Similarities and differences of metacognitive monitoring development in the context of cognitive control and memory

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Monitoring is a key attribute of metacognition, enabling children to be aware of their own cognition. By monitoring, children can recognise their errors and adjust cognitive control strategies from planning-ahead to reacting in-the-moment. Monitoring also ensures children can assess the accuracy of a recalled memory. Currently, there is little overlap between cognitive control and memory research, limiting our understanding of metacognitive monitoring development.

The separation of the fields is surprising, since there are important practical and theoretical implications of jointly understanding cognitive control and memory monitoring. For example, recent policies advise educators to encourage monitoring in children to improve guided learning in the classroom and to communicate with legal professionals to help them determine the memory performance of child witnesses in forensic settings. Yet, it is unclear whether a child who has developed cognitive control monitoring has also developed memory monitoring. Jointly understanding cognitive control and memory monitoring is also key to answer theoretical questions, such as whether metacognition is a domain-general vs -specific skill.

This symposium integrates cutting-edge research on the development of monitoring in the context of cognitive control and memory from early to midchildhood. We will present novel findings which use different behavioural measures to assess monitoring development in memory and cognitive control in isolation, as well as report the interaction between both contexts. The Discussant will synthesise the similarities and differences in monitoring development and bridge the gap between the cognitive control and memory monitoring literatures, to identify fertile ground for future research across these fields.

Sub Unit

• Cognitive Processes

Chair

• Rumandeep Kaur Hayre, University of Birmingham

Discussant

• Nicolas Chevalier, University of Edinburgh

Individual Presentations

• Monitoring of memory performance using implicit and explicit measures in five to 11 year olds - Presenting Author: Rumandeep Kaur Hayre, University of Birmingham; Madeleine Ingham, University of Birmingham; Shona Smith, University of Birmingham; Brooke Findel, University of Birmingham; Chloe Sargent, University of Birmingham; Melissa Colloff, University of Birmingham

• Reported and automatic monitoring in cognitive control: Are children aware of their cognitive control abilities? - Presenting Author: Donna Bryce, University of Tübingen; Janina Eberhart, University of Tübingen

• Children’s monitoring in the context of memory and cognitive control - Presenting Author: Claudia M. Roebers, University of Bern; Sophie Wacker, University of Bern