Supra-personal cognitive control and metacognition

Nicholas Shea; Annika Boldt; Dan Bang; Nick Yeung; Cecilia Heyes; Chris D Frith

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2014.01.006

Supra-personal cognitive control and metacognition

Nicholas Shea, Annika Boldt, Dan Bang, Nick Yeung, Cecilia Heyes, Chris D Frith

Philosophy

University of Oxford
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3UD, UK; Calleva Research Centre for Evolution and Human Sciences, Magdalen College, High Street, Oxford OX1 4AU, UK; Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Jens Chr. Skous Vej 4, Building 1483, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Jens Chr. Skous Vej 4, Building 1483, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; Wellcome Trust Centre for NeuroImaging at UCL, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK. Electronic address: [email protected].

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

229 Citations (Scopus)

365 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The human mind is extraordinary in its ability not merely to respond to events as they unfold but also to adapt its own operation in pursuit of its agenda. This 'cognitive control' can be achieved through simple interactions among sensorimotor processes, and through interactions in which one sensorimotor process represents a property of another in an implicit, unconscious way. So why does the human mind also represent properties of cognitive processes in an explicit way, enabling us to think and say 'I'm sure' or 'I'm doubtful'? We suggest that 'system 2 metacognition' is for supra-personal cognitive control. It allows metacognitive information to be broadcast, and thereby to coordinate the sensorimotor systems of two or more agents involved in a shared task.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	186–193
Number of pages	8
Journal	TRENDS IN COGNITIVE SCIENCES
Volume	18
Issue number	4
Early online date	26 Feb 2014
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2014.01.006
Publication status	Published - Apr 2014

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10.1016/j.tics.2014.01.006

Shea et al, Supra-pers cog ctrl & metacogn, TICS14_OA
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Supra-personal cognitive control and metacognition

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