The Study of Metacognition

Research on metacognition involves the study of what people know about their own cognition. Approaches to investigating metacognition include cognitive experiments, the study of individual differences, neuroimaging, educational applications, and computational modeling, and includes special populations defined by neuropsychological, clinical, life-span, and developmental dimensions.

Within cognitive psychology, the field of metacognition research has grown substantially in recent years. A scientific understanding of "cognition in the wild" will ultimately require an appreciation not just of the abilities and proclivities of cognitive agents, but also the metacognitive monitoring and control processes that guide the development and refinement of those skills and behaviors.

The International Association for Metacognition

The International Association for Metacognition (IAM) is a research society devoted to disseminating research on metacognition and to promoting a biannual conference held in conjunction with the Meeting of the Psychonomic Society. It was founded in 2001. IAM has over 150 members from countries in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The heads of the association are John Dunlosky (Kent State University) and Aaron Benjamin (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). The website manager is Michael J. Serra (Texas Tech University).

Membership in IAM is free. If you’d like to become a member, send your name and email address to the IAM coordinators and web manager, and we will add you to the mailing list and include your contact information in the MEMBER DIRECTORY.