Metamemory judgments and design effects: Judgment of learning (JOL) reactivity in free recall is affected by study list structure.

Abstract

Judgments of learning (JOLs) are designed to reveal processes of memory monitoring but recent research has shown that JOLs can also have reactive effects on memory performance. A recently proposed account for JOL reactivity is based on the item-specific/relational framework, a general account of memory encoding that has been applied to a wide range of memory phenomena. Importantly, the effects of these phenomena on free recall performance are generally moderated by list composition: the effects are stronger in mixed than pure list manipulations - that is, these phenomena exhibit design effects. Applied to JOL reactivity, the item-specific/relational account likewise predicts design effects. Specifically, the account predicts that JOL reactivity should be more positive in mixed compared to pure lists. In three experiments, judgment condition (JOL vs. no JOL) and list type (mixed vs. pure) were manipulated and memory assessed with free recall. As hypothesized, JOL reactivity was consistently more positive in mixed than pure lists, a result found with related word pairs (Experiment 1), unrelated word pairs (Experiment 2), and lists of single words (Experiment 3). Overall, JOL reactivity demonstrates design effects, a result which provides support for the item-specific/relational account of JOL reactivity.