Previous research has documented that cognitive conflict affects basic cognitive processes such as memory, reasoning, and attention allocation. However, little research has explored whether its effect can be extended to higher cognitive processes such as metacognitive monitoring. The current study took a novel variant of a Stroop task that employed words presented in a color opposite to the color of the object itself (e.g., heart, presented in green) or same as the color of the object (e.g., forest, presented in green) as targets, an important form of metacognitive monitoring—judgments of learning (JOLs) was used as the measurement index to investigate the influence of cognitive conflict on metacognitive monitoring and to delineate the potential mechanisms underlying the cognitive conflict effect on JOLs. In Experiment 1, results showed that participants gave higher JOLs to consistent than to conflict words, even though cognitive conflict had little influence on memory recall. Experiment 2, employing a self-paced study task, found that conflict words were processed less rapidly than consistent ones, and the difference in processing fluency significantly mediated the cognitive conflict effect on JOLs. Experiment 3 employed an observer–learner task; the mediation analysis showed a complete mediation role of metamemory beliefs (observation JOLs) in the relationship between word type and JOLs. In Experiment 4, research results suggested that participants’ beliefs about processing fluency played an important role in the cognitive conflict effect. To conclude, cognitive conflict is a reliable factor affecting higher cognitive processes (metamemory monitoring). Both processing fluency and metamemory beliefs tend to contribute to the cognitive conflict effect.

先前的研究表明，认知冲突会影响基本的认知过程，如记忆、推理和注意力分配。然而，很少有研究探讨其影响是否可以扩展到更高的认知过程，如元认知监测。当前的研究采用了 Stroop 任务的一种新变体，该变体采用与对象本身颜色相反的颜色（例如，心脏，以绿色呈现）或与对象的颜色相同（例如，森林，以绿色表示）作为目标，元认知监测的一种重要形式——学习判断（JOLs）被用作测量指标，研究认知冲突对元认知监测的影响，并描绘出认知冲突对 JOLs 影响的潜在机制。在实验 1 中，结果表明，尽管认知冲突对记忆回忆几乎没有影响，但参与者对一致词的 JOL 高于冲突词。实验 2 采用自定进度的学习任务，发现冲突词的处理速度低于一致词，并且处理流畅度的差异显着介导了对 JOL 的认知冲突影响。实验 3 使用观察者-学习者任务；中介分析显示元记忆信念（观察JOLs）在词类型和JOLs 之间的关系中具有完全的中介作用。在实验 4 中，研究结果表明，参与者对加工流畅性的信念在认知冲突效应中起重要作用。总而言之，认知冲突是影响高级认知过程（元记忆监测）的可靠因素。处理流畅性和元记忆信念都倾向于导致认知冲突效应。