PSYCHOLOGY: THE ESSENCE OF THOUGHT
METACOGNITION II
John Flavell, who is regarded as a pioneering researcher
in metacognition, defined metacognition as “one’s
knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive processes....”
He added: “Metacognition refers, among other things,
to the active monitoring and consequent regulation and
orchestration of these processes in relation to the cognitive
objects or data on which they bear, usually in the
service of some concrete goal or objective.” Thinking
about thinking, knowing what we know and do not know,
and the management of thought sums up the phenomenon
of metacognition.
Recently Vyomesh Joshi, Senior Vice-President,
Hewlett-Packard’s printing division, shared an interesting fact with some employees. One of his daughters, a college
student, told him: “I don’t need a printer.” This statement
reflected the attitude of many people who don’t find putting
information on paper a necessity. “The intent of this
is not to scare you, though I am scared,” revealed Joshi,
whose company sells half the printers that are used in
the world. Joshi is now thinking of a strategy which will
encourage people to print more web pages. “He has a
vision that transforms how and when things are printed,”
says Charlie Corr, Group Director of InfoTrends, a marketing
consulting firm. Though thinking of a trend which
is yet to manifest itself might seem odd, Joshi and his
team are relying on metacognition to innovate a strategy
which could possibly change the pattern of internet
usage.
Knowledge of faculties such as attention, memory and
comprehension are included in the definition of metacognition,
according to psychologists McCormick,
Miller and Pressley, so are mental awareness of strategies
required for a situation, interaction of internal and
external variables and awareness of techniques, which
accelerate the process of thinking. The use of constant
evaluation and thought about the current progress of
events is irreplaceable. The knowledge of metacognition
and how it works helps not only to set clear goals, but
also ensures that a project or task is on the right track.
The three stages of metacognition are: envisioning a
plan, working and monitoring the plan, and evaluating
performance. Before starting on a plan, a few key
questions can be answered: previous knowledge on the
subject, the first step, and the time factor. When the project
has taken off the ground, the second round of questions
would be: monitoring of progress, remembering important
points, and reworking any areas needed.
Metacognition assumes such an important
role in making sound decisions
that cognitive psychologist Herbert Simon
has called decision-making the
“heart of executive activity.” The skill
of metacognition helps a company to
strategize new ways to deal with situations,
especially those which cannot be
resolved through learned responses.
Metacognitive strategies include planning, sequencing,
self-checking for understanding, self-questioning, evaluating,
and revising to improve performance.
Companies across the world are realizing the importance
of cognitive thinking. IBM set up a web-based
tool, ThinkPlace, where employees can contribute their
ideas, and if the idea is worthwhile, it will be further
cultivated. ThinkPlace throws up some startling figures:
78,000 participants and 10,000 ideas are already online.
IBM also launched a three-day ‘innovation jam’ and
opened four topics for discussion for 72 hours. Nearly
150,000 employers, along with 12,000-13,000 family members and 70-80 clients, resulted in
46,000 ideas. Eventually, only ten ideas
were selected and procured funding.
Says Nick Donafrio, Executive Vice-
President, Innovation and Technology,
IBM: “We are doing all these things to
change the culture. There is a method
in the madness. We are trying to get
people who thought only technology
for technology’s sake to understand that (this is) different
Similarly, Microsoft has a ThinkWeek for ideation,
while the Yahoo! HackDay allows employees to hack into
their programs and develop new features. Yahoo! is also
planning a 14,000-square-foot office in San Francisco
called Brickhouse, which will encourage entrepreneurial
ideas among employees.
With the increasing number of corporate houses
encouraging “thinking tanks,” it becomes imperative to
understand the ways in which the mind works and to
calibrate our responses to it.
