Metacognition

In many countries, there is a popular TV show in which a contestant, after winning the opening question, takes a seat on a chair and has to answer questions of increasing difficulty one after the other. With each correct answer, the winning amount increases, but a wrong answer can lead to a considerable or even total loss of the amount won thus far. At the end, after the last and most difficult question, a million euros await as a reward. The answers are given according to the principle of multiple choice, which means that there are already four answers to each question, but only one of them is correct. As time passes, candidates become more insecure, not only because the questions become increasingly difficult but also because one wrong answer can make the large cash prize disappear. The tension is further increased by the fact that the person in the chair can also quit—that is, drop out—if they think they cannot answer the question correctly. In this case, they keep the money they have accumulated up until that point. Part of the show’s fascination is the fact that people have to check their level of knowledge in front of an audience. They have to assess as accurately as possible how sure they can be of knowing the answer. Often, the players know the answer, but they are not quite sure. Sometimes, they have only a vague feeling that they have known the answer before or that the answer is “on the tip of their tongue”. Therefore, to a limited extent, they are given the opportunity to seek help or to ask for more information. Either two wrong answers can be removed, or the audience or a known person can be asked.