Age Differences in Metacognition of Proprioception

Advisor -- Prof. Su-Ling Yeh & Prof. Yi-Chuan Chen (Explorer of Perception and Attention Lab, Psychology, NTU)

Research Question:

Proprioception refers to the perception of one’s limb positions, while metacognition involves monitoring one’s own cognitive process. In our research, we explored metacognition of proprioception in older and younger adults to determine if the capability to self-assess limb positioning declines with age.

Method: Participants positioned their hands on the apparatus, as depicted in the subsequent figures. They were then instructed to determine whether two successive positions felt consistent or inconsistent. Subsequently, they assessed their confidence in the accuracy of their response.

Main Findings:

  1. We revealed comparable metacognition of proprioception across different age groups.
  2. Older adults showed higher overall confidence levels, suggesting that fall prevention training programs should calibrate confidence levels.