Longitudinal associations between executive functions and metacognitive monitoring in 5- to 8-year-olds

Abstract

Pronounced developmental progression during the transition to formal schooling can be found in executive functions (EF) and metacognition (MC). However, it is still unclear whether and how EF and MC influence each other during this transition. Previous research with young children suggests that inhibition may be a prerequisite for monitoring skills. Thus, the present longitudinal study investigated the association between the common subcomponents of EF (inhibition, working memory, and shifting) assessed in kindergarten (T1) and metacognitive monitoring assessed in 2nd grade (T2) in a sample of N = 84 children. In line with our hypothesis, the results revealed a significant link only between the EF subcomponent inhibition and later metacognitive monitoring. More precisely, children with better inhibition skills in kindergarten showed less overconfident monitoring in elementary school. Interestingly, the longitudinal relationship between inhibition and monitoring was not bidirectional. The findings indicate an essential role of early inhibition skills regarding emerging and developing elementary school children’s monitoring skills.

Thinking about thinking: A longitudinal investigation linking developments in metacognition, self-control and theory of mind.

“…The first longitudinal study of these skillsets found some evidence to suggest that performance in an inhibitory control task at 7 years was predictive of metacognitive control (as measured by the ability to withdraw incorrectly spelt words in a spelling test) at age 8 years (Roebers et al, 2012). Moreover, a recent longitudinal study following the development of 5-to 6-year-old children replicated this result for metacognitive monitoring, finding that children's performance on an inhibitory control task was predictive of their ability to accurately report their level of certainty during a recall task one year later (Kälin & Roebers, 2022). Thus, it is possible that self-control is involved in the development of children's ability to take a metarepresentational stance on their own thoughts.…”

“…As set out above, self-control might be thought of as a higher order form of metacognition (see Roebers, 2017 for review). This definitional overlap, together with a lack of longitudinal evidence, makes it difficult to unpick the developmental trajectories of metacognitive monitoring and self-control (Kälin & Roebers, 2022). The first longitudinal study of these skillsets found some evidence to suggest that performance in an inhibitory control task at 7 years was predictive of metacognitive control (as measured by the ability to withdraw incorrectly spelt words in a spelling test) at age 8 years (Roebers et al, 2012).…”

“…There is ongoing debate concerning the extent to which implicit forms of metacognition, self-control and ToM lay the foundations for explicit forms of these skillsets (Goupil & Kouider, 2019;Hendry et al, 2022;Rakoczy, 2022) and for higher order forms later in development (e.g. Ebert, 2015;Kälin & Roebers, 2022;Lecce et al, 2014Lecce et al, , 2015Lockl & Schneider, 2006;Feurer et al, 2015;Roebers et al, 2012). However, if we are to fully understand the positive social and academic consequences of this powerful developmental triad, and intelligently design interventions to support positive developmental outcomes, we must ultimately understand their intersectionality.…”

Contrasting one's share of the shared life space: Comparing the roles of metacognition and inhibitory control in the development of theory of mind among Scottish and Japanese children.

“…It is interesting to note that metacognition and inhibitory control were robustly related in both Japan and Scotland, suggesting that some cognitive control may be required to take a metacognitive stance, as previously argued for western samples (Kälin & Roebers, 2022). However, Zhao et al, (2021) suggest that whereas children from the independent cultures may attribute their ability to control themselves to internal factors such as the ability to inhibit desires, children from interdependent cultures associate inhibitory control with complying to external rules, without reflection of their own willpower.…”

The effect of metacognitive executive function training on children’s executive function, proactive control, and academic skills.

“…Several frameworks tightly link metacognition and EF at the conceptual level (Bryce et al, 2015; Kälin & Roebers, 2022; Roebers, 2017; Roebers & Feurer, 2016). For instance, age-related gains in monitoring and/or self-reflection abilities have been proposed to drive the development of both metacognition and EF (e.g., Lyons & Zelazo, 2011; Roebers, 2017).…”