The Metacognitive Abilities of Children and Adults

Abstract

Metacognition, or the capacity to reflect upon one’s own knowledge, is a key trait in our cognitive repertoire which is developed during childhood. Here, a direct comparison of metacognitive ability in children (N = 188; 6–9 years old) and adults, (N = 47) using a single perceptual task, was made. Results showed that 6–9 years old children have a level of metacognitive access similar to that of adults. Further, a signal detection theory model was applied in order to distinguish metacognitive ability from the propensity towards risk taking, two factors that have so far been confounded in studies. Children presented a suboptimal tendency towards risky decisions and a natural predisposition to overconfidence that can be partially mitigated by imposing a conservative normative strategy.