Do children have insights into their performance in an inhibitory control task?: An explorative study with 9- and 11-year-olds

Accurate self-evaluation of one's performance is a key metacognitive skill that supports self-regulated learning and academic success, yet it develops gradually throughout childhood. This study examined the performance and self-evaluations of performance of 3rd grade (9 years) and 5th grade (11 years) children on an inhibitory control task. An adaptation of the Hearts and Flowers task was used, in which children first solved a congruent (Hearts) block, followed by three incongruent (Flowers) blocks, providing self-evaluation ratings after each Flowers block. We asked 1) whether children's self-evaluations of their performance align with their performance, 2) whether this alignment varies with age, and 3) whether this alignment improves with repeated practice and self-evaluation. Results showed 1) significant prediction of self-evaluations by accuracy, indicating that children's self-evaluations of their performance align with their performance, 2) the strength of this prediction to be greater in 5th graders than 3rd graders across blocks, indicating that this alignment may vary with age, and 3) the strength of this prediction to be greater in the third block compared to the previous blocks for both grades, indicating that this alignment improved with repeated practice. These findings highlight developmental differences in metacognitive abilities, with older children showing stronger performance monitoring. Moreover, these results suggest that structured opportunities for practice and self-evaluation could enhance metacognitive development and inhibitory control performance in 9- and 11-year-old children.