An active inference and epistemic value view of metacognition

Metacognition concerns our monitoring and control of mental operations (knowing what you know). Much thinking about metacognition is liable to fall foul of the classic homunculus problem: Nobody can specify who or what does the "metacognition." We describe how the Active Inference and Epistemic Value (AIEV) model offers an operationalization of epistemic behaviors which can explain two example metacognitive phenomena: Control and monitoring of word learning, and the search for unretrieved information in the feeling of knowing. Curiosity drives a search forward, but it is held in check by considering the utility of what is retrieved from memory.