The effects of social cues on confidence judgments mediated by knowledge and regulation of cognition

The relationships between knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognitio n and how they interact to mediate the effects of social cues on confidence judgments were investigated. The participants were asked to read 6 literat ure texts, answer corresponding multiple-choice comprehension questions, an d rate the accuracy of their test performances. Subsequently, they were ass igned 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 o f cognition conjointly played an important role in predicting performance a nd the magnitude and accuracy of confidence judgments. However, social cues affected confidence judgments of the participants as a function of their r egulatory ability only. Results and educational implications are discussed.