Metacognition of Auditory Distraction

虽然元认知对学习的判断在一段时间内和最近都受到了很大的关注，但对任务无关刺激对认知表现的影响的元认知判断却知之甚少。然而，关于任务无关刺激对认知绩效的影响的元认知判断不仅对理论发展和测试具有重要意义，而且从实践的角度来看也很重要，因为它们可以决定学习和工作环境的设计。该项目的目的是开发一个理论框架，用于理解元认知判断对听觉分心干扰对认知表现的影响。这需要对有关听觉分心的元认知判断进行系统和全面的分析。一个核心问题是，人们是直接接触到听觉分心背后的过程，还是基于简单的启发式判断，如加工流畅性启发式或抽象的元认知信念。为了检验这一点，我们通过一系列实验对感知加工流畅度进行了操作，其中考察了刺激反转、掩蔽和流分离对感知加工流畅度、元认知判断和认知绩效的影响。为了更全面地理解分心的元认知判断，我们将评估抽象元认知信念、前瞻性刺激特定判断以及回溯性情景判断。在第一步中，该项目将重点放在测试理论预测时特别有趣的案例上。在这些情况下，它可能会发现基于启发式的元认知判断和绩效影响之间的差异。在第二步中，该项目区分了抽象元认知信念的影响和基于经验的因素，如感知的加工流畅性。一半的实验集中于对与任务无关的背景语音的元认知判断；另一半的实验旨在测试这些效应是否可以在音乐中复制。该项目以一种创新的方式扩展了现有的研究路线，利用在学习判断研究中已经确立的理论和方法，并将它们应用于分心判断。这个研究问题也具有实际意义：对听觉干扰对认知表现影响的错误判断可能会导致人们在设计学习和工作环境时做出错误的决定。在元认知判断中关于任务无关刺激对成绩的影响的系统性错误的既定知识可以帮助避免错误的决定。

While metacognitive judgments of learning have received much attention for some time and also in the recent past, metacognitive judgments of distraction about the effects of task-irrelevant stimuli on cognitive performance are less well understood. However, metacognitive judgments about the effects of task-irrelevant stimuli on cognitive performance are important not only for theory development and testing but also from a practical point of view because they can determine decisions about the design of learning and work environments. The aim of the project is to develop a theoretical framework for understanding metacognitive judgments about the effects of auditory distractors on cognitive performance. This requires a systematic and comprehensive analysis of metacognitive judgments about auditory distraction. A central question is whether people have a direct access to the processes underlying auditory distraction or base their judgments on simple heuristics such as the processing fluency heuristic or on abstract metacognitive beliefs. To test this, the perceived processing fluency is manipulated across a series of experiments in which the effects of stimulus reversal, masking, and stream segregation on the perceived processing fluency, on metacognitive judgments, and on cognitive performance are examined. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of metacognitive judgments of distraction, abstract metacognitive beliefs, prospective stimulus-specific judgments as well as retrospective episodic judgments will be assessed. In a first step, the project focuses on cases which are particularly interesting when it come to tests of theoretical predictions. These are cases in which it is likely to find discrepancies between heuristic-based metacognitive judgments and performance effects. In a second step, the project distinguishes between the influence of abstract metacognitive beliefs and experience-based factors such as the perceived processing fluency. Half of the experiments are focussed on metacognitive judgments about task-irrelevant background speech; the other half of the experiments are designed to test whether these effects can be replicated with music. The project extends existing research lines in an innovative way by using theories and methods that are already well established in research on judgments of learning, and applying them to judgments of distraction. This research question is of practical relevance as well: Incorrect judgments about the effects of auditory distractors on cognitive performance could lead people to make false decisions when designing learning and work environments. Established knowledge about systematic errors in metacognitive judgments about the effects of task-irrelevant stimuli on performance could help to avoid wrong decisions.