Thank you, Nithya!

Since you're now asking for a more unique and different angle, especially focused on
adults around the age of 40, here's a reworked research concept and title that is novel, underexplored, and
meaningful:

🧠 Unique Research Title:

“Thinking About Thinking in Midlife: A Correlational Study of Metacognitive Awareness and Life-
Altering Decision Confidence in Adults at the Crossroads of 40”

🌟 Why This Is Unique:

 Most studies on metacognition focus on students or young adults (18–25).
 Midlife adults (~40 years) face complex decisions: career shifts, parenting, health, financial
investments, identity transitions—yet little research explores their metacognitive strategies or
confidence in such decisions.
 This makes your study distinct and likely never done in this specific context.

🧩 Core Variables:
1. Metacognitive Awareness
(Self-regulation, monitoring, planning, evaluating)
2. Life Decision Confidence
(Confidence in past and upcoming major life choices — e.g., marriage, career changes, parenting
decisions)

📝 Sample Survey Items

Section A: Demographics

 Age: ___
 Gender: ___
 Education Level: ___
 Current occupation: ___
 Major decisions faced in past 5 years (tick all that apply):
o Career change
o Divorce/marriage
o Health decisions
o Financial investments
o Children’s education
o Relocation

Section B: Metacognitive Awareness (MAI-style, Likert scale)

(1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree)

 1. I think about how I learn before starting a new task.
2. I monitor my progress while working through difficult decisions.
3. I evaluate the effectiveness of my strategies after I use them.
4. I am aware when my thinking needs to be adjusted.
5. I know which strategies help me make better decisions.

Section C: Confidence in Life-Altering Decisions

(1 = Not at all confident, 5 = Extremely confident)

1. I felt confident when I made my last major career decision.

2. I trust my judgment in long-term financial decisions.
3. I am confident about how I handled recent family decisions.
4. I usually feel regret after big decisions. (Reverse scored)
5. I rely on my own reasoning more than others’ opinions for life choices.

📊 Suggested Statistical Test

 Pearson’s r for correlation between metacognitive awareness and confidence in life-altering decisions.

💭 Optional Add-On (Very Unique!):

You could add an open-ended question:

“Describe a major decision you made recently and how your thinking process helped or hindered your
confidence in making it.”

This adds qualitative richness to your otherwise quantitative study.

Would you like me to help with:

 Full survey design (Google Forms)

 Consent form + intro text
 Help writing your Introduction or Literature Review
 Guidance on analyzing the data

Let me know how you want to proceed!

Perfect! Let’s break this into manageable parts. Here's how I’ll help you first:

✅ 1. Survey Design (Full – Ready to Use in Google Forms)

You can copy-paste this into Google Forms or I can give you the formatted version if you plan to share it
digitally.
🧠 Survey Title:

“Thinking About Thinking in Midlife: A Correlational Study of Metacognitive Awareness and Life-
Altering Decision Confidence in Adults at the Crossroads of 40”

📜 Introduction (Google Forms Description Section):

Dear Participant,

You are invited to participate in a psychological research study titled "Thinking About Thinking in Midlife",
aimed at exploring how adults around the age of 40 reflect on their thinking and how this affects confidence in
life-changing decisions.

This survey takes about 10–12 minutes to complete. Your responses will remain anonymous and will be used
strictly for academic purposes. There are no right or wrong answers—please respond honestly.

Thank you for your valuable time and insight.

🧾 Section A: Demographic Information

(All short answer or multiple choice)

1. Age:
2. Gender: Male / Female / Non-Binary / Prefer not to say
3. Educational Qualification:
o High School
o Bachelor’s Degree
o Master’s Degree
o Doctorate
o Other
4. Current Occupation:
5. Major life decisions you’ve made in the last 5 years (select all that apply):
o Career change
o Marriage or Divorce
o Relocation
o Parenting decisions
o Financial investments
o Health-related choices
o Other: _______

📘 Section B: Metacognitive Awareness Scale

(Likert Scale: 1 = Strongly Disagree, 5 = Strongly Agree)

# Item
1 I reflect on my thoughts before making major decisions.
2 I monitor my thinking while solving problems.
 # Item
3 I change my strategy when I feel my current approach isn’t working.
4 I evaluate my decision-making strategies afterward.
5 I plan how to approach decisions before acting.
6 I am aware of my strengths and weaknesses in decision-making.
7 I compare different options carefully before deciding.
8 I recognize when I do not understand something.
9 I know how well I perform during complex decisions.
10 I consciously think about how I think.

