Interviewing suspects, defendants, and witnesses in criminal settings can be a complex and challenging process. This is especially the case when interviewees experience metacognition deficits. Metacognition is a multifaceted, higher-order cognitive and psychological construct that plays a critically important role in most areas of life. In fact, metacognition is involved in several important processes including self-awareness, self-reflection, self-correcting, planning and monitoring, problem-solving, strategy selection, and understanding and comprehension to name a few. When deficits arise in areas related to metacognition, interviewees may struggle during the interviewing process, and, in some instances, miscarriages of justice may result. By developing an increased awareness and understanding of metacognition, criminal justice interviewers may be in a better position to effectively interview suspects, defendants, and witnesses who present with challenging and complex needs. 

Foundational Information

Metacognition is a complex, multidimensional, higher-order cognitive and psychological construct that plays a major role in several important areas of daily life. Regardless of one’s specific roles and responsibilities within the criminal justice system, professionals would benefit from learning more about this important and complex topic.

• • Metacognition has been referred by some scholars as the ultimate executive function.
  • Thinking about one’s own thinking and knowing about one’s own knowing are at the core of metacognition.
  • Regulation of one’s own thinking and thoughts are at the heart of metacognition.
  • Metacognition plays an essential role in goal-planning and directed behaviors.
  • Metacognition plays an important role in human relationships, communication, and interaction.
  • Metacognition plays a vital role in adaptive functioning (e.g., social, practical, and conceptual skills).
  • Metacognition involves an individual’s ability to recognize, comprehend, and control one’s own mental functions.
  • Metacognition is involved in the ability to construct complex and integrated representations of self and others.
  • Metacognition plays a critical role in one’s ability to engage in critical thinking.
  • Metacognition plays an important role in one’s ability to engage in appropriate forms of self-control.
  • Higher levels of metacognition have been positively linked with several emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and physical health outcomes.
  • Individuals with higher levels of metacognition may be better able to establish and maintain beneficial interpersonal relationships.
  • Metacognition can help a person better understand the origins of their conflicts and misunderstandings with other people.
  • Metacognition plays a major role in one’s ability to use preexisting knowledge to solve problems and adapt to emerging situations.
  • Metacognition has been found to be linked with theory of mind (i.e., ability to recognize internal states of self and others) and empathy.
  • Metacognition can play an important role in a person’s ability to recognize when to proceed or avoid dangerous situations or people.
  • Metacognition plays an important role in one’s ability to learn and accomplish academic goals.
  • Metacognition helps individuals challenge and question belief patterns.
  • Metacognition serves as a means to recognize and modify negative or irrational thinking patterns.
  • Metacognition involves the ability to reflect on one’s own thoughts.
  • Goal identification, self-monitoring of performance, decision-making, problem-solving, and behavioral changes are all influenced by metacognition.
  • Metacognitive skills play a major role in life success, including in the workplace and other settings.

Metacognition Benefits

Several benefits have been associated with having intact and higher levels of metacognitive abilities, including improved abilities in the following areas:

Metacognition Deficits, Limitations, and Common Concerns

Metacognition deficits are associated with serious problematic life outcomes across the lifespan of an individual, such as physical and mental health problems, social dysfunction, poor educational attainment, substance use, social dysfunction, poor educational attainment, and criminality to name a few. Although all persons are prone to experiencing metacognition deficits under the right circumstances, certain populations have been found to experience these problems at higher rates compared to the general population. In particular, metacognitive deficits have been found to be associated with several neuropsychiatric, neurocognitive, neurodevelopmental, learning, trauma and stressor, substance-related and addictive, and personality disorders. Possible deficits, limitations, and consequences that may arise from metacognition deficits can include the following:

