Anchoring Effect of Performance Feedback on Accuracy of Metacognitive Monitoring in Preschool Children

Authors

  • Kamila Urban Orcid
    Institute for Research in Social Communication, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Marek Urban Orcid
    Department of History and Theory of Art, Faculty of Art and Design, Jan Evangelista Purkyne University, Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic

Abstract

Preschool children are generally inaccurate at evaluating past and predicting future performance. The present study examines the effect of performance feedback on the accuracy of preschoolers’ predictive judgments and tests whether performance feedback acts as an anchor for postdictive judgments. In Experiment 1, preschool children (n = 40) solved number patterns, and in Experiment 2 they solved object patterns (n = 59). The results in both experiments revealed, firstly, that children receiving performance feedback made more accurate predictive judgments and lowered their certainty after their incorrect answer. Secondly, the children relied on performance feedback more than on actual task experience when making postdictive judgments, indicating that performance feedback was used as an anchor for subsequent postdictive judgments.