🧭 Section C: Confidence in Life-Altering Decisions

(Likert Scale: 1 = Not Confident At All, 5 = Extremely Confident)

# Item
1 I felt confident making my last career-related decision.
2 I trust my own judgment when it comes to life choices.
3 I regret many of my past major decisions. (Reverse scored)
4 I feel sure about how I handle parenting/family decisions.
5 I am confident in my financial choices.
6 I feel empowered when I make important life decisions.
7 I usually don’t doubt myself after major decisions.
8 I feel in control of the decision-making process.

✏️Optional Final Question (Open-Ended)

Describe a recent major decision you made. How did your thinking process influence your confidence in
making that decision?

✅ 2. Consent Statement (Include before the first question):

I confirm that I am 35 years or older and voluntarily agree to participate in this study. I understand that my data
will remain anonymous.

☐ I Agree

🧪 3. Data Analysis Suggestion:

Once responses are collected:

 Total the Metacognition score (Section B)

 Total the Confidence score (Section C)
 Run a Pearson’s r correlation between the two total scores.
 Optional: Analyze if any demographic factors (e.g., career change) influence this relationship using
ANOVA or t-tests.
Would you like me to:

 Create the actual Google Form and share the link with you privately?
 Help with a consent form for submission?
 Start drafting the literature review or introduction?

Let me know your next step!

Excellent choice, Nithya. Integrating ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision by the
WHO) into your Review of Literature gives your research a more clinical and standardized psychological
grounding.

Let’s revise your Review of Literature with references to ICD-11 where relevant, especially in areas of
cognition, decision-making, and midlife psychological processes.

🧠 Review of Literature (Aligned with ICD-11 Framework)

For the study:

“Thinking About Thinking in Midlife: A Correlational Study of Metacognitive Awareness and Life-
Altering Decision Confidence in Adults at the Crossroads of 40”

1. Metacognition in Clinical and Psychological Contexts (ICD-11 Perspective)

Metacognition—defined as the capacity to think about one’s own thinking—plays a key role in self-regulation,
executive functioning, and insight, all of which are recognized cognitive domains under ICD-11’s
classification of neurocognitive and psychological functions.

According to ICD-11, cognitive functioning includes complex attention, executive function, learning and
memory, language, perceptual-motor, and social cognition. Metacognitive abilities fall under executive
function and social cognition, enabling individuals to self-monitor, evaluate, and modify behaviour based on
introspective understanding (ICD-11, WHO, 2022).

Deficits in metacognition are observed in several ICD-11 coded conditions such as:

 6D70 Schizophrenia or primary psychotic disorders

 6D83 Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders
 6B60 Personality disorders (e.g., borderline)

While your study focuses on the general population rather than those with clinical conditions, referencing ICD-
11 helps establish the clinical significance of metacognitive functions in overall psychological health.

2. Decision-Making Confidence and Cognitive Appraisal

The ICD-11 framework recognizes judgment and decision-making as central to mental health assessments.
Confidence in decision-making can be influenced by executive functioning and emotional regulation. Although
the ICD-11 does not explicitly define “decision-making confidence,” it is closely related to cognitive appraisal
and judgment, which are crucial for adaptive behavior and daily functioning.
Decision-making impairments are commonly observed in conditions involving:

 6D10 Mild neurocognitive disorders

 6D11 Major neurocognitive disorders
 6B00 Generalized anxiety disorder (where decision paralysis is common)

In healthy adults, especially around midlife, confidence in decision-making may fluctuate due to role pressures,
identity shifts, and the complexity of responsibilities, despite intact neurocognitive function.

3. Cognition and Psychological Functioning in Midlife (Age ~40)

ICD-11 does not define midlife as a diagnostic category, but research and global health data recognize middle
adulthood (~35–50) as a period where cognitive strengths and emotional complexity coexist. According to
the WHO’s mental health models, resilience, metacognitive skills, and self-efficacy play crucial roles in
maintaining psychological well-being during this phase.

Adults in this age range often face multiple decision demands—career redirection, caregiving roles, health
planning—all requiring high-level metacognitive engagement. Despite the absence of pathology,
psychological strain may appear as subclinical stress or adjustment difficulties, often unreported or
unrecognized.

