Why metacognition matters in politically contested domains

Helen Fischer; Stephen Fleming

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2024.06.005

Why metacognition matters in politically contested domains

Trends Cogn Sci. 2024 Sep;28(9):783-785. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.06.005. Epub 2024 Jul 6.

Authors

Helen Fischer¹, Stephen Fleming²

Affiliations

¹ Leibniz Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, Germany; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK; Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK; Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, UK.

PMID: 38972798
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.06.005

Abstract

Emerging evidence highlights the importance of metacognition - the capacity for insight into the reliability and fallibility of our own knowledge and thought - in politically contested domains. The present synthesis elucidates why metacognition matters in politically charged contexts and its potential impact on how individuals form beliefs, process evidence, and make decisions.

Keywords: climate change; knowledge; metacognition; misinformation; polarization.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Decision Making / physiology
Humans
Metacognition* / physiology
Politics*