Becoming fluent overnight: Long-lasting influences of perceptual learning on metamemory.

Abstract

Judgements of learning (JOLs) are metacognitive evaluations of future memory for newly learned information (Fiacconi et al., 2020; Koriat, 1997). The cue utilization view of JOLs states that individuals use a variety of cues when predicting future memory performance (Koriat, 1997). Critically, however, the majority of research aimed at understanding how different types of cues influence individuals' JOLs has focused on immediate memory assessments based on individuals' in-the-moment experiences or has utilized very brief retention intervals and relied on the representation of previously studied material (Rhodes & Tauber, 2011). Importantly, individuals' assessments of new learning may also be coloured by information learned further in the past when it is similar to the current information. Using a letter set training procedure (Fiacconi et al., 2020), we manipulated the fluency of to-be-learned material to examine whether previous learning would influence JOLs for new material over a 24-hr time period. As hypothesized, our results showed that previous learning did impact individuals' metamemory predictions, as JOLs for distinct but similar items were indeed higher than those for novel dissimilar items both immediately following training and 24 hr later. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).