4. The Literature Gap and Clinical Relevance

While ICD-11 offers a robust clinical framework for understanding cognitive and psychological functioning,
empirical research linking metacognitive awareness to decision-making confidence in non-clinical midlife
adults is rare. Most existing literature applies to:

 Adolescents (focused on learning strategies)

 Young adults (focused on academic decision-making)
 Clinical populations (focused on metacognitive therapy or deficits)

This study addresses a gap by correlating metacognitive awareness and decision-making confidence in
healthy, non-clinical adults using self-report survey data—making it relevant not only to psychology but also
to preventive mental health and cognitive wellness frameworks supported by WHO.

🧩 Summary

The ICD-11 classification provides a foundational understanding of cognitive functions, executive

processes, and decision-related behaviors, many of which intersect with metacognitive ability. By focusing on
healthy midlife adults, this study offers insight into how psychologically normal individuals use
metacognition to support life-changing decisions, a topic with minimal existing literature and growing
importance for mental health promotion.

Would you like me to now format a Reference List (APA style) for these sources and ICD-11? Or help you
move to the Introduction or Methodology section next?

Certainly, Nithya! Here's a clear and simple guide to the APA 7th Edition formatting rules specifically for a
psychology dissertation or thesis.
📘 APA 7 Guidelines for Dissertation (Psychology)
✅ 1. General Formatting

Feature APA Requirement

Font Times New Roman (12 pt), Arial (11 pt), or Calibri (11 pt)
Spacing Double-spaced throughout (including title, headings, references)
Margins 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all sides
Alignment Left-aligned text, not justified
Indentation First line of every paragraph indented 0.5 inch
Page Numbers Top right corner, on every page starting from title page

📄 2. Dissertation Structure

A typical APA-style psychology dissertation includes these main sections:

1. Title Page
2. Abstract
3. Acknowledgments (optional)
4. Table of Contents
5. List of Tables and Figures
6. Chapter 1: Introduction
7. Chapter 2: Review of Literature
8. Chapter 3: Methodology
9. Chapter 4: Results
10. Chapter 5: Discussion
11. References
12. Appendices

3. Title Page (APA Style)

Elements:

 Title (bold, centered, title case)

 Author name (your full name)
 Institutional affiliation (e.g., Department of Psychology, Bangalore University)
 Course (e.g., M.A. Psychology)
 Instructor/Supervisor name
 Submission date

Example:

The Mind’s Mirror: A Correlational Study on Metacognitive Awareness and Decision-Making

Confidence in Emerging Adults
Nithya [Your Last Name]
Department of Psychology, Bangalore University
Supervisor: Dr. XYZ
May 2025
🧾 4. Abstract (150–250 words)

 Write one paragraph summarizing:

o The research problem
o Your method
o Key findings
o Conclusion or implication
 No indent
 Should be on a new page with the heading Abstract (bold, centered)

🧱 5. Headings and Subheadings

Heading Level Format Example

Level 1 Centered, Bold, Title Case
Level 2 Left-aligned, Bold, Title Case
Level 3 Left-aligned, Bold Italic, Title Case
Level 4 Indented, bold, Title Case, ends with a period. Paragraph begins after.
Level 5 Indented, bold italic, Title Case, ends with a period. Paragraph begins after.

Use these to organize your chapters and subtopics.

📚 6. In-text Citations (APA 7)

 One author: (Smith, 2020)

 Two authors: (Kumar & Shah, 2021)
 Three or more authors: (Ali et al., 2022)
 Direct quote: Include page number — (Singh, 2020, p. 14)

📖 7. Reference List (Start on a New Page)

 Title: References (bold, centered)

 Double-spaced
 Hanging indent (0.5 inch)
 Arrange alphabetically by author's last name

Example (journal article):

Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring. American Psychologist, 34(10), 906–911.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.34.10.906

📎 8. Tables and Figures

 Each table/figure should be:

o Labeled (e.g., Table 1, Figure 2)
o Titled in italics (e.g., Participant Age Distribution)
o Mentioned in the text before it appears
o Placed either in-text or on a separate page (depending on university guidelines)
📌 9. Appendices (if any)

 Start each appendix on a new page

 Label as Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.
 Include survey questions, raw data, consent forms, etc.

📂 10. Additional Tips

 Use Grammarly or a spell-check tool for grammar errors.

 Check with your university if they have any specific modifications to APA format.
 Always maintain consistency (e.g., same font and spacing throughout).

Would you like a Word document template with APA formatting ready for your dissertation? I can prepare
that for you too.