Metacognition and Retrieval from Long-Term Memory at Mount Everest

Behavioral data were collected from climbers at various altitudes on Mount Everest. In contrast to earlier findings that altitude impairs the acquisition of information into memory, we found no changes in the accuracy or latency of retrieving information from memory, even at extreme altitudes above 21,000 6,400 m. This lack of effect on retrieval occurred for both the recall and recognition of answers to general-information questions e.g., What is the capital of Finland. Self-confidence about the accuracy of recent retrieval was also not affected by altitude. However, the feeling of knowing i.e., self- confidence about upcoming retrieval declined at extreme altitudes and remained lower even after return to Kathmandu. This pattern of results is close to opposite of the pattern obtained when the independent variable is alcohol intoxication and the same test battery is employed. These and related results are described in an attempt to give a relatively comprehensive picture of the climbers performance, and suggestions are offered for future research. Keywords Cognition, Memory, Metacognition, Judgment, Hypoxia, Fear, Danger, Mountaineering, Retrieval, Confidence, Altitude.