AI 中文总结
本论文提出首个元认知技能学习的形式化理论，基于经典技能习得模型，通过程序化解释元认知技能发展，统一多种相关现象，为多领域提供理论与应用支持。
AI 中文摘要
本论文提出了首个元认知技能学习的形式化理论。元认知是指监测和控制自身认知过程的能力，已得到广泛研究，但该领域仍缺乏解释元认知能力如何习得的理论框架，这一空白限制了认知科学、教育、治疗实践及人工智能等领域的理论与应用进展。本研究提出的解释基于感知运动和认知领域的经典技能习得模型，认为元认知技能主要通过程序化发展，即明确的、费力的元认知过程通过练习转化为内隐的、自动的常规操作。该理论的解释力体现在其能统一多种现象，包括注意力训练、情绪调节、元认知阈值及分离式正念。其成果是形成了整合性的、机械论的元认知技能解释，可梳理现有发现、生成可检验的预测、为AI设计提供指导，并支持日常生活中元认知技能的强化。
英文摘要
This dissertation presents the first formal theory of metacognitive skill learning. Metacognition, the capacity to monitor and control one's own cognitive processes, has been widely studied, yet the field still lacks a theoretical framework explaining how metacognitive abilities are learned. This gap limits progress in both theory and application across fields such as cognitive science, education, therapeutic practice, and artificial intelligence. The account developed here builds on classic models of skill acquisition from perceptual-motor and cognitive domains. It proposes that metacognitive skill develops primarily through proceduralization, whereby explicit, effortful metacognitive processes are transformed through practice into implicit, automatic routines. The explanatory power of this theory is shown by its ability to unify diverse phenomena, including attentional training, emotion regulation, the metacognitive threshold, and detached mindfulness. The result is an integrated, mechanistic account of metacognitive skill that organizes existing findings, generates testable predictions, informs the design of AI, and supports the strengthening of metacognitive skill in everyday life.
CommentsPhD thesis. Carleton University 2026. Final defended version. https://www.brendanconwaysmith.com/
