The origins of children’s metamemory: The role of theory of mind

•Cognitive, but not affective, ToM is concurrently related to metamemory.•Cognitive ToM predicts later metamemory, independently of early verbal ability.•Cognitive ToM can be considered as a precursor of metacognition. The relation between preschoolers’ theory of mind (ToM) and declarative metamemory (DM) was investigated in two studies. The first study focused on 4-year-old children’s (N=106) cognitive and affective ToM and their DM. The data showed a significant association between cognitive (but not affective) ToM and DM, independent of verbal ability, non-verbal ability, and working memory. The second study involved 83 children tested at 4years 6months of age (and 6months later) for cognitive ToM and DM. Here, results showed that early cognitive ToM, in particular false-belief understanding, predicts later DM independent of early verbal ability. These data support a view considering cognitive ToM as a precursor of children’s DM.