What term describes thinking about one's own thinking?

The term that describes thinking about one's own thinking is metacognition. This concept involves awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes, which includes self-monitoring and self-regulation of cognition. When individuals engage in metacognition, they reflect on their learning strategies, assess their understanding, and adjust their approaches as necessary to improve learning outcomes. This self-reflective practice is essential for effective problem-solving and critical thinking, as it allows individuals to evaluate how well they are grasping material and whether they need to change their methods.

In contrast, self-regulation refers to the ability to manage one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations, while cognitive flexibility is the capacity to adapt one's thinking and behavior in response to changing environments or new information. Critical thinking involves the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue to form a judgment, but it doesn't necessarily include the self-reflective aspect that defines metacognition. Thus, metacognition is the most accurate term for the process of thinking about one's own thinking.