Abstract Summary/Description
Cognitive offloading occurs when you use external aids to store or organize information, freeing up mental resources and reducing demands on memory or attention. Common examples include shopping lists and daily to-do lists. Offloading often results in a decrease in uncertainty and improves task performance and efficiency. We assessed whether 4- and 5-year-old children could use an external aid to spontaneously offload information about the location of a favorite toy. Children hid toys in cups that were all the same color except for one. They then engaged in a separate test to delay prize retrieval. All 43 children showed evidence of cognitive offloading by putting their favorite toy in the unique cup to easily find later. Overall, 81.2% of trials were correctly offloaded and one-third of children reached criteria for proficient offloading with no errors. This indicates that children of this age are capable of cognitive offloading and can often do so immediately and consistently over multiple sessions. Further research on this topic will forward our understanding of metacognitive development, providing insight into when children start to recognize their cognitive limitations and develop helpful strategies to compensate.
