Metacognition

Metacognition is defined as "cognition about cognition", or "knowing about knowing." It can take many forms; "it includes knowledge about when and where to use particular strategies for learning or for problem solving." "Metamemory, individuals' knowledge about memory, is an especially important form of metacognition." Differences in metacognitive processing across cultures have not been widely studied, but could provide better outcomes in cross-cultural learning between teachers and students. Some evolutionary psychologists hypothesize that metacognition is used as a survival tool, which would make metacognition the same across cultures. Writings on metacognition can be traced back at least as far as De Anima and the Parva Naturalia of the Greek philosopher Aristotle.

J. H. Flavell first used the word "metacognition". He describes it in these words:

Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive processes or anything related to them, e.g., the learning-relevant properties of information or data. For example, I am engaging in metacognition if I notice that I am having more trouble learning A than B; if it strikes me that I should double check C before accepting it as fact.