Question

Which group of teens are most likely to utilize metacognitive strategies?

1) Teenagers who are highly motivated
2) Teenagers who have good study habits
3) Teenagers who have high self-efficacy
4) Teenagers who have strong executive functioning skills

Answer 1

Teenagers with strong executive functioning skills are most likely to utilize metacognitive strategies, due to their ability to plan, monitor, and assess their own learning and thinking processes.

Step-by-step explanation:

The group of teenagers most likely to utilize metacognitive strategies are 4) Teenagers who have strong executive functioning skills.

Metacognition refers to the awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes. It includes the ability to plan, monitor, and assess one's own learning strategies and cognitive skills. Teenagers with developed executive functioning skills are better equipped to use such strategies because these skills include task initiation, planning, organization, impulse control, and flexible thinking. Moreover, teenagers with good executive functioning skills often have the ability to delay gratification, ignore distractions, and consider the long-term consequences of their actions—key components of efficient metacognitive practices.

Executive functioning skills are intimately tied to areas of the prefrontal cortex, which continue to develop during adolescence and are critical in self-regulation and goal-directed behavior. Study habits and self-efficacy also play roles in metacognitive ability, but strong executive functioning encompasses and often enhances these areas. Hence, teens with these capabilities are more adept at employing metacognitive strategies such as planning how to tackle a task, monitoring their own comprehension and progress, and adjusting techniques as needed for success.