Metamood and emotional intelligence are two addition aspects of development worth pursuing. The concepts of emotional labor and social pain might also be of interest.

We think that developing an understanding of your thinking process is important. The more you know about how you think and make decisions, the better you will be at doing so. Perhaps more importantly, the less possible it will be for others to manipulate your thinking process for their own ends. It’s worth spending some time reflecting on your thinking processes and learning about thinking and decision making.

Increasingly we think that learning to recognize and separate yourself from your thoughts and feelings is one of the most important skills anyone can have. It’s a bit of a superpower that can improve our performance and our experience in the world.