ENHANCED METAMEMORY AT DELAYS - WHY DO JUDGMENTS OF LEARNING IMPROVE OVER TIME

Judgments of learning (JOLs) made after a 5-min delay are almost perfe ctly accurate: the ''delayed-JOL effect'' (T. O. Nelson & J. Dunlosky, 1991). The mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have been the subjec t of debate. This study examined the effects;of delays and short-term memory (STM) distraction on memory and metamemory (JOLs). STM distract ion (2.5-30 s) immediately following encoding increased both JOL accur acy and mean cued recall. However, JOLs made after longer delays (4-5 min) were even more accurate. In addition, making a JOL at longer dela ys improved cued-recall performance. Conditional probabilities of cued recall (given successful initial retrieval) also increased over time and with interference, indicating that delayed JOLs may alter what the y assess. Finally, increased confidence was associated with shorter JO L latencies only at delays. The results are consistent with an accessi bility view of metamemory (e.g., A. Koriat, 1993).