Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Humans have a capacity to become aware of thoughts and behaviours known as metacognition. Metacognitive efficiency refers to the relationship between subjective reports and objective behaviour. Understanding how this efficiency changes as we age is important because poor metacognition can lead to negative consequences, such as believing one is a good driver despite a recent spate of accidents. We quantified metacognition in two cognitive domains, perception and memory, in healthy adults between 18 and 84years old, employing measures that dissociate objective task performance from metacognitive efficiency. We identified a marked decrease in perceptual metacognitive efficiency with age and a non-significant decrease in memory metacognitive efficiency. No significant relationship was identified between executive function and metacognition in either domain. Annual decline in metacognitive efficiency after controlling for executive function was ∼0.6%. Decreases in metacognitive efficiency may explain why dissociations between behaviour and beliefs become more marked as we age.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.concog.2014.06.007

Type

Journal article

Journal

Conscious Cogn

Publication Date

08/2014

Volume

28

Pages

151 - 160

Keywords

Aging, Awareness, Development, Lifespan, Metacognition, Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cognition, Executive Function, Female, Humans, Male, Memory, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Psychomotor Performance, Visual Perception, Young Adult