Go if you know: Preschool children’s movements reflect their metacognitive monitoring

We assessed metacognitive monitoring in 3- to 5-year-old preschool children using a non-verbal behavioral paradigm of confidence. Children responded to a variety of computerized tasks, during which rewards could be collected after each trial at a location spatially distant from the computer. Critically, auditory cues indicating performance were delayed by five seconds after each trial. A metacognitive response indicating confidence in their performance would lead children to move towards the reward location before receiving trial feedback. Results indicated that early movements reflected confidence and non-movements reflected uncertainty. Movements differed as a function of task performance (correct vs. incorrect responding) and objective trial difficulty (easier vs. harder trials) across most cognitive tasks. For some tasks, performance and metacognitive movements also varied as a function of age. These data, from a non-verbal measure of confidence, match other reports of emerging metacognition in children in this age range.