Metacognition, need for cognition and use of explanations during ongoing learning and problem solving

Two studies assessed whether: (1) high levels of task-relevant metacognition would be related to good task performance; (2) some kinds of feedback (e.g., explanations) would improve task-relevant metacognition (and hence, performance) more than other kinds of feedback; and (3) some kinds of people would be more likely to seek out and use this beneficial feedback than others. Results showed that: (1) students were able to better estimate their task performance with increasing experience at the task; (2) students who provided better estimates of their task success were more successful at the task; (3) students high in need for cognition sought out problem explanations more often than students low in need for cognition; but (4) students who scored high in trait metacognition did not seek out problem explanations more often than students who scored low in trait metacognition; (5) students who were high in need for cognition performed better at the task than those who were low in need for cognition, and (6) the receipt of problem explanations was only weakly related to high levels of task performance, if at all. The implications of these results are discussed.