Metacognitive monitoring declines under high working memory load, suggesting functional dependence of MC on WM¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r? · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? An experimentally manipulated WM load study found metacognitive monitoring declined under high WM demands. → Theobald 2026

Evidence¶

Theobald 2026¶

Theobald, M., Kerner auch Koerner, J., Breitwieser, J., Buhr, L., Karbach, J., Könönen, T., Nobbe, L., Reinelt, T., Schaaf, M., Schmiedek, F., Wieland, L. M., & Blume, F. (2026). Executive Functions, Metacognition, Self-Regulation, and Self-Regulated Learning – What are We Talking About? A Review and Introduction of the EMERGE Model. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-026-10157-0

q2 · i? · causal · r?

The review reports, citing Bryce et al. 2023, that a study which "experimentally manipulated WM load found that metacognitive monitoring declined under high WM demands". The review attributes the finding; the original study's design details are not described here.

"Notably, one recent study that experimentally manipulated WM load found that metacognitive monitoring declined under high WM demands, suggesting a functional dependence of MC on WM (Bryce et al. 2023)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• At low memory loads, older adults report less uncertainty than younger adults despite making larger errors, suggesting an overconfidence bias — related
• A shared attentional resource for storage and processing is the best supported resource theory of WM capacity but faces empirical challenges — a broader claim this one bears on
• Perceptual metacognitive efficiency declines with age in healthy adults aged 18–84, even when task performance is controlled — related
• Memory metacognitive efficiency shows a non-significant negative relationship with age — related
• Metacognitive regulation of learning imposes additional cognitive load (metacognitive load) on top of the load of actual learning — related