Can bodily and vocal transparency support metacognition? Embodied transparency as a means of conveying self- and social metacognition

Metacognitive processes are typically conceptualized as mechanisms through which individuals monitor and regulate their own cognitive performance. However, during perception, internal states such as uncertainty and effort are often externally manifested through bodily and vocal signals. In this paper, I propose a theoretical framework in which such embodied expressions, termed embodied transparency, play a functional role in both self-directed and socially distributed metacognition. Building on dual-system accounts of metacognition proposed by Shea et al., (2014), I argue that embodied transparency might operate at two interconnected levels. At the individual level, bodily and vocal signals provide feedback that contributes to the monitoring and updating of one's own metacognitive representations. This feedback loop suggests that expression is not merely an output of internal states but also a source of information that re-enters the cognitive system and calibrate confidence judgments and performance evaluation. At the interpersonal level, embodied signals emitted by others may serve as informational inputs for constructing representations of their metacognitive states, thereby supporting perspective-taking and social coordination, while also contributing to the reshaping of one's own. Furthermore, I propose that embodied transparency might facilitate metacognitive learning through both rapid, implicit mechanisms and more explicit, reflective pathways. Such processes may operate independently of formal collaboration while still contributing to socially distributed cognition. The framework generates testable predictions concerning the mechanisms, boundary conditions, and developmental trajectories of embodied metacognition, and opens new avenues for investigating its implications.