What I know and what you know: The role of metacognitive strategies in preschoolers’ selective social learning

Abstract

The mechanisms which guide selective learning in young children have been a source of debate. Two experiments were conducted to identify which cognitive processes are involved in selective social learning in preschoolers. In experiment 1, we administered a paired-associate learning task, and collected accuracy and latency of explicit confidence judgments, measuring both implicit and explicit metacognitive monitoring. Results revealed that better implicit metacognitive monitoring predicted better performance on a selective learning task. In experiment 2, we obtained a parental report of children’s theory of mind skills (CSUS) and administered an information-seeking task, measuring implicit metacognitive control. Results revealed that both scores on the metacognitive control task and on the theory of mind questionnaire significantly predicted selective learning performance. These studies provide evidence of an association between preschoolers’ selective learning and implicit metacognitive strategies, but also suggest that explicit metacognitive learning strategies may guide selective learning later in development.