The Effects of Social Cues on Confidence Judgments Mediated by Knowledge and Regulation of Cognition

The relationships between knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition and how they interact to mediate the effects of social cues on confidence judgments were investigated. The participants were asked to read 6 literature texts, answer corresponding multiple-choice comprehension questions, and rate the accuracy of their test performances. Subsequently, they were assigned to 4 different ability groups according to their knowledge and their regulation of cognition, assessed by means of a metacognitive checklist and by accuracy results on the tests, respectively. Knowledge and regulation of cognition conjointly played an important role in predicting performance and the magnitude and accuracy of confidence judgments. However, social cues affected confidence judgments of the participants as a function of their regulatory ability only. Results and educational implications are discussed.