University College London, UK.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2012 Aug 5;367(1599):2213-23. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0123.
Metacognition concerns the processes by which we monitor and control our own cognitive processes. It can also be applied to others, in which case it is known as mentalizing. Both kinds of metacognition have implicit and explicit forms, where implicit means automatic and without awareness. Implicit metacognition enables us to adopt a we-mode, through which we automatically take account of the knowledge and intentions of others. Adoption of this mode enhances joint action. Explicit metacognition enables us to reflect on and justify our behaviour to others. However, access to the underlying processes is very limited for both self and others and our reports on our own and others' intentions can be very inaccurate. On the other hand, recent experiments have shown that, through discussions of our perceptual experiences with others, we can detect sensory signals more accurately, even in the absence of objective feedback. Through our willingness to discuss with others the reasons for our actions and perceptions, we overcome our lack of direct access to the underlying cognitive processes. This creates the potential for us to build more accurate accounts of the world and of ourselves. I suggest, therefore, that explicit metacognition is a uniquely human ability that has evolved through its enhancement of collaborative decision-making.
元认知关注的是我们监控和控制自己认知过程的过程。它也可以应用于他人，在这种情况下，它被称为心理理论。这两种元认知都有内隐和外显的形式，内隐是指自动的和无意识的。内隐元认知使我们能够采用一种“我们模式”，通过这种模式，我们自动考虑他人的知识和意图。采用这种模式可以增强联合行动。外显元认知使我们能够反思和向他人证明自己的行为。然而，对于自己和他人来说，对潜在过程的访问是非常有限的，我们对自己和他人意图的报告可能非常不准确。另一方面，最近的实验表明，通过与他人讨论我们的感知经验，我们可以更准确地检测到感官信号，即使没有客观的反馈。通过我们愿意与他人讨论我们行动和感知的原因，我们克服了我们对潜在认知过程的直接访问的缺乏。这为我们构建更准确的世界和自我描述创造了潜力。因此，我认为外显元认知是一种独特的人类能力，它通过增强协作决策而进化。
