Adolescent Metacognitive Ability Predicts Spontaneous Task Strategy Adjustment

Adolescence is a critical period for developing adaptive cognitive control, including the abilities to selectively switch attention in response to changes in the environment (cognitive flexibility) and to regulate attention (metacognition), through monitoring performance and employing adaptive control strategies. However, little is known about how individual differences in adolescent metacognition impact the spontaneous use of strategies for improving cognitive flexibility. In a sample of 141 participants aged 11-15 years (collected in between July 2022 and February 2023), adolescents spontaneously controlled their own preparation time in a cued task-switching paradigm. Adolescents spontaneously adopted the strategy of increasing preparation time for switch trials relative to repeat trials. This strategy use differed for individuals in distinct metacognitive profiles and was positively related to subjectively and objectively scored self-report measures of metacognition. Therefore, individual differences in adolescent metacognitive ability predict the adoption of spontaneous strategy adjustment to enhance cognitive flexibility, suggesting that improving metacognition may encourage the adaptive direction of capacity limited attention resources amongst adolescents. Participants were largely from high socio-educational advantage schools in Australia, which should be taken into account when generalising the present results.