• • Reduced ability to maintain employment
  • Reduced quality of life
  • Decreased motivation
  • Increased risk of engaging in problematic, dangerous, and criminal behavior
  • Problematic and risky driving behaviors
  • Difficulty understanding the big picture of oneself in a situation
  • Difficulty working in a group or team setting
  • Tendency to make careless mistakes
  • Reduced ability to fact-check and verify information is accurate and complete
  • Problems following rules
  • Reduced ability to recognize when a problem is present
  • Reduced ability to ask others for help when clearly help is needed
  • Reduced ability to be able to evaluate one’s own performance
  • Reduced ability to comprehend how one’s actions can contribute to future problematic outcomes
  • Mental state understanding (thoughts, wants, needs, emotions, etc.) issues
  • Lowered educational and learning abilities
  • Greater risk of vulnerability and victimization
  • Inappropriate social decision-making abilities
  • Poorer social and interpersonal functioning
  • Reduced ability to form meaningful relationships
  • Reduced ability to understand the experiences and thoughts of themselves and others

Criminal Justice Considerations

Because metacognition deficits have been found to be elevated among individuals who engage in anti-social, delinquent, and criminal behaviors, criminal justice professionals would benefit from learning about this important and complex topic. When deficits in the area of metacognition go unrecognized, there is an increased likelihood that the interviewee will struggle to successfully understand, process, and navigate through the various stages of the criminal justice system. For the best outcomes, criminal justice professionals need to know the following facts about the topic of metacognition:

• • Metacognitive deficits make it difficult for interviewees to successfully navigate through the various stages of the criminal justice system.
  • Metacognition deficits have significant implications for all stages of the criminal justice system (investigative interviewing, eyewitness interviewing, arrest and trial process, and community supervision).
  • Metacognition deficits could help explain why some people are more likely than others to commit aggressive and violent actions.
  • Metacognition deficits are a risk factor for future delinquent and anti-social behaviors.
  • Perspective-taking deficits have been found to be elevated among persons who engage in anti-social behaviors, and metacognition deficits may play an important role in such behaviors.
  • The topic of metacognition has significant implications for criminal offending behavior and criminal recidivism.
  • Metacognition deficits have been found to be common among persons who engage in sexually inappropriate behavior.
  • Few education and training programs exist that examine the criminal justice and forensic mental health aspects of metacognition.

Criminal Justice Interviewing Considerations

Criminal justice interviewers are likely to encounter suspects, defendants, and witnesses impacted by metacognition deficits on a regular basis. Interviewees with metacognition deficits may struggle with understanding, processing, and navigating through the various stages of the interviewing process. An increased awareness, understanding, and appreciation of metacognition and the effects of deficits in metacognition among criminal justice interviewers may contribute to improved information-gathering techniques during the interview process and help reduce potential instances of miscarriages of justice. However, due to the fact that few criminal justice interviewers have received advanced education and training in the area of metacognition, the red flag indicators and subtle indicators may be missed during the interviewing process. As such, criminal justice interviewers are strongly encouraged to increase their awareness, knowledge, and education pertaining to this important and complex topic. By doing so, they may enhance their interviewing skills and contribute to improved outcomes. There are several factors criminal justice interviewers should consider when learning about the topic of metacognition deficits within the context of interviewing suspects, defendants, and witnesses:

• • Interviewing persons with metacognition impairments can complicate the interviewing process with suspects, witnesses, and defendants.
  • Metacognition allows interviewees to understand, interrupt, and question inaccuracies during the interviewing process.
  • Metacognitive deficits can contribute to an interviewee’s inability to understand and comprehend certain questions asked during the interviewing process.
  • Metacognitive deficits can contribute to an interviewee’s decreased ability to understand advanced terms, concepts, and vocabulary.
  • Metacognitive awareness skills play a vital role in an interviewee’s accurate self-assessment of their strengths, abilities, challenges, and limitations.
  • Interviewees with metacognitive deficits will likely have limitations in the area of self-awareness.
  • Knowledge pertaining to one’s own memory can be negatively impacted by metacognitive deficits.
  • Metacognition deficits may contribute to an interviewee’s reduced ability to recognize personal memory difficulties.
  • Interviewees may fail to modify their behaviors and actions when making mistakes.
  • Interviewee fatigue may undermine metacognitive abilities.
  • Interviewees with metacognition deficits may exhibit impaired insight and judgement.
  • Metacognition deficits may impact the interviewee’s ability to cope with stress during the interviewing process.
  • Interviewees with metacognition deficits may present in concrete and nonreflective manner.
  • Metacognition deficits may play a role in some instances of interviewee confabulation (e.g., false memory creation).
  • Metacognition deficits may play a role in abstract reasoning deficits (e.g., difficulty understanding how and why questions, cause and effect deficits, future planning limitation).
  • Metacognition deficits may result in increased confusion among the interviewee.
  • Interviewees with metacognition deficits may have a reduced ability to plan during the interviewing process.
  • Interviewees may have a reduced ability to monitor and regulate their own behavior, mood, and actions during the interviewing process.
  • Interviewees may have a reduced ability to process and evaluate what is taking place during the interviewing process.
  • Interviewees may have a reduced ability to recognize the causes of their own failures, weaknesses, and limitations.
  • Interviewees with metacognition deficits may struggle to understand self-reflective questions.
  • Interviewees may struggle to understand the relationship between two concepts or ideas.
  • Interviewees may disengage from the interviewing process when confused or overwhelmed.
  • Metacognition deficits may play a role in some instances of interviewee suggestibility.
  • Metacognition deficits may play a role in interviewee emotional lability (e.g., anger control problems, rapid and exaggerated mood changes, extreme impatience, irritability, and uncontrollable crying and laughing).

Metacognition Interviewing Accommodations and Considerations

When interviewing suspects, witnesses, and defendants with metacognition deficits, there are certain accommodations and considerations that can be taken to improve the experience for the interviewee and enhance more accurate outcomes:

• • Follow best practices guidelines in criminal justice interviewing approaches.
  • Avoid suggestive interviewing techniques.
  • Allow extra time for the interviewee to process and respond to questions.
  • Try to ask only one question at a time.
  • Consider utilizing a trauma-informed interviewing approach.
  • Consider that the interviewee’s chronological age may not align with their emotional, social, and behavioral age.
  • Consider that the interviewee may struggle in situations that are stressful, upsetting, confusing, and overwhelming.
  • Recognize that some interviewees with metacognition deficits may present as unemphatic and/or lack perspective taking abilities.
  • Seek to understand the interviewee’s learning style.
  • Seek to understand the interviewee’s strengths and weaknesses.
  • Encourage the interviewee to state when he or she is confused or needs questions restated to ensure comprehension.
  • Engage in active listening strategies and approaches.
  • Frequently check for interviewee comprehension.
  • Avoid the overreliance of yes-or-no or true-or-false questioning.
  • Utilize step-by-step, concrete, and visual examples and instructions.
  • Attempt to pair oral instructions and questions with visual examples.

Conclusion

Many criminal justice system interviewers have not had advanced training or education pertaining to the topic of metacognition and its implications for interviewing suspects, defendants, or witnesses. Unfortunately, it is the author’s experience that few training and college-level programs offer specialized continuing education trainings and course work on the topic of metacognition through a criminal justice interviewing lens. Criminal justice interviewers interested in advancing their awareness and understanding pertaining to the topic of metacognition are encouraged to take the following steps:

• • Review key journals on a regular basis to stay abreast of the latest peer-reviewed research on metacognition and its implications for the criminal justice system.
  • Obtain additional training related to topics associated with metacognition and the criminal justice system as a regular part of ongoing continuing education.
  • Consult with metacognition experts and develop customized trainings for one’s organization or agency. d

Please cite as

Jerrod Brown, “Interview Considerations—Metacognition Deficits: A Beginner’s Guide for Criminal Justice System Professionals,” Police Chief Online, May 31, 2023.