Can Cognitive Psychology Account for Metacognitive Functions of Mind?
Brent D. Slife, Baylor University The Journal of Mind and Behavior , Spring 1987, Vol. 8, No. 2, Pages 195-208, ISSN 0271-0137 Metacognitive functions are those mental abilities that are considered beyond or “meta” to conventional conceptions of cognitive abilities. As defined here, metacognition would include consciousness functions, such as self-awareness and knowing about knowing, and executive functions, such as self-regulation and control processes. These functions are crucial to the cognitive movement in psychology because they provide the means by which cognition can be a source of influence apart from the passive storage and retrieval of environmental influences. Current explanations of metacognitive functions are examined and found to be inadequate. It is contended that these explanations all assume a demonstrative form of human reasoning that is insufficient, in principle, to account for metacognitive functions. Alternate assumptions that emphasize dialectical reasoning are p
