The temporal dynamics of metacognitive experiences track rational adaptations in task performance
Abstract Human task performance elicits diverse subjective metacognitive experiences, such as boredom, effort, fatigue, and frustration, which are considered to play important roles in the monitoring and regulation of cognitive processes. Yet, their specific contributions to task performance remain...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Communications Psychology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-025-00282-x |
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| author | Luc Vermeylen Senne Braem Ivan I. Ivanchei Kobe Desender J. M. García-Román Carlos González-García María Ruz Wim Notebaert |
| author_facet | Luc Vermeylen Senne Braem Ivan I. Ivanchei Kobe Desender J. M. García-Román Carlos González-García María Ruz Wim Notebaert |
| author_sort | Luc Vermeylen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Human task performance elicits diverse subjective metacognitive experiences, such as boredom, effort, fatigue, and frustration, which are considered to play important roles in the monitoring and regulation of cognitive processes. Yet, their specific contributions to task performance remain poorly understood. Therefore, we investigated the temporal dynamics underlying these metacognitive experiences and latent cognitive processes supporting task performance. We used a time-on-task design using a conflict task and analyzed the data using a comprehensive approach encompassing behavioral, model-based, subjective, and neural measures (N = 111). Our results show that changes in cognitive processes can be understood as a rational attempt to optimize task performance and that distinct metacognitive experiences are related to different aspects of this rational endeavor. These findings suggest that metacognitive experiences act as tools for humans to gain insights into the optimality of their cognitive performance. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ac65f71757da4844a9d01b8e46e9bbc7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2731-9121 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-ac65f71757da4844a9d01b8e46e9bbc72025-08-20T04:01:41ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Psychology2731-91212025-07-013111410.1038/s44271-025-00282-xThe temporal dynamics of metacognitive experiences track rational adaptations in task performanceLuc Vermeylen0Senne Braem1Ivan I. Ivanchei2Kobe Desender3J. M. García-Román4Carlos González-García5María Ruz6Wim Notebaert7Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent UniversityDepartment of Experimental Psychology, Ghent UniversityDepartment of Experimental Psychology, Ghent UniversityBrain and Cognition, KU LeuvenMind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center, University of GranadaMind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center, University of GranadaMind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center, University of GranadaDepartment of Experimental Psychology, Ghent UniversityAbstract Human task performance elicits diverse subjective metacognitive experiences, such as boredom, effort, fatigue, and frustration, which are considered to play important roles in the monitoring and regulation of cognitive processes. Yet, their specific contributions to task performance remain poorly understood. Therefore, we investigated the temporal dynamics underlying these metacognitive experiences and latent cognitive processes supporting task performance. We used a time-on-task design using a conflict task and analyzed the data using a comprehensive approach encompassing behavioral, model-based, subjective, and neural measures (N = 111). Our results show that changes in cognitive processes can be understood as a rational attempt to optimize task performance and that distinct metacognitive experiences are related to different aspects of this rational endeavor. These findings suggest that metacognitive experiences act as tools for humans to gain insights into the optimality of their cognitive performance.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-025-00282-x |
| spellingShingle | Luc Vermeylen Senne Braem Ivan I. Ivanchei Kobe Desender J. M. García-Román Carlos González-García María Ruz Wim Notebaert The temporal dynamics of metacognitive experiences track rational adaptations in task performance Communications Psychology |
| title | The temporal dynamics of metacognitive experiences track rational adaptations in task performance |
| title_full | The temporal dynamics of metacognitive experiences track rational adaptations in task performance |
| title_fullStr | The temporal dynamics of metacognitive experiences track rational adaptations in task performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | The temporal dynamics of metacognitive experiences track rational adaptations in task performance |
| title_short | The temporal dynamics of metacognitive experiences track rational adaptations in task performance |
| title_sort | temporal dynamics of metacognitive experiences track rational adaptations in task performance |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-025-00282-x |
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