THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF ANTICIPATED TEST FORMAT AND ANTICIPATED TEST DIFFICULTY CON PERFORMANCE

In this investigation, the relative importance of the effects of antic ipated test format and anticipated test difficulty on performance was examined by simultaneously manipulating both. Experiments 1 and 2 show ed that test performance was affected more by anticipated test format than by anticipated test difficulty. This suggests that the superior p erformance of subjects who had anticipated a recall test versus those who had anticipated a recognition test, reported here and in previous studies, is more likely to be due to anticipating a recall format than to anticipating a more difficult test. Experiment 2 showed that subje cts who had anticipated a recall test studied longer than subjects who had anticipated a recognition test, even when recall tests were less difficult than recognition tests. One explanation for this finding is that subjects inaccurately monitor the relative difficulty of tests ac ross test formats. Subjects rated recall items as more difficult than recognition items, even when recall items are actually less difficult (Experiment 3). These finding suggest that a priori metacognitive know ledge may reduce the accuracy of on-line metacognitive monitoring.