On the Importance of Idiosyncratic Information in Metamemory

Accurate monitoring of one’s own learning and memory is essential for effective self-regulated learning and good learning outcomes. Consequently, the many demonstrations that people mispredict the effects of various factors on memory have alarmed researchers and educators alike. The current presentation reports a series of experiments that analyzed the accuracy of metamemory judgments across a range of materials and judgments. Results revealed that people achieve considerable monitoring accuracy by basing their metamemory judgments on the personal significance of study materials. This demonstrates that previous research has overlooked a major contributor to metamemory judgments and severely underestimated the accuracy of metamemory judgments. Recommendations for improving metamemory monitoring will be offered.

The aim of this lecture series, organized by the Interdisciplinary Center for Applied Cognitive Studies, is to popularize cognitive psychology and to show how the results of research in this field may improve understanding of many processes and help solve everyday problems.