Metacognitive Ratings on Cognitive Tasks: Task Difficulty and Effort Rating Differences in Children With ADHD and Neurotypical Children

Children with ADHD reported overall lower effort across cognitive tasks compared to neurotypical children; however, no group differences were found on task difficulty ratings. Metacognitive ratings of effort were significantly associated across performance tasks, suggesting that the degree of trying may reflect a trait-level factor. Ratings of task difficulty were generally weakly associated, suggesting ratings are influenced by task-specific factors. Metacognitive ratings of effort and task difficulty were not correlated, and these ratings were also distinct from task performance, with generally weak, non-significant associations. Metacognitive ratings of effort, not ratings of task difficulty, predict difficulties experienced by children with ADHD, beyond what is captured by performance on these tasks alone.