Prof. Ackerman’s research is based on the metacognitive approach, by which subjective assessment of knowledge guides the activities people perform for achieving their goals. Understanding the factors that affect the reliability of this subjective knowledge assessment and the cases that are particularly prone to biases offers a foundation for developing effective work environments and techniques. In her recent research, she deals with the metacognitive processes underlying the regulation of mental effort while facing reasoning and problem-solving challenges, by combining cognitive-psychology experiments and real-life challenges.
