Metacognition and emotional regulation in children from 8 to 12 years old

Background The Metacognitive Affective Model of SRL (MASRL) considers the relationships between metacognition, motivation, and affect. Notably, it provides a theoretical framework to understand how subjective experiences (metacognition and affect) change self-regulation from a top-down to a bottom-up process and vice versa. Aims The study examines the link between metacognition and emotional regulation in the everyday problem-solving performance of children in elementary school. Emotional regulation is studied from the angle of coping strategies. Sample(s) Participants were 269 children aged 8.17-11.66 years old (Mean = 9.8, SD = 0.88). Methods They completed a French version of the 'The Metacognitive Experiences Questionnaire' developed by Efklides and Petkaki (2005, Learning and Instruction, 15, 415) and the Kidcope (Spirito et al., 1988, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 13, 555) to measure the coping strategies before and after solving the everyday problem taken from 'The Everyday Cognition Battery' (Allaire & Marsiske, 1999, Psychology and Aging, 14, 261). Results The results indicate that several metacognitive experiences are significantly linked to solving everyday problems, in particular the feeling of difficulty. The other results of our study show that no single coping strategy was linked to problem-solving performance but that the three coping strategies (i.e., emotional outburst, blaming others, and magical thinking) are linked to metacognitive experiences. Conclusions The results highlight the importance of emotional regulation on cognitive performance, both before and after solving the problem. These findings have important implications for teachers, who should be aware of the effect that a feeling of difficulty may have on solving a given